Marianna’s right, we’re too different. It would never have worked. I knew that. It’s the fact that you didn’t tell me about the Walls. We weren’t together when you decided to knock them down. You didn’t owe me anything except the truth. A simple explanation. You didn’t have to change your plans, but you did have to tell me about them. You lied to me. You spewed all this BS about honesty, and you weren’t honest with me. Not at all. And that’s what pisses me off. I would’ve understood about the Walls. I wouldn’t have been happy and I would’ve tried to convince you to change your plans, but now it’s a double whammy. It’s the actual act plus the lie, and truthfully, I don’t know which is worse. I mean, Jesus Christ, I got arrested. Do you have any idea how that made me feel? Arrested?” A tear streamed down her face even though she was trying her hardest to keep them inside. “My mother was in jail a dozen times. I was bullied and teased about that my whole life, and I swore to myself that I’d never be…whatever.” She swiped away the tear. “Shit!” she said, having just realized the truth. “That’s why you had all that clout with the cop. I’m so damn stupid.” She scrubbed more tears away and then stood up straighter, resigned. “The point is that you lied. I feel humiliated, betrayed, and pissed as hell. I don’t want to see you again.” She turned around and busied herself with the birdcage.
She felt him behind her. “You’re wrong about one very important thing,” he said. “You fit in. Fuck my family. Fuck what anyone else may think. I don’t care because in my heart, you fit. The only one with the hang-up about money and status is you.” He moved closer but didn’t say anything more, and she felt his warmth as tears streamed down her cheeks. She heard him inhale. “From day one, even before we went on our first date, you have been the one stuck on the money thing. I’ve never made you feel any less. I’ve never said anything negative about your tattoos. I like them on you—they make you who you are, and I love who you are.” Her eyes widened, but he continued. “You’re the one with the hang-ups, not me.” He brushed his thumb along the back of her neck by her hairline. “I cannot tell you enough how sorry I am about everything. I’m going to leave and fix things. But this isn’t over, and not just because you may be carrying my baby. I’m not letting you go, Jamie Lynn. Not now. Not ever. I’ve been in a relationship before and I know when it’s wrong, and this, what we have, is right. I have absolutely no doubt. So be mad. Be pissed off. But you’re going to have to get over it at some point, because for an entire year I wanted you. Every single snarky, quirky, sexy part of you. Every. Single. Day. For one year I thought about you. And now that I’ve had you, you’re out of your mind if you think I’m letting you go. Not after I’ve gotten to taste every single inch of that snarky, quirky, sexy body of yours. You have to know you deserve to let someone love you, Jamie Lynn, and that someone’s going to be me. Because you are worth it. You are worth everything to me. So you want truth? That’s me laying it all out for you. I’m coming back for all of you. Every inch.” She felt the tiny hairs behind her neck, where he’d just touched her, prickle, and then a sense of loss when he walked out of her apartment and possibly out of her life.
—
JL had been through worse. Much worse. She would survive, as she always did. But that didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt. He’d laid it all out, and then he’d left. Afterward she broke down, sobbing on her couch until she had to go to work. Because even though it felt like her life was falling apart around her, she still had to go through the motions. Ignoring the pain she felt in her chest, she went to work as planned. The only consolation was that he’d promised to fix things, and that before he left he’d made sure she knew she was loved by him. Something she’d never had before.
“You okay?”