Unauthorized Affair (Unauthorized #1)(3)
In front of Jen’s door, they stopped and both of them put their ear to it. No sounds came from within. Jen grabbed Carla’s hand and held it tight, then put her key in the lock and pushed the door open. The place was dark and empty.
Jen let out her held breath in a whoosh. “Thank goodness,” she said, walking into the apartment and snapping on the lights. Her next sentence died in her throat and dread took hold of her for the second time that day. The place was mostly empty. Her couch was gone. Her TV was gone. Her big comfy chair was gone. Her paintings were taken down from the walls. She could see dark squares where they had been.
“Oh he didn’t, he didn’t!” she yelled, anguished, and ran down the hallway to the bedroom. Her bed was gone. The cheap dresser was still there, standing against the wall like a lone sentry. She ripped open the closet. His clothes were gone. Her clothes were still there, but they looked rifled through, like maybe some were missing. The floor was a littered mess of papers, her shoes, empty hangers, and her few keepsake boxes that had been under the bed. She sank into the mess and gathered a ratty old teddy bear to her. The only gift she had left from her father. At least Adam hadn’t taken it.
Carla walked in the door and whistled. “Was the bed yours?”
“Yeah, and the TV, and the couch, and the chair. It was all mine. Adam was living on a friend’s couch when we got together.” Jen heard the hopeless, plaintive note in her voice and hated it.
“Baby girl, you better call the police.”
“Yeah, OK. You’re right.”
Jen fished her phone out of her pocket and dialed the number. The dispatcher said they’d send someone as soon as they could, and maybe she should make a list of what was gone.
“God, I’m such an idiot,” Jen groaned.
Carla sat on the floor next to her. “You’re not an idiot. You’re just-”
“Naive, I know. I’ve heard it before.”
“I wasn’t gonna say naive, sweetie. I was gonna say sweet. Trusting. You think the best of people, even if they don’t deserve it. That’s a wonderful way to be.”
“It doesn’t feel so wonderful.”
Carla clucked her tongue and pulled Jen into a hug. “I know it don’t right now. But that’s what makes you who you are, Jen. You’re the best kind of person, in my opinion. You’re sensitive, soft, kind. You don’t have hard edges that hurt people. I know you got hurt this time but it won’t last forever. Adam did you a favor. He doesn’t deserve you. He never deserved you. Everybody knew that.”
Jen looked at Carla, wide-eyed. “You didn’t like Adam?”
Carla dropped her gaze. “No, I didn’t. I always knew he was the cheating type. I could tell the first time I met him.”
“How? How could you tell?” Jen pushed off the floor and paced the room. “How can you tell someone is the cheating type? And why couldn’t I tell? I’m seriously asking you, Carla! I seriously need to know this!” Jen stopped pacing and dropped to her knees in front of Carla. “He’s not the first guy to cheat on me, did you know that?” she said softly, staring into Carla’s eyes with a stricken look on her face.
Carla nodded, her eyes kind. “You told me.” She took Jen’s hands in her own. “I guess I knew because when you introduced us and he shook my hand he held onto it a little bit too long. And the way he looked at me felt like he was assessing me, maybe checking me to see if I was interested in him. And how he would watch the women who walked by. Like they were all in the Miss Universe pageant and he was the only judge.”
Jen groaned and pulled away. “I never noticed any of that about him. God I hate being sensitive and kind and trusting. I want to be able to look at a guy and know if he’s a jerk. And I want to be able to tell him to get lost and not feel bad about it. I want to be like you, Carla.”
“No you don’t, baby girl. I’m loud and brash and harsh and all my guys are that way too. And that’s OK. We’re made for each other like that. And sometimes we bang up against each other and accidentally hurt each other because of it. But you, someday you’re going to find a guy who is a lot like you. And he’s going to be amazing. He’s going to be sensitive and sweet and kind, and he’s going to recognize that in you too, and he’s going to fall head over heels in love with you.” Carla’s voice softened to a whisper, with an undercurrent of steel in it. “And he ain’t never gonna hurt you. He’s gonna be your fiercest protector and your greatest lover and you are really going to live happily ever after.”
Jen pulled back, surprise in her eyes. “How do you know that?”
“I just know, Jen, cuz girls like you are rare and special and when they find the right one, he sticks around.”
“Well how am I going to know he’s the right one?” Jen whispered. “I’ll probably be wasting my time on some other jerk because I can’t tell who’s a jerk and who’s not!”
Carla nodded solemnly. “Maybe that used to be true. But I bet you’ll look a little harder from now on, won’t you?”
Jen’s mouth pulled sideways into a bemused smile. “Yeah, I guess I will.”
Carla pulled her into a hug and whispered into her ear. “See, Adam might have done you a bit of a favor after all.”