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“So you’re taking the bus there?”
“If I hear from him, then yeah.”
“It could be late by the time you leave. You want me to pick you up?”
“No, I don’t want Troy seeing us together.”
“You could walk to the bus stop. I’ll pick you up there.”
“Jake, no. Just let me handle this on my own.” She sounds annoyed with me, but she’s probably just nervous about talking to Troy. He’s not going to be happy about this. Even though heacts like she means nothing to him, he likes having Tara around for when he’s bored or too lazy to find another girl.
“Let me know when you’re home. I’ll come over.”
“I kind of want to be alone tonight. I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know how it went.”
“Why do you want to be alone?” I ask, worried she’s more upset about this breakup than she’s letting on. If so, it means she actually had feelings for Troy when she’s been telling me this whole time that she didn’t.
“I’m tired from work. I just want to go home and go to sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow, okay? I have to go.” She ends the call.
My phone rings and I see Dean’s name on the screen. I send the call to voicemail. I’ve been avoiding him all week, knowing he’s calling to tell me to stay away from Tara. I haven’t done it. I’ve been going over there every day before she goes to work. She’s been working nights all week, which is why she hasn’t gone to see Troy. Today she worked the morning shift so I was planning to see her tonight, but I’d rather have her go see Troy and finally break up with him.
“Your phone’s ringing,” Rob says, coming into the room as Dean calls me again.
“It’s my brother.” I send the call to voicemail, then send Dean a message that I’m meeting with my study group. I don’t have a study group, but Dean doesn’t know that.
“You don’t want to talk to him?” Rob says, setting his backpack on his desk.
“Not right now.”
“You heading to Tara’s place?”
“No, she had something come up. I’ll see her tomorrow.”
“I’m gonna go eat dinner. You want to come with?”
“Yeah, okay.” I grab my dining card and go with Rob to the dining hall. I’m not hungry, but I eat what I can, then go back tomy room and try to study. I was hoping Tara would text me when she leaves to see Troy, but I don’t have any messages from her.
At ten, I still haven’t heard from her. I send her a text asking if she’s home but don’t get anything back. What if something happened to her? What if someone attacked her when she was walking to the bus or to her apartment?
I call her, but she doesn’t pick up. Finally, at midnight, I get a text saying she’s home and going to bed. I text back, asking how it went with Troy, but don’t get an answer. She must’ve fallen asleep.
The next morning,I text Tara and ask if I can come over. She texts back that she’s getting ready for work and has to leave soon. She never responded to my text from last night, asking how it went with Troy. Maybe she wants to wait and tell me in person, but I’d like to at least know that she followed through and ended it with him.
As the day goes by, I keep checking my phone for any messages from Tara. I thought she’d want to make plans for tonight, but I don’t get a single text from her all day. My classes end at five and I call Tara as I’m walking back to my room. She doesn’t pick up, so I text her and ask if I can come over. Again, I get nothing back. Maybe she’s not getting my texts. Maybe there’s something wrong with her phone, or with mine. I decide to just go over there.
When I’m at her apartment building, I walk up to the door and Tara comes out.
“Jake!” She sounds alarmed, almost panicked. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you.” I give her a kiss.
“Don’t!” She pushes me away, then looks behind her.
“What’s wrong? Why can’t I kiss you?”
The door behind her swings open and Troy comes out. What is Troy doing here? Did he have stuff at Tara’s apartment and he’s here to pick it up? But she said Troy’s never stayed here, and I don’t remember Tara saying she had any of his stuff.
“Sanders,” Troy says. “What are you doing here?”
