The relief drains from his face. “What?”
“It’s a simple question, Romeo. Did you have coffee with your ex-girlfriend on Monday?”
“I, yes. But it’s not what you think?—”
“You lied to me.”
“I didn’t lie. I just didn’t mention it?—”
“That’s the same thing as lying!” My voice cracks and I don’t care who hears us. People are stopping in the hallway but I can’t make myself care. “You met with your ex and you hid it from me!”
“Because it was nothing! She ambushed me in the parking lot after practice. She said she wanted to talk. I agreed to fifteen minutes of coffee just to get her to leave me alone.”
“And you didn’t think I deserved to know about that?”
“I didn’t want you to worry over nothing!”
“It’s not nothing, Romeo! You met with your ex-girlfriend and you hid it from me!” Tears are burning behind my eyelids now. “How am I supposed to trust you when you keep things from me?”
“You’re supposed to trust me because I’ve never given you a reason not to!” He’s getting defensive, his voice rising to match mine. “I made a mistake. I should have told you. But I didn’t cheat on you. I didn’t do anything wrong except not mention a fifteen-minute coffee with someone who means absolutely nothing to me.”
“She has photos. She has messages. She said you’ve been talking since December.”
“That’s bullshit! Those messages are her texting me from random numbers for the past day and me telling her I was going to get a restraining order! And that photo is from Monday, the coffee I just told you about!”
“Why were you even responding to her?”
“Because I didn’t want to be an asshole! Because we dated and I thought I could be civil!”
“Civil? She showed me messages where you were?—”
“Where I was what? Telling her to leave me alone? Telling her I was busy? That’s not being unfaithful, Juliette.”
“You should have told me she was texting you!”
“You’re right! I should have! But I didn’t because I knew you’d react exactly like this!” He runs his hands through his hair, frustrated, and I’ve never seen him look like this. Wild and desperate. “I knew you’d spiral and assume the worst instead of trusting me.”
“Maybe I’m spiraling because you gave me a reason to!”
“I gave you nothing! I had coffee with my ex to get her to stop harassing me, and I kept it to myself. That’s it. That’s the whole story.”
“Is it? Because she said you’ve been seeing her. That you told her you can’t let her go.”
“She’s lying! Jesus Christ, JuJu, she’s my psycho ex who won’t leave me alone! Why would you believe her over me?”
“Because you lied to me first!”
“I DIDN’T LIE!” He’s shouting now and several people in the hallway have stopped completely, staring. He lowers his voice but it’s still rough, still urgent. “I withheld information. It was stupid and I’m sorry. But I did not lie to you and I did not cheat on you.”
I want to believe him. Want to trust that this is all a misunderstanding, that Sienna is manipulating both of us.
But I can still hear her voice.He’s done this before.
“She said you’ve done this before,” I say quietly. “Dated multiple women at once. Made each girl feel special.”
“That’s not true.”
“How do I know that?”
