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She squeezes my hands, feeding my hope for a moment, but my hope disappears when she moves away from me.
“Logan, I need to graduate for the sake of my family, so I won’t be stupid and walk away from this scholarship now, even knowing the truth about it. But if this is the level of trust I can expect from you, we can’t see each other anymore.”
Joyce bids Anna goodbye, gives me nothing but the cold shoulder, and walks away.
Chapter Thirty-One
JOYCE
Itookthebushome.
Thankfully, it was Logan who came to pick me up earlier, so my car is at home, and not at his place.
It’s almost past sunset, and a cold wind makes me shiver. I just get out of the bus and start walking to my house with my arms crossed and my mind a million miles away.
Logan not only breached my trust, but he also completely ignored what I said about me paying for my own college. I’m upset beyond belief. I’m not used to being so angry, so I just cry like a lost child, unsure of what route to take for my life right now.
When I arrive home, I’m still sniffling and rubbing my nose, so I stop by the shiny surface of the mailboxes to check on the status of my makeup and make sure my eyes aren’t too red.
Too bad the mailboxes are a terrible mirror.
I climb the stairs and start to hear the voices of the neighbors through the hallways, teaming with life. Before opening our door, I also hear voices coming from inside our apartment — all three of my relatives, plus another woman.
“Jane?” I ask in disbelief when I open the door. I see Jane sitting between Gabby and Sophia while mom talks about how happy she is to be back home.
Jane looks over at me with a surprised smile, as if not expecting me to show up at my own house. She stands to come and greet me immediately after my entrance.
“How are you doing, Joyce?” she asks into my ear, so calm I want to slap her.
“What areyoudoing here?” I pull away and look at her, weirded out by her sudden kindness. “You just ruined things between me and Logan and now you’rehere?”
Jane places a hand over her mouth and acts shocked. She probably already knew it was over between us, but she’s acting like she had no idea.
She comes over to hug me, and I don’t have the strength to fight back. Tears overtake me again, and I don’t know whose side I am on anymore, if there’s even a side in this stupid battle.
I’m still confused why she’s here after doing what she’s done.
“Joyce, what happened?” mom asks, worried.
“Logan broke up with her,” Jane says.
“No!” I pull away from her once again. This time I’m determined not to let Jane twist the truth. “I broke up with him! I told him to not get involved with paying for my studies, and he did behind my back!”
I rush to my room and would have slammed the door if it weren’t for Jane’s hand blocking the way.
She comes in and closes the door behind her. She sits on my bed, where I lie on my stomach, bawling my eyes out.
“Joyce,” she says, tentatively. “I did what I did because Logan wasn’t being honest with you.”
I turn around to lie on my back, and look at her, doubting her intentions.
“I’m so disappointed,” I say, wiping tears from my eyes. “He always seemed so genuine. He said he loved me. And I said it back.”
Jane nods, her mouth drawn in a thin line. “Do you really love him, Joyce?” she asks, solemn.
One more time, I sigh a painful sigh, and turn my gaze away from Jane. I say, “I’ve never felt that way before, Jane. It can only be love. And it wasn’t just a fling in the moment. He proposed. I said yes. I saw a future for us. Me, him, and the baby.”
“Baby?” Now Jane sounds truly shocked, and I look her in the eyes. Her eyes are wide. “You’repregnant?”
