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Jess turns to Liz in disbelief. “She’s not going to take the car, you know.”
“Oh, of course not. I tried to tell Jake that I didn’t think she’d accept it, and he responded by saying that I was to leave it here, no matter what. He made a threat about firing me if I brought it back, but it’s just his way of deflecting his pain. He didn’t mean it.”
“He’s in pain?” Jess asks. “What about his fiancée? Maybe she can console him.”
Tears begin to fall down my cheeks as they continue talking as though I’m not here. I thought I had cried it all out last week, but apparently, hearing his name is brings it all back into focus for me. I wish they’d just stop talking about him.
Liz sighs aloud. “He’s not engaged. Amanda made it all up. I know Jake. He would never have dated Lana if he were engaged.”
Jess huffs noisily as though in disbelief. “Only a psycho would go to those lengths just to piss off an ex-boyfriend. And for what reason?”
“I think she is mad Jake moved on,” Liz explains.
“That’s insane. It doesn’t make sense,” Jess says.
“Agreed. She hired someone to follow us and take photos to get proof of our relationship,” I say through my tears. “No one does that just for fun. A person does that when they want to verify if their fiancée is cheating.”
Liz shakes her head. “No. I’m telling you, I think Amanda has a screw loose or something. She’s gone off the deep end. Jake is not dating that woman and hasn’t dated her for months. He was never engaged. Not to her. Not to anyone.”
“Did he tell you that?” Jess demands.
“Well, not exactly,” Liz hedges. “But I’ve known him for years. He’s a friend and would tell me if he were engaged. The idea that he has a secret fiancée is just ridiculous. Dax agrees. There’s no way he was engaged.”
“It doesn’t matter anyway. He wants nothing to do with me. You can tell Jake that I don’t need his car, money, or anything else from him. If he doesn’t take the car back, it will just sit here or get towed away. I’ll never touch the damn thing.”
“Maybe you should at least go see it before making that decision,” Jess jokes. “It’s a Mercedes. Maybe just take it for a quick ride?”
“I appreciate that you’re trying to make me laugh,” I say. “I wish I could laugh about this. Who the hell sends someone a freaking car? ‘Congratulations, I hate you, so here is your new car.’”
“I wish someone would hate me enough to send me a Mercedes,” Jess says longingly.
“He doesn’t hate her,” Liz says in an exasperated tone.
“Hmph,” I say.
“I’m serious. He is in love with you,” Liz says. “He’s mopey one minute and snarling at us the next minute. If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is. But he isn’t going to come to you. You hurt his pride. Despite his not-so-nice message, he wants you to have the car.”
I can tell by the earnest look on Liz’s face that she believes what she is saying. At this point, there is too much deceit and too many lies between us. He doesn’t trust me, and I’m not sure I trust him either.
“I appreciate your coming here and seeing me, Liz. And I would love it if we could remain friends. But Jake and I are done. I need you to promise me that you won’t bring up his name again. I am not ready to talk about him.”
Liz looks uncertain but eventually agrees.
“I promise I won’t say his name again.”
“Thank you.”
“What do I do about the car?” Liz asks.
I slump back onto the couch. “Just leave it. I’ll figure out something.”
“I say we drive it to his apartment building, set it on fire, then dance naked around it,” Jess suggests.
Liz laughs. “Not with this belly. Besides, I’m too soft to survive in jail.”
Icrack a small smile. “Maybe we should all avoid jail.”
“Okay, girls. I gotta get something for dinner. It feels like I’ve been starving for months,” Liz confides as she rubs her slightly extended belly in a circular motion.
