by Aimee Brown
“Yes.” Amelia nods her head, glancing back at me. “This would be the same Madison.” She sighs heavily and walks over to speak to Greta, face to face. “I’m going to give you one chance to tell the truth. If you don’t, I will make sure you never fit into my crowd again.”
“You can’t do that,” Greta says, with a haughty look on her face. “I was already in that crowd without you.”
“Go on then, let’s hear the truth – or I’ll tell the story Elsie filled me in on.”
Everyone’s head turns to Greta, but I look at Jack. Both of us know exactly what Greta is about to say and because of that, it’s hard to breathe.
“It’s nothing, really. I just… uh… That first time I met you,” Greta turns to Jack and smiles sweetly. “At the Christmas Party, remember?”
He stares through her with no emotion.
“I… uh… I couldn’t quit thinking about you, and you wouldn’t answer my calls, so I… I heard that you needed an assistant and my fr… a girl I knew from college, was looking for a job. I thought she’d be a great fit so I sent her your way.” She shrugs her shoulders as if that’s the end of the story, but Amelia clears her throat and Greta sighs again. “I asked her to bring me up to you and get your reaction, but it didn’t faze you even a little bit, because of her.” Greta glares at me.
“Yes,” Jack says with a nod, our eyes meeting again momentarily.
“Go on,” Amelia says.
“So, I came up with a plan.” Greta is speaking in almost a whisper at this point.
“What plan?” I finally ask her, deserving the truth.
“A plan to steal Jack from you.”
“My God,” Liam says next to me under his breath. “She is crazy.” He looks at me, his eyebrows narrowed but eyes wide.
“I’m not crazy.” Greta glares at Liam, presumably having overheard his comment. “I was just in love. I asked Madison to make sure that Jack dumped Emi. What happened is not what I expected, or planned, but it worked.” The nonchalant shrug of her shoulders makes me want to run across the room and strangle her.
“You’re telling me that you sent Madison into my office that day?” Jack takes a few steps backward as if just hit by a cannon.
“Not exactly.” Greta follows him down the hall. “She did that on her own; I just told her when to do it. Madison knew Emi was coming to meet you for lunch that day, so she made sure Emi would catch you… uh… you know.”
“No… I don’t know. Catch me what?” Jack suddenly turns towards her, his face flushed and showing a glare I’ve never witnessed from him before.
“You know… you, with her.” Greta’s shoulders shrug again.
I look back at Jack, a tear rolling down my cheek. She did this. She ruined my life. She ruined our lives. She did it on purpose, and she doesn’t even care.
Suddenly I find myself feeling dizzy, my hand over my mouth, unable to say anything. I slide down the wall behind me to the floor, dropping my head onto my knees.
“Emi,” I feel Jack suddenly kneeling in front of me. “I wasn’t with her,” he says. “This is what I’ve wanted to talk to you about. I love you, Ems. I’d never hurt you like this. Never.”
I glance up at Jack, whose face is as pained as my own. “She was all over me but I didn’t want any part of it. I was as caught off guard as you were. I’m so sorry it looked the way it did.” He reaches up, touching my neck and leaning his head against my own. “I’m so sorry, I love you.”
For a moment I breathe him in. I force a breath and quickly wipe away a tear. “It wasn’t just Madison,” I say in a whisper, for some reason not wanting to hurt him any more than he obviously already is.
“What?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know. It’s because of her.” I look over at Greta, who has a proud evil grin on her face. “I went home that day, I saw her, at our door, when I went to talk to you. You let her in. You let Greta into OUR apartment, Jack. She kissed you.”
“You saw that? Why didn’t you tell me?” Jack stands up, a hand in his hair and his jaw hanging open. “She kissed me without an invitation. She showed up, without an invitation. She’d been harassing me for weeks and I’d finally had enough. I only invited her in to threaten a restraining order if it didn’t stop.”
