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"Wait. Are you joking?" she interrupted, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her. She shut the toilet lid and sank down. "You're really doing this? A blow-off before we even start? You’re the one who said he wanted more than sex. Remember?”
“Yeah, it’s just I didn’t realize how complicated it would truly be. It’s different than what I thought, and maybe you were right.”
“About what exactly?”
“About how we shouldn’t have gone where we went.”
At that moment, she felt like one of those cartoon characters that turned into a blinking ass. “So you lied to me in order to get what you want?"
“No. At that moment I sorta felt those things," he said, his voice so dry, so emotionless, so not like the Jake she'd always known. He sounded… bored?
So all along this had been about Jake getting a piece of her dumb ass? How many other girls had he lied to in order to get into their pants? She'd always known he pulled the ladies and used his power to get laid, but she’d always thought he was honest about who he was. What kind of man used the "L'' word to get laid?
She pulled the phone away and looked down at it.
He had to be joking. He couldn't have faked all that. She would have known, wouldn't she? "I can't believe this. I really can't. So me having to take care of my brother, who was running a 104-degree fever by the way, put you off? Is that what you're saying?"
"Um, no, but maybe the distance gave me perspective," he said, clearing his throat again. Like a guilty man. "You suggested going in that direction could ruin things, and the more I thought about it, the more I think you're right."
"Too late. We went that direction. Anytime you snap off a condom after being with someone, you've gone in a direction, Jake. I can't believe you're pulling this shit." She was yelling at him and didn't care. He'd lost his mind. He acted as if he was… lying.
"Wait, did someone say something?"
A long silence.
“I’m sorry, Eva. I never meant to hurt you."
"So don't. I believed you. I still believe in us. Don't do this."
“But you were right all along," he said, robotically. Like he'd rehearsed it. "We should just be friends."
"You're lying to yourself... and to me. I'm so disappointed in you."
"I'm sor-"
She hung up on him. She couldn't deal with the stabbing pain that had pierced her, blooming inside her like a disease, taking over her body. She tossed the phone onto the counter, clutched her stomach, and leaned over, trying not to scream.
He'd dumped her. And, sweet Lord Almighty, he'd barely even picked her up.
"Oh, oh, oh," she said, rocking herself, squeezing her eyes closed as tightly as possible. As if she could will it away. As if-
"Eva?" Charlie said behind the closed bathroom door. "Who are you yelling at?"
Damn. "Uh, no one."
"Your voice sounds funny. Like you're choking on water. You're not drownded, are you?"
"No, honey. Go watch your movie. I'll be out in a minute," she said, pressing a trembling hand over her mouth. Her body shook with unshed tears, and tremendous pressure expanded in her head, threatening to explode.
Eva pressed her fingers into dry eyes.Well, there you have it, sister. You did this to yourself.
And she had. She'd known Jake's MO. Being with him and admitting her feelings had been a huge risk. And she'd crapped out, losing the entire bank. Yeah, Jake was a bastard extraordinaire, but she had known this could happen. Still, like every little girl in the world, she had believed a man could love her forever.
She blamed it on Cinderella and that Prince Charming crap spoon-fed to her as a child. Happily ever-after, her ass.
Only one thing to do. Put one foot in front of the other. No time for pints of Ben and Jerry or crying jags or buying new shoes to alleviate the pain of a broken heart. She had Charlie to think of, and that meant pasting on a happy face, ignoring the steaks marinating, and going out for pizza.
She stood up, tossed the towel into the dirty clothes bin, and wiped the smudges from under her eyes. She didn't have the luxury of tears at that moment.
