Page 13

VIOLET

Jeremy gave me a ride to school on Monday morning, and I sat in nervous silence the whole way.

He still had no idea I’d seen him with Heather on Saturday night, and I was seriously regretting not dumping him via text.

I’d decided to do it in person, but since I’d worked at the coffee shop all day Sunday, this was the first chance I’d had to speak with him.

I knew it was naive, but a small part of me still hoped he might be honest and come clean about what he’d done.

That maybe he’d profusely apologize, insist this had all been some terrible mistake, and tell me he still wanted to be together.

But no, instead, he was happily chatting about the goal he’d scored on Saturday and acting as though everything was normal.

He didn’t even seem to notice I hadn’t been at the game.

He also didn’t notice my odd silence, and not once did he ask why I hadn’t called or texted him since Saturday night. Did he seriously not care?

I glanced down at my phone, which was constantly vibrating with messages from Mia and Nicole.

Mia: Have you done it yet?

Nicole: Please tell me you have.

Nicole: I hope he cried…

Both girls knew exactly what had happened between Jeremy and me.

Mia had barged into my room the moment she got home on Saturday night and spent most of the night either freaking out about the fact I’d caught a ride home with the Darling Devils or planning an epic takedown of my soon-to-be ex-boyfriend.

I’d told Nicole the whole story during our shift at the coffee shop yesterday.

They were both pissed at Jeremy, but neither of them seemed particularly surprised.

I imagined it was killing Mia not to drop an “I told you so” on me.

Thankfully, she managed to hold it in. I was already well aware what an idiot I had been.

Mia: I hope he didn’t cry. Like that jerk needs an ounce of sympathy!!!

I buried my phone deep in my backpack so it couldn’t distract me anymore.

Seeing the texts from the girls wasn’t making this any easier, and I was running out of time.

It needed to happen before we reached school because there was no way I was having this conversation with Jeremy once we left the car and there was potential for an audience.

As I looked up from my bag, the large open gates to Sunshine Prep appeared ahead. We were already at school. I had less time than I thought.

“Jeremy?” I said, interrupting him mid-sentence.

I was a little surprised by how annoyed he looked, but then I remembered I’d just disturbed him while he was talking about hockey.

Over the summer, it felt like we talked about everything but my least favorite sport, but once school started, it didn’t take me long to realize you couldn’t stop Jeremy once he was telling a story about one of his games.

Right now, I didn’t care, and I forged on.

“We need to talk.”

He laughed and released a loud breath. “We are talking.” We were in the parking lot now, and he’d just pulled into a free space. “You know you should never tell a guy you want to talk. It makes them think you’re about to break up with them.”

“I am breaking up with you.”

It was lucky he’d stopped the car because his head whipped toward me so fast we probably would have crashed if he’d still been driving.

“You what?”

“I don’t think we should be in a relationship anymore.”

He grunted and let out an irritated sigh. “Is this because I didn’t answer your calls on Saturday after the game? I already told you I left my phone at home.”

“It’s not about the phone.”

“You sure?”

“You think I’d break up with you because you didn’t answer your phone a few times?”

“I don’t know. You girls can get a bit irrational sometimes. Is it that time of the month?”

“Oh my god.” I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. We were breaking up because of him cheating. Not because of a few missed phone calls and certainly not because of my period.

He let out a sigh. “I know what this is about.”

“You do?” I opened my eyes to look at him once more.

“It’s about what happened at my game.” He nodded solemnly. “I’d never taken you for the jealous type, Vivi.”

“Jealous type? What are you talking about?”

“She just came up to hug me after the game,” he continued. “Nothing else happened. You know how excited some of the girls get when we win.”

I didn’t know who had hugged him, and I didn’t care.

I’d gotten used to seeing girls throw themselves at Jeremy, especially once hockey season started.

I’d always shrugged it off as no big deal, but after seeing him with Heather on Saturday night, I didn’t want to imagine how many fangirls Jeremy had “hugged” over the last few months.

“I wasn’t even at your game!” I shouted. My outburst shocked him and surprised even me. But I was on a roll now. “This isn’t about a few missed calls or some puck bunny at one of your games. This is about the fact you had your tongue down another girl’s throat at Summer’s party Saturday night!”