“Come on…” I clamber to my feet. “I walked in on you doing I don’t know what with Madison, and then later the same day I find you getting a little too close to the one girl you knew I hated. Then I get here, a nervous wreck to even see you again and I find out you two are dating. What was I supposed to think?”
Jack is silent as he stares at me from across the hall. “We aren’t dating. Not really. She’s just somehow everywhere I am. She’s the only person I had to talk to about this because I’ve been humiliated for being such an idiot as to let all this happen. She seemed to be the only one who understood. I didn’t know why until now.” He glares over at her. “I have no romantic feelings for Greta.”
He shakes his head, tears glistening in his eyes, before finally giving up and walking away from me. And in an instant, my heart breaks again. But this time it hurts so bad I’m not sure if I’ll ever recover.
“Give the ring back to my mother, Greta.” He says on his way past her.
“WHAT?” she squeals. “You’re going to let her do this to us?”
The moment the words come out of her mouth, the sorrow in his eyes turns to rage and he turns his attention directly to her.
“YOU did this to us,” he growls at her. “And I use the word us loosely. We were nothing. You lied from the very start, you manipulated your way in.” He stops and stares at the floor. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it. I’ve been so hung up on—” he looks back towards me before turning back to Greta. “I don’t ever want to see you again.” He looks to his mother as if they are having a silent conversation. “You need to leave, Greta.” Jack backs away before turning away from her altogether, not even waiting for her reaction.
I look at Greta, whose face is now a mix of horror, disbelief, and heartbreak. I’ve never seen anything more fitting for a girl who is pure evil. A piece of my heart starts to heal instantly, and I don’t feel even a little bit bad about it.
I thought I wanted to see Jack miserable, and now that I have, I know it’s the worst feeling I’ve ever had. That was before I knew what I know now. Seeing Greta finally get what she deserves is far better.
“Before you leave,” Amelia says, “you may hand over my mother’s ring that you’ve stolen.” She holds her hand out to Greta who pulls her hand to her heart quickly.
“Wait, Jack…” She calls to him as he disappears through the doors into the reception. Only looking back at me.
“I’ve notified security, and if you don’t go in the next five minutes, you will be escorted out of the building by them. It’s your choice.” Amelia once again holds her hand out for the ring. Greta jerks it violently off her finger, hurling it to the floor. The stomping sound of her exiting before security arrives echoes in my head in sync with my heartbeat pounding in my ears. I watch the elevator doors close behind her, almost as if it were a final dramatic exit of the woman who did everything possible to ruin my life for no reason at all.
“Let’s all get back to the reception so we don’t ruin Hannah’s day.” Amelia nods a small smile my direction before walking towards the doors into the reception room.
“We’ll just leave you two alone.” Lily and Josh sneak away, leaving Liam and me standing in the foyer.
“I… uh…” Liam runs a hand through his hair nervously. “I’m so sorry. I know I’ve only known you a few days, but that made even me sick. Is there anything I can do?”
I shake my head, fighting back the tears, again. I feel like walking in on Jack and Madison has only just happened, and I’m losing everything for the second time.
“Do you need to go and talk to him?”
“No,” I answer quickly, turning to Liam, and forcing a smile. “Not yet. Let’s get back.”
>
“Emi…” Liam takes my hand, stopping in front of me. “You have every right to be upset. Mad even. I know this is a lot to deal with and I also know I’m very much an outsider but, I really think you and Jack need to talk.” He sighs the sort of sigh you make when you give people bad news. “Can I give you some advice?”
He continues without waiting for my answer. “You are an amazing woman. For months, my heart and my head have been a mess because of my own break up, and then you wander into my bar and make me see things in a way I haven’t in a while. But you have a lot going on here that needs to be sorted, and I think after all this,” he motions to the now empty foyer, “you owe it to yourself to see what you still feel for Jack.”
“You think I should get back with him?”
“I think only you know the answer to that. But I do think you should work out what all the information revealed tonight means to you.”
I nod.
