Miss Jefferson

Chapter 15

The show went as usual, with me trying to keep my mind on the steps and nothing else.

Eventually, I changed and made ready to leave.

"I'll be there around ten." Anthony said to me as I walked out.

I smiled, nodding. "See you then."

When I got home, I tidied the place up. I knew Ant wouldn't care if it was a mess, but I didn't have anything else to do.

About ten minutes or so to ten p.m., a knock sounded at my door.

I walked over to it, wondering why he would be this early.

But when I opened the door, I did not see the freckled face of Anthony Ramos.

"I need to talk to you." Oak said.

I turned around and walked back in the house. I hadn't felt anything much all day, but the sight of Oak at my door was enough to crack the ice.

I was so many things, but above all, I was angry.

"I have no wish to talk. Please see yourself out."

He walked in after me. "Jada, come on. I owe you an explanation—"

I stopped walking and whipped around to face him. "Yeah, you owe me an explanation! You act completely normal yesterday, and then this morning, out of nowhere, I get your stupid text message. Noticing that something is clearly wrong, I show up to work to find you. Guess who you're there with?"

He squeezed his eyes shut, lowering his head. "Her name's Martha."

"Martha." I repeated, sighing dreamily with sarcasm. "She's beautiful, isn't she? Would you like to tell me how you met?"

"We were a thing a long time ago, and then I saw her again yesterday, and we clicked again,"

"You 'clicked again'?" I asked incredulously, making air quotes with my fingers. "So, what, you just decided to ditch me because you found some previous crush?"

"It wasn't just a crush, we were getting serious."

"I thought we were getting serious!" I threw my hands up in exasperation. "What am I now? Second best?"

"I did like you, I just—"

"You just played me to be a buffer. A rebound from your last breakup. And when I'm not needed anymore, you throw me aside!"

"I didn't throw you aside! You don't understand!" He protested.

My face colored in anger. "What don't I understand? The fact that you can bounce from one woman to another because your feelings change? That you can literally date me one day and then date her the next? Did you really lose interest in me yesterday afternoon and move on that quickly? How shallow are you?"

"I'm not! I just want—"

"You want her over me." I felt my voice breaking, and was unashamed of the tears that threatened to spill over.

"I'm not just some guy who dates you one day and then dumps you the next! Maybe we were getting serious, but I found her again! Maybe she's more than..." he trailed off, discovering the mistake he'd made.

"More than me? More than I could give you? Did I not satisfy you?" I demanded, but my voice was hauntingly quiet.

"That's not what I meant! Yes, I'm with her now! But I didn't just dump you because of—" he continued on, seemingly forever. His chain of excuses grew and grew, and I wished I didn't have to hear it.

Then I remembered.

I remembered what he'd said to me, all those weeks and months ago.

That question he'd asked me.