Jessica's Fate

Chapter 89

My eyes opened wider. “you’re serious?” I stared at Pete.

“Yes. I don’t think you’re right and you could have cost me my job.” He said, flatly. “You were bordering on unprofessional and that reflects on me.”

I glared at him, clutching my purse in one hand and holding my wrap closed with the other. It had gotten decidedly chilly for February once we’d gotten in his car. “I know what I heard in the ladies room. Oh, I’m sorry, you weren’t in there.” I said, ice and venom laced my words. “I recognized them after realizing I used to be friends with their sister. Raquel was the epitome of mean girl royalty at my school. Mark my words, Pete, you’ll regret getting mixed up with them.”

He shook his head. “I’ll deal with the fall out, probably next week. But I’m probably never going to be able to take you with me to chaperone another dance.”

“That’s all you care about?”

He shrugged. “There’s no proof for what you’re saying.”

If I was standing, I’d stomp my foot right now, he was making me so mad. Such a guy thing… obliviousness. “So, she wasn’t making a move on MY boyfriend, she was just being a friendly co-worker?”

“That’s right.”

“Right…” I drew out the words to at least 4 syllables, still staring at him. “You know what? Fine.” I shrugged. “You go ahead and get lost in your own thoughts about it. I’m out.”

His brow furrowed. “What?”

“You don’t believe me. I’m your GIRLFRIEND and if we love each other and trust each other, you should be taking what I’m saying into very careful consideration. You know, be willing to see that I may have a valid concern and at least be willing to reassure me that you’ll consider it more on Monday.” I shrugged. “But you aren’t willing to do any of that. So, I can’t see this relationship going much further than where we are right now.”

“You’re … you’re breaking up with me?”

I shrugged again. “We both know this isn’t going to last.” I said, carefully choosing my words. “I’m gone at the end of the year. Can you honestly tell me that you’ll still be around after your job ends? That you’d be teaching in Charleston in the fall before I leave? This is a fairly long-term sub job, but you’ve been there for a while. You could be looking for new, permanent jobs soon and I’m definitely not staying in Charleston past Christmas. And I’m not leaving Charleston after I come home from Paris. This is where my business will be. You could go or be anywhere in the country by then and I can’t commit to going with you. I won’t have summers free the way you do. I do a lot of catering and events over the summer so even this year, I won’t be free. So yeah. If you can’t see the same path that I see for us, then we should probably admit that we’re both 19 and don’t know what we want in a relationship and move on.”

Pete frowned, opened his mouth for a moment before closing it. “Well, we are 19.” He admitted. “I suppose you’re right about not knowing what we want or need in a relationship right now.”

I stared at him for a long moment. “So, you see it, right?”

He sighed and ran his hand over his face. “I don’t want to but yeah, the writing Is on the wall since you just spelled it out for me.”

I bit my lip. I’d been so happy tonight and now, even though I spelled it out and a mutual walking away from this was a good thing… it hurt.

Bad.

Like ripping out your own damn heart bad.

Why’d I have to be so nonchalant about spelling things out? I was ending a relationship. Picking a fight in a way and then dropping it and serving up a break up instead.