“I think it’s best if I go. You know where to find me.” He forces a sad smile as I watch him make his way to the elevator. He nods his head in my direction as the doors close behind him, leaving me alone with only my confusion to keep me company.
Another tear falls down my cheek before I can wipe it away. I can’t just fall apart, this is my brother’s wedding. I walk to the doorway, the doors now open and watch the excitement in the room. Our families are happy, chatting, and celebrating Evan and Hannah. People are dancing, eating, laughing, and here I stand with only half a heart left.
Lily waves over at me from the table she’s been assigned to. The last thing I want is to ruin my brother’s wedding day. Whether I want to or not, I have to pull myself together.
“Where’s Liam?” she asks.
“He left.”
“Oh. Ems…” She smiles a pitiful smile and pats the chair next to her. “I’m so sorry, but I think he did the right thing. You need to deal with this right now.”
“I know.” I sigh and look across the room at Jack. He’s sitting at a table alone, staring at a beer bottle in front of him, looking as miserable as I’ve ever seen him. Even though I’ve no idea what should be said, I promised him we would talk today. That’s not a promise I can break right now.
I slowly make my way across the room to his table, sitting in the chair next to him. He glances over and forces a hesitant smile.
“Are you OK?” I ask.
“THE BRIDE AND GROOM HAVE REQUESTED THAT THE MAID OF HONOR AND BEST MAN JOIN THEM ON THE DANCE FLOOR!”
Jack laughs to himself, then looks to me. “Did you know they were gonna do this?”
“No.” I shake my head.
“There’s no way out of it now.” Jack stands, holding his hand out for mine. I follow him to the dance floor, Evan and Hannah are nowhere to be seen.
As he pulls me against him the song starts. Safe Inside, by James Arthur. I’ve heard it before because I fell in love with it a while back, as heart wrenching as it is, it’s absolutely perfect for this exact moment.
It’s awkward at first when I take his free hand, he pulls it against his chest with a sigh.
“I’m so sorry, Em.”
I stop and look up at him, shaking my head. “I don’t want to talk, not right now.” I know I promised him I would, but I can’t talk right now, my emotions would only get the best of me.
He nods, a hesitant and sad smile on his face as I lean my head into his chest, breathing him in. We didn’t do this. We didn’t cause this mess. For once we are a casualty of someone else’s crazy.
A lot has happened in the last thirty minutes, really in the last year, and all I want to do right now is feel him hold me again like he used to. I just want to be still and know that I didn’t do anything wrong to lose him. I know there is still a lot to talk through but this feels like a start. The silence of us, just existing in the same room.
Fourteen
The Fight
Three years, eight months ago.
Downtown Portland, Oregon
There are times I wonder why anyone would ever want to be a lawyer? It seems like all Jack ever does is work. If he’s not working on an active case he’s working his ass off because he’s trying to become a partner at the firm. He’s good at his job, he really is, but is it worth risking your personal life for?
“When is the last time you guys even had dinner together?” Lily asks.
I’m sitting at a table in the middle of a bustling restaurant with Lily and Josh. Without my boyfriend, I feel like I’m the third wheel. Again.
“Over a month ago,” I sigh, pushing the food around my plate. “I try, really I do. I’ve even scheduled dinner dates, and he’ll call at the last second and have to cancel. I just don’t get it. Should I be worried?”
Lily’s frown says it all. “I don’t know? Maybe?”
“No.” Josh rolls his eyes. “You girls think too much. Maybe he’s just busy with work. It’s not like he has any kind of malicious bone in his body. Jack’s the best guy we all know.”
I feel myself nodding but also wondering if it’s actually true. “Maybe we missed some kind of signal?”
“Signal?” He grabs his beer and leans back in his chair, both Lily and I waiting for his response. “Maybe it’s a signal that he worked his ass off in college and he’s almost accomplished one of his goals. Do you guys have these conversations about me?”
“No,” says Lily, wildly trying to silently signal me to agree with her.
“Yes,” I say at the same moment, not quite picking up her signal quick enough and earning a confused look from Josh.
