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“Wait, so she’s been cheating on him? With you?”
“They had an open relationship, but that only applied to Troy. He didn’t want her dating anyone else so she didn’t tell him about me.”
“So this whole time, she’s been dating two guys?”
“Technically, but not really. Troy hasn’t been around. He just got back into town a few days ago.”
“This isn’t the same Troy you talked about before, is it?”
“Yeah, that’s him. We grew up together. I’ve never liked him, but he’s part of my group of friends so I’ve learned to put up with him.” I get up and grab my keys. “I can’t sit here. I need to go walk around.”
“You want me to go with?”
“No, I need to be alone.” I leave our room and go down the hall to the outside. I try to take a deep breath, but my chest is so tight it’s hard to get much air in. It’s cold out and I didn’t bring a jacket, but my anger’s making me feel like I’m burning up inside.
Getting out my phone, I call Sean.
“Hey, Jake,” he answers, almost like he was expecting me to call. “How’s it going?”
“From the way you sound, I’m guessing you already know.”
“Did you talk to Tara?”
“No, she wouldn’t answer her phone. So I went over there. And saw her with Troy.”
“Shit,” he mutters. “I was hoping she’d talk to you before you found out.”
“I don’t know what the hell’s going on. Why is she still with Troy? She promised me she’d break up with him last night and then I find out they’re still together. I don’t get it. Has she just been lying to me this whole time?”
“I don’t think so. She just has a long history with Troy. Maybe she wasn’t ready to end it.”
“I’d hardly call a few months a long history,” I scoff.
“Yeah, well, you know how it is with Troy. He has a way of getting what he wants.”
“Meaning what? That he brainwashed Tara into staying with him? Because that’s the only explanation I can come up with for why she’d keep dating him. The guy’s an asshole. He treats Tara like shit. He never wants to see her. He sleeps with other girls.”
“Sorry, Jake. I know how much you liked her, but I had a feeling it wouldn’t work out.”
“Why? Tara and I got along great. When she’s with Troy, all they do is fight.”
“I know, but they’re used to it. It’s kind of their thing. I don’t get it, but Tara must be okay with it or she wouldn’t still be with him.”
“Do you know if she went over there last night?” I ask, wondering if she lied about that too.
“Yeah, she was there. I think she spent the night.”
“She spent the night with Troy? Are you sure?”
“She was there when I went over to his house this morning.”
“Did you talk to her?”
“No, I just saw her going from his room to the bathroom.”
“I can’t believe she spent the night with him,” I say, more to myself than to Sean.
“You want to come over? We could do some shots. It might help you forget about her, at least for a few hours.”
