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“Zoe, please. It’s important.” I hear the beseeching quality in her voice and pause for a moment.
With a sigh, I decide to let her talk. After all, there's no way she'll leave and not come back if I don't let her speak her mind. “Fine, go ahead.”
I cross my arms, hoping she’ll get this over with quickly. I’m exhausted and ready to get inside, but I sure as heck don’t want to invite her - or her trouble - in.
“It's about Jake,” she says, and I snort.
I roll my eyes. “Of course, it is.”
She doesn’t seem moved by my words and continues talking. “Did you know that he's been arrested?”
I swear to goodness, if she asks me to help bail him out, I'm going to scream. “Of course, I do. He called me from jail days ago, asking me to bail him out.”
She seems stunned by this news and her mouth opens, but no sound comes out. I realize that he must have called me before he called her. “Do you know why he got arrested?”
She shakes her head and recovers quickly. “Something about a busted taillight on his car?”
She says the words like they are question and I know she doesn't believe him. I let out a sour laugh. “Yeah, he's in jail because there was a warrant out for his arrest. Apparently, he beat an ex-girlfriend and then dodged arrest and crossed state lines to avoid the charges. You can look up the charges, or I can send them to you.” I pull out my phone fully ready to send her a message on social media with the information she needs to read the truth instead of the lie he told her.
To my surprise, she nods her head. “I had a feeling he wasn't telling me the truth.”
She still hasn't told me why she's here. “So you came to talk to me because you had a feeling that he was lying to you about why he was arrested?” Her reason for being on my front step doesn't make sense, and I just want to get to the bottom of things so I can send her on her way.
“Do you think he'd cheat on me?” I can tell by the way she's looking at me that that wasn't the question she intended to ask. She looks terrified.
But I'm not about to be a jerk. Honest, yes. Cruel, no. “He cheated on me, and I'm a firm believer of once a cheater, always a cheater, so I'd have to say yes, if I was going to hazard a guess.” But that's not the part that stands out to me. “Honestly, I don't think you should be worried about whether or not he'll cheat. He's in jail for beating an ex-girlfriend. You deserve better, and so do I.”
As I say the words, she squares her shoulders and a smile flirts with the corners of her lips. “You’re right. We both deserve better.” She lowers her voice like we're girlfriends, sharing a secret, which couldn't be further from the truth. “Besides, he's a dirtbag, anyway.”
She’s finally said something I agree with.
And he's the worst kind of dirtbag; he's a liar, a cheat, a jerk, a woman beater.
She sighs and I realize the conversation still isn't over. “The problem is that I love him.”
I snort. “You love him? Really? How can you love somebody who cheated on both of us?”
“He didn't cheat on me.” She sets her jaw with a stubborn expression.
“So you knew that he and I were still together and that he was coming home to me and you were okay with it?” I’m worried that this poor girl is delusional.
She shakes her head. “Well, sure, he came home to you, but there was nothing between you guys. You said you were even sleeping in separate rooms.”
I let out a laugh, but feel bad for it immediately. “Oh, sweetheart, we were not sleeping in separate rooms. He was sleeping with me right up until I found out... a few days before I went on the cruise.”
Her sharp, inhaled breath hisses the same way I do when I stub my toe.
“He lied to you, Cindy. Just like he lied to me. He doesn't love you. He doesn't love anyone but himself.” I can see her reject my honesty with a shake of her head as tears begin to form in her eyes.
“That's not true, he said he loves me.”
This poor, delusional young woman has no idea. “Yep, he told me he loves me too. I bet you he told the woman that he beat up that he loved her. Look where his ‘love’ got everyone. One woman hospitalized, me cheated on, you cheated on... and we’re the lucky ones.”
I'm just thankful that none of this mess is mine anymore.
I'm also grateful to have met someone who actually seems to be worth my time.
Chapter Eight
