Shattered Ties(73)

I was going to be sick. How could he do this to me?

“I didn’t mean to interrupt anything. I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” I said in a shaky voice.

“Emma?” Jesse’s eyes opened wider as he took in Ally in bed with him and me standing by the door. “What the...oh shit. Emma, it’s not what you think!”

“I’m not stupid, Jesse. We had a fight last night, and then I walk in to see you in bed with someone else the next morning. It’s not hard to put two and two together.”

“Let me explain! I was drunk, and Ally brought me home. I don’t know how she ended up in my bed, but I swear, nothing happened.” He looked down at Ally with pleading eyes. “Ally, please. Tell her nothing happened.”

She turned away from him, so he couldn’t see her facial expression as she smiled at me again and winked. “Emma, nothing happened.”

“I can’t...I have to go.” I turned and ran from the room.

I threw the front door open and rushed to my car. I really was going to be sick. I stopped beside my car and started throwing up violently. Dear God, why did he have to do this? We could have worked everything out. I would have stood up to my mom and told her that I loved Jesse and that I was going to be with him. I would have put it on a billboard if he wanted me to. But now...everything was ruined. Everything.

“Emma, wait!” Jesse yelled as he ran out of the trailer.

“Please. Just leave me alone,” I managed to gasp out as sobs wracked my body.

“I swear, nothing happened. Ally is just my friend. That’s it.”

“A friend you sleep almost naked with?”

“I don’t know how I ended up like this, but I know I didn’t cheat. No matter how drunk I was, I would never do that to you.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t believe you. We’re done, Jesse. I can’t even stand to look at you.”

“You don’t mean that,” he pleaded.

“I do. I never want to see you again. I think you should move with your mom because I don’t think I could stomach the sight of you at school.” Now that I’d stopped vomiting, I opened my car door and got in. “Good-bye,

Jesse. Please don’t try to contact me again.”

I cried the entire way home. I cried like I’d lost my best friend...because really, I had. Jesse had been everything to me, and he’d tossed me aside like I didn’t even matter. He’d begged me to believe him. But how could I when I walked in on him and Ally? There was no coming back from this. I’d given him everything, including my virginity, and now, I had nothing left—nothing.

True love doesn’t exist.



Jesse

I watched her car disappear around the corner, taking everything that mattered to me with it. How did this happen to us? I knew from the pain in her eyes that she was truly gone. I didn’t cheat. I know I didn’t. No matter how drunk I was, I would never betray her like that. Despite my insecurities from the night before, I still wanted to be with her.

It took everything I had not to chase after her. I couldn’t let her go. I couldn’t let her think the worst of me. Maybe if I gave her a few days to calm down, she would see reason and know that I didn’t cheat. Needing some kind of outlet for the emotions running through me, I slammed my fist into the side of the trailer before I walked inside. I went back to my room where Ally was still in my bed.

“Why were you in bed with me?” I asked.

“I’m sorry. I got tired while I was watching you. I must have fallen asleep.”

“How did I end up in only my boxers?”

“I took off your clothes for you while you were sleeping. I thought you might be uncomfortable.”

I sighed. “I wish you didn’t. It looked really bad when Emma came in here.”

“So what? I thought you were done with her.”

“I never said that. I was just confused and upset over some stuff her mom had said. Now, it looks like she’s done with me. She told me to stay away from her.”

“I wish I could say I was sorry, but I’m not. It’s time you moved on from her. She’s not the right girl for you.”

“How can you even say that? You know nothing about her,” I said angrily.

“But I know you. You could do so much better, Jesse. Why can’t you see that?”

“I don’t want anyone else!” “Not even me?” she whispered.

“What?” I asked incredulously.

“You heard me. You can’t pretend that you don’t know how I feel about you.”

I wasn’t pretending. I had no idea where this was coming from. Ally had never even hinted that she felt that way about me.

“I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. Her face twisted in anger as she spit out her next words. “Of course you don’t. You’ve been so wrapped up in her that you can’t even see what’s right in front of you.”

“I—”

“Just don’t even say a word. I should have known better than to hope for something between us.” She stomped past me and out the door.

I stood there with my mouth hanging open, trying to process what had just happened. Ally wants me? When did that happen? I walked over to my bed and fell down onto it. My head was pounding like hell, and my world had gone to shit in just twenty minutes. Why the f*ck do I even try? I closed my eyes, letting the world fade away.