He reared back, his eyes widening even farther. “That’s a lie. Did your cousin tell you that? Because you know she only wants to break us up.”

“No one told me. I saw it myself.”

“You weren’t at the party?—”

“Yeah, I was. And I left when I saw you and Heather at the top of the stairs making out.”

He swallowed, and his eyes grew panicked as he realized there was no way he could talk his way out of this.

“You obviously don’t want a girlfriend,” I continued. “So, you don’t need to worry anymore. You’re free.”

“I don’t want that.” He reached out to me, but I shied away. “Look, Saturday night was a mistake. I’d had too many drinks. Heather caught me off guard. You clearly saw us at the wrong moment because I pushed her away as soon as she tried to kiss me. Vi, you’re the only girl I want.”

My mouth dropped open as I tried to comprehend the nerve of this guy.

How could he twist the story so shamelessly?

How could he lie to me so easily? I saw them kissing.

I saw the way he pressed her against the wall.

I’d stared in horror for long enough to know there had been absolutely no objection on Jeremy’s behalf.

I honestly couldn’t understand how I had fallen for this guy.

What had I seen in him over the summer? How had I ignored all the glaring red flags he’d been waving in my face since school started this year?

I’d been defending him and justifying his actions for far too long, and that needed to stop now.

“Well, this girl only wants to be with someone who is honest. Perhaps if your story about Saturday night were true. Perhaps if you’d been up front about it rather than lie about it. Maybe then, I could have found some way to forgive you. But it’s too late.”

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to lose you, Vivi.”

God, I hated that nickname. And hearing Jeremy say it now gave me the ick so bad I wanted to peel my skin from my bones. He must have taken my silence for consideration because he reached out toward me again. “Please. Just give me a chance to explain. We can work this out…”

I shrugged off his grasp. “You’ve had your chance to explain, Jeremy. It doesn’t change anything. We’re over.” I didn’t wait for him to respond, and I jumped from his car before he could come up with something else to say.

I started across the parking lot toward school, but then I heard feet pounding on the pavement behind me. Before I could turn around, Jeremy grabbed my arm and spun me to face him.

“You don’t just get to say we’re over,” he growled. His cheeks were flushed with anger, and his eyes were a little wild. I’d heard people at school say Jeremy was an aggressive hockey player, but this was the first time I’d seen that side of him myself.

As I jerked my arm out of his grasp, I used a little too much power and stumbled back, slipping slightly on the icy ground. Luckily, there was a car right behind me that stopped me from falling.

"Vi…” Jeremy reached out for me, but I pressed my back flat against the car to avoid his touch.

“Get away from me.”

“If we could just talk…”

“No, Jeremy. We’re done.”

I turned and continued toward school, but he called after me. “You’re going to regret walking away from me. From us.”

It sounded like both a promise and a threat, and I pushed down a shiver that crept up my spine.

I couldn’t get away from Jeremy fast enough. Other students in the parking lot were staring at us, which didn’t help. So, I picked up my pace and ducked my head as I made my way up to the school’s main entrance. Thankfully, I found the girls waiting for me there.

“Are you okay?” Mia asked as she and Nicole rushed down the front steps to meet me.

“What happened?” Nicole added with a worried glance past me to where Jeremy still stood in the parking lot.

A crowd of people had already gathered around him, and I could see some girls trying to console him by tenderly rubbing his arms. That hadn’t taken long.

His head was hung low, and he looked truly devastated.

Surely, he wasn’t that upset. If I didn’t hate him quite so much, I might have been impressed by what a good actor he was.

Mia’s gentle touch on my arm brought me back to reality, and I turned my eyes to her. “I’ll feel much better once he’s out of my sight,” I said.

“It didn’t go well, did it?” Mia’s voice was low and understanding.

“No.” I let out a heavy sigh. “I confronted him about Saturday night, and he lied and tried to talk his way out of it. If I hadn’t already wanted to break up with him, I think that conversation alone would have put me over the edge.”

“So, it’s over?” Mia confirmed.

“Yeah, it’s over. Although, he wanted to stay together.” I shook my head. “What kind of guy cheats on you and still wants to be your boyfriend? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“The kind of guy that’s used to getting what he wants,” Nicole replied.