Tough Love by Marcie Bridges

LATE when the phone rang.
    “Hello?”
    “Hey! Did I wake you up?”
    “Nope, I’m awake.”
    There was a voice from downstairs. “Janessa, who is it?”
    I covered the mouthpiece with my right hand and answered, “It’s okay, Daddy, just Aimee.”
    “Sorry about that. What’s up?”
    “Grandma just called me. She got a call from Terry asking to pass along a message. He told her that Brendan doesn’t want you to call him anymore.”
    “Oh, really?” I said with disgust. “After all these months and all this pain, he’s going to send a message ? I don’t think so! I’m calling there right now. And if he doesn't want to talk to me, fine. I'll ask for Terry.”
    I could tell that Aimee was surprised at my determination by the way she sighed. “Okay, let me know what happens.”
    We hung up, and I dialed the number. Becky answered the phone.
    “It’s me. Is he there?”
    “No, he’s not home.”
    “When he gets there can you ask him to call me, please? I’ll be up.”
    “Do you not understand that Brendan doesn't want to speak to you?”
    “Yeah I get it, but he owes me more than that. So put him on the phone.”
    I heard the distinctive sounds of the phone switching possession.
    “Never call this goddamned house again. I mean it!”
    A man's voice. Not Brendan, though. It was his brother Terry. C lick
    I was frozen. What was happening to my beautiful summer romance?
    I did not have long to think about the answer, because the phone rang right away. It was Brendan.
    “I thought you didn’t want to talk to me,” I mumbled.
    “Becky told me what you said, about me owing you more. I agree, so I decided to call and tell you the truth.”
    I took a moment to compose myself. This was what I’d been waiting for, but now that it was here, was I ready? What if Aimee was right and he was seeing another girl? Then again, was there really a difference between him seeing someone new and what he and I had been doing the past two months?
    “What exactly is that, Brendan?”
    “What everybody’s been saying, about me having a new girlfriend. It’s true.”
    He was very solemn, reminding me of the quiet way people talk when they are at a funeral. I wasn’t sure if he was so quiet because it was midnight or because he was ashamed.
    Tears filled my eyes, and I wiped at them. I was angry, but the pain was even stronger.
    “Is it now?” I barked. “And her name?”
    “Tavora. She’s 19.”
    There was so much more that I wanted to say, but I could not form any words. There was nothing but numbness. Every few seconds, I took a shallow breath while he continued to talk. The numbness reached down to my feet, and I collapsed onto the floor. It grew upward, settling into my stomach, making me sick. I could not feel horrible. It was too soon to feel anything other than nothingness. Right then I was just trying to breathe.
    “I wanted to tell you, baby, but I couldn’t.”
    I heard a noise – snap ! – and came back to reality. As Brendan was relentless in providing information about her, I was jerked to attention.
    Did he just say that he wanted to tell me but couldn’t? Did he honestly just call me baby? Again? Right after telling me that he had another girlfriend? I felt the sassy side of me coming back in full force, and I let her have her say.
    “You wanted to tell me, huh?” I spat. “It’s not like you didn’t have a chance. Hell, you’ve been ignoring me for weeks. You know, if anybody is going to lose sleep over this, it will be you. I can easily go on with my life, but you are going to have to get used to life without me. Besides, she’s just a cop-out to get people off your back. I know your family gives you grief about being with me. Justin and Greg think I’m just a baby. But you’re moving way too fast with this girl, and you know it.”
    “I’d still like to be friends.” His tone was almost begging.
    “Friends? Seriously? If you got stabbed in the back three times by someone, would you