“Great.”
“You haven’t done anything completely stupid like this yet, so we haven’t really had to.” Lily plants a reassuring kiss upon his cheek.
“Jack’s not doing anything stupid,” Josh repeats to me.
“Maybe he isn’t, but you don’t think him pushing her aside for weeks at a time is a little risky?” Lily asks him. It seems I’m now just a bystander in their argument over my love life.
“How’s that?” he asks.
“What if he’s pushing her into the arms of some other attention giving man?” Lily replies, clearly disgusted by Josh’s nonchalant attitude over this entire conversation.
“Is he?” He looks directly at me.
“Well… no,” I sigh. “But he could be.”
“But he’s not, and it’s not like you’re going to get tired of him and dump him, so I say, learn to live with it. He’s a hard working guy and he wants to make the most of a career he loves. Either accept it or move on.”
“Have I ever told you I don’t love your latest choice in men?” I say to Lily, who nods in agreement before giggling.
“He’ll learn the ways of us soon enough.”
A roll of Josh’s eyes says maybe he won’t.
He could have a point though. Up until now Jack and I have never had an issue, in fact, we’ve never really even had a serious fight. Maybe he really is just completely innocent and this entire problem is quite possibly just in my head.
But then again… maybe he’s not. Men do these things; they get wrapped up in their work and decide they don’t have time for a relationship and instead of telling us they get busy and disappear. What if that’s what this is?
“I’m just going to have to talk to him about it.”
“You should. Do it tonight… Surprise him at his office.”
“Yeah, great idea. Men love that… when women surprise us anywhere. Don’t do that if your relationship means anything to you. It seems desperate.” Josh glances at Lily.
“I’ll do it.” I look over at Josh who’s giving me the ‘I warned you’ pinched lips look. He doesn’t know everything; He just knows one man’s perspective. I respect that, but I know Jack. And something is wrong.
*
I order our favorite meals from Pastini: tortellini gorgonzola for me and fettuccini alfredo with chicken for Jack. Pastini is the restaurant I choose to eat at whenever it’s my turn to decide. I stop by the
Piece of Cake Bakery and grab an entire Fantasy Cake. Which is the best cake in the entire world… cheesecake on top of chocolate cake with cream cheese icing. It’s like a chocolate cheesecake heaven. I even get a bottle of wine that cost more than fifteen dollars. Jack should be more than impressed.
I probably should have considered how I’d get this all into the building before ordering every food item I adore, but sometimes the stomach speaks louder than the brain.
“Do you need help?” a voice behind me asks. When I glance back I see Rachel, Jack’s assistant, coming out of the stairwell. “Oh! Emi, it’s so good to see you.”
“Hey, Rachel. I’d love some help. I’m just bringing up dinner to Jack, I feel like I never see him anymore.”
“Oh… Jack actually isn’t in the office; didn’t he tell you?”
“Tell me?” I ask out loud wondering how the look on my face doesn’t say everything she needs to know?
“He and Andy were meeting with a client in Seattle. They left first thing this morning.”
I drop the Pastini bag on the ground. “In Seattle?”
“I’m sorry,” she nods. “Can I help you at least get everything back out to your car?”
For a moment, I stare at Rachel, confused. Why wouldn’t he tell me he was leaving the state?
“Yes, yes… That would be great,” I say to Rachel, hoping she doesn’t notice the panicked look on my face.
She and I load the stuff into my car, and Rachel, the sweet girl she is, waves as she walks towards her car in the garage nearby. Now, as if never calling or showing up for our dates isn’t enough, he’s running off out of state, without even telling me.
I violently jab his number into my phone only for it to go straight to voicemail. Either his phone isn’t on, or he’s intentionally ignoring me. The asshole. I dial Lily and thankfully she picks up on the first ring.
“He left town, without even telling me.”
“What?” she asks, obviously confused by me starting my conversation yet again in the middle of a sentence. You’d think she'd be used to me by now, but I’m still able to surprise her with my over thinking.
