reasons, and having one of those big reasons still dogging her steps didn’t help her mood at all.
The three dots appeared, and then: I don’t get why you won’t talk to me at all. I’m trying here, Jo-Jo.
She snorted. Trying so hard that he cheated on her with her best friend Regina? Yeah, that sure was trying very, very hard. But Jeremy hated when people ignored him, and he still thought he had a right to be in Joy’s life despite everything. Thus, the incessant texting.
Jeremy had been fun and kind and hilarious in the beginning. But after a year or two, he became increasingly paranoid about her cheating on him, which ironically turned out to be the reverse situation. What had been a charming devil-may-care attitude had evolved into a cloying immaturity as Jeremy got older. Then, as accusation after accusation of Joy cheating piled up, their relationship suffered, and they were on the verge of breaking up when the bombshell came: Jeremy had slept with Regina and he was leaving Joy for her.
To say that Joy hadn’t reacted well would be an understatement.
Leave me alone. I don’t want to talk, okay? Can you respect that for once? she texted.
Nothing. And then: I know you think it was all my fault, but you need to take responsibility, too. We both fucked up.
Anger surged. He was really blaming her for him cheating? She’d laugh at his unmitigated gall if she weren’t so pissed. She may not have been always the happy, supportive girlfriend, but she’d never betrayed Jeremy, either.
Her fingers furiously typing, she sent him a terse, Leave me alone or I’m blocking your number before she turned her phone off. She didn’t care if someone needed to get a hold of her. They’d live.
Staring at the walls of her apartment, she suddenly couldn’t stay inside for one more second. Tossing her phone onto the couch, she grabbed her keys and walked outside. The sun had already set, twilight seeping through the dark green trees. Fireflies danced around her, and she’d admire how idyllic the town seemed at this hour if she weren’t so angry.
She stomped down a path toward a creek she’d found a few days before, her fists clenched and a scream choking her. She wished she could just stand in the middle of the forest and scream her throat raw, kicking her feet like she would when she was a little kid throwing a temper tantrum. The anger was so raw, so overwhelming, she didn’t even see where she was going. It only increased with every step, a variety of voices pushing each other inside of her mind.
Fuck Jeremy! I hope he dies in a fire!
He’s such a fucking narcissist he’d blame his own mother for committing a murder.
God, I can’t believe I dated him and was going to marry him.
And the worst of all: what if she could’ve prevented him from cheating in the first place?
Standing at the creek, she stared into the trees and watched the fireflies and breathed and breathed until a sob ricocheted from her throat. Tears flooded her eyes, and she swiped at her face. She’d always been an angry crier, and she was so angry she didn’t know if she could cry enough tears to purge the rage inside of her.
I hate him I hate him I hate him. She hated him and she hated herself. She cried for what they’d had and maybe for the fact that they’d never had anything to begin with. Sitting down on the bank with her arms around her knees, she cried her heart out until she was snotty and her face was soaked and so were her knees. She was glad it was so dark, although she wondered how she’d get back home without breaking her neck on some tree root.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Light from a phone flashed on her feet, and Joy jumped. She scrambled up, but not before scraping her hands on some rocks. She cursed.
“Miss McGuire? What are you doing out here?” The dark figure came closer, and she realized, not with surprise but resignation, that it was Adam Danvers. Of course it was. “Are you okay?” he asked again.
“I’m
The three dots appeared, and then: I don’t get why you won’t talk to me at all. I’m trying here, Jo-Jo.
She snorted. Trying so hard that he cheated on her with her best friend Regina? Yeah, that sure was trying very, very hard. But Jeremy hated when people ignored him, and he still thought he had a right to be in Joy’s life despite everything. Thus, the incessant texting.
Jeremy had been fun and kind and hilarious in the beginning. But after a year or two, he became increasingly paranoid about her cheating on him, which ironically turned out to be the reverse situation. What had been a charming devil-may-care attitude had evolved into a cloying immaturity as Jeremy got older. Then, as accusation after accusation of Joy cheating piled up, their relationship suffered, and they were on the verge of breaking up when the bombshell came: Jeremy had slept with Regina and he was leaving Joy for her.
To say that Joy hadn’t reacted well would be an understatement.
Leave me alone. I don’t want to talk, okay? Can you respect that for once? she texted.
Nothing. And then: I know you think it was all my fault, but you need to take responsibility, too. We both fucked up.
Anger surged. He was really blaming her for him cheating? She’d laugh at his unmitigated gall if she weren’t so pissed. She may not have been always the happy, supportive girlfriend, but she’d never betrayed Jeremy, either.
Her fingers furiously typing, she sent him a terse, Leave me alone or I’m blocking your number before she turned her phone off. She didn’t care if someone needed to get a hold of her. They’d live.
Staring at the walls of her apartment, she suddenly couldn’t stay inside for one more second. Tossing her phone onto the couch, she grabbed her keys and walked outside. The sun had already set, twilight seeping through the dark green trees. Fireflies danced around her, and she’d admire how idyllic the town seemed at this hour if she weren’t so angry.
She stomped down a path toward a creek she’d found a few days before, her fists clenched and a scream choking her. She wished she could just stand in the middle of the forest and scream her throat raw, kicking her feet like she would when she was a little kid throwing a temper tantrum. The anger was so raw, so overwhelming, she didn’t even see where she was going. It only increased with every step, a variety of voices pushing each other inside of her mind.
Fuck Jeremy! I hope he dies in a fire!
He’s such a fucking narcissist he’d blame his own mother for committing a murder.
God, I can’t believe I dated him and was going to marry him.
And the worst of all: what if she could’ve prevented him from cheating in the first place?
Standing at the creek, she stared into the trees and watched the fireflies and breathed and breathed until a sob ricocheted from her throat. Tears flooded her eyes, and she swiped at her face. She’d always been an angry crier, and she was so angry she didn’t know if she could cry enough tears to purge the rage inside of her.
I hate him I hate him I hate him. She hated him and she hated herself. She cried for what they’d had and maybe for the fact that they’d never had anything to begin with. Sitting down on the bank with her arms around her knees, she cried her heart out until she was snotty and her face was soaked and so were her knees. She was glad it was so dark, although she wondered how she’d get back home without breaking her neck on some tree root.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Light from a phone flashed on her feet, and Joy jumped. She scrambled up, but not before scraping her hands on some rocks. She cursed.
“Miss McGuire? What are you doing out here?” The dark figure came closer, and she realized, not with surprise but resignation, that it was Adam Danvers. Of course it was. “Are you okay?” he asked again.
“I’m
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