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Even though Jay’s response came easily, there was a tension between the siblings that Misha didn’t know how to handle. She wanted to confront them about it in hopes of diffusing the situation, but she didn’t know how to do that.
Jay was distracted. Janessa was worried. Even Gareth and Aria seemed concerned.
Misha was too new to the dynamic to know how to deal with it, but since she and Jay were dating, it seemed like she was owed some sort of explanation. She just wasn’t sure from whom.
Something told her that everyone would say everything wasfine, and she’d still be stuck in the dark. Maybe she needed to bide her time and see what happened. Surely the tense situation wouldn’t drag on indefinitely.
After another two weeks had passed without things going back to normal, Misha was starting to think that perhaps theycouldn’t. Jay had been gone from the clinic two more times without any detailed explanation. One day, it had been almost eleven before he’d shown up, and another time, he’d left the office before lunch and hadn’t come back at all that day.
He was still spending time with her, and at times—usually doing their workouts—everything seemed normal. But then there would be moments when he seemed distant, like his thoughts were a million miles away. Even Ciara didn’t elicit the smiles she usually did from Jay.
Misha was ready to tear her hair out, and she didn’t know who to talk to about what was going on. She didn’t want to put Janessa or Gareth in the position of having to talk about their sibling when they might not want to.
But when Jay cancelled their date on short notice that Saturday night, Misha knew she had to make a decision. Either she had the right as his girlfriend to know what was going on, or he didn’t consider their relationship as serious as she did.
She didn’t want to force him to confide in her, but she was getting the feeling that his heart was no longer in them being together. Something had happened to change how he felt about their relationship. She had no clue what it might be, but she knew that for her own sake, she had to step back.
He clearly needed to focus on whatever was bothering him, and maybe without having to deal with their relationship, he’d be able to do that.
Just imagining not being with him like usual hurt Misha deeply. But what also hurt was feeling like he didn’t want to confide in her about the issues that were causing him to withdraw.
She wasn’t proud of the fact that she’d wondered if Casey was back in his life. And the possibility of that, more than anything else, made her realize that she couldn’t live with the uncertainty any longer.
The next evening after Ciara had gone to sleep and her mom was settled in the living room reading, Misha retreated to her own room, phone clutched in her hand.
She prayed she was making the right decision and that God would give her the right words to say. It wasn’t that she wanted to end their relationship permanently. She just wanted to give him space to deal with whatever was going on, and then, hopefully, they could get back together again.
“Misha?” Jay asked when he answered the phone after five rings. “Everything okay?”
“No. I don’t think it is.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Why don’t you tell me?” she said. “I feel like things have changed, and I don’t know why.”
Jay was silent for what felt like an eternity, then he said, “I’m just dealing with some stuff.”
“I’ve gathered that much. But why won’t you talk to me about it? I can see that your siblings are worried, but all you say is that everything is fine, when clearly, it’s not.”
He didn’t say anything in response to that, making Misha feel sick. She wasn’t sure exactly when it had happened, but she’d come to love this man. Unfortunately, it seemed pretty evident that he didn’t feel the same way.
“Jay, I think maybe we should take a break.” As soon as she said the words, she winced, remembering what he’d said abouthis previous relationship. “Not forever. Just until you’ve dealt with whatever’s going on.”
“If that’s what you want.” Jay’s voice was tense and held a coldness she’d never heard from him before.
“It’s not what I want, but I think it’s what you need.”
“I have never needed breaks from the women I’ve loved, but it’s apparent that you’ve all needed breaks from me.”
“Jay…”
The line went dead, and a sob escaped Misha as she pressed a trembling hand to her lips. Helovedher?
Had she made a mistake?
The more the tears fell, the more convinced she was that she had.
“Misha, darling.” Suddenly, her mom’s arms were around her. “What’s happened?”
