Winning her back

14. Three's a crowd

*Warning*  Foul language

The words left my mouth before I even had a chance to process them. It was almost as if something had consumed me, as if my thoughts weren't my own anymore. Of course, I wanted to stir the pot. I wanted her to feel an inch of the pain that I had felt, when the so called 'love of my life' shattered everything I had dreamed of. The truth was however, that it wouldn't change anything. It wouldn't undo what was already done. Besides, I was never the type to cause conflict between anyone. I was honest, and stayed clear from drama, for the most part, but so it seems drama always followed me. A strange feeling had come upon me this time, a feeling I wasn't used to. It was a feeling which resembled but couldn't possibly be ... jealousy.

"Ex-wife", I blurted out.

Her face portrayed a mixture of confusion, then anger and finally betrayal . However, the noticeably surprised expression on her face remained unchanged. Much similar to the look on Ben's face, who had just stepped foot on the porch.

____________________________________
Ben
I told Lisa I went out to get some stuff, the truth was I needed some space to gather my thoughts, so I went for a run. I was meant to protect her, and yet I couldn't help but feel like I was constantly letting her down. Not only had I betrayed her, but I failed to protect her that night. I knew one thing for sure, that it would never happen again.

I must have run at least ten blocks before returning back home. It was only when I stepped foot on the porch, that I had realised that I should have kept on running. I would have made a run for it, honestly, I would have, but it was too late. Both of them had caught sight of me, and if looks could kill, I'd be dead by now.

I had planned to approach the situation in a calm and collecting manner, but by the look on Jessica's face, that wasn't going to happen.

"So, I see you've met", I began, trying to soothe the atmosphere .

Clearly, my approach was wrong.

"You're married", Jessica started gritting her teeth.

I wasn't sure if it was meant to be a question or a statement, but by Lisa's smirk which was plastered on her face, I figured it was the latter. I knew I had a lot of explaining to do, and no doubt it would all blow up in my face, but I wasn't about to let my neighbours. catch a glimpse of it.

"Let's discuss this inside", I said whilst ushering them both inside. I was f*cked. That phrase kept replaying in my head the moment I saw Jessica's blonde loose curls cascading down her short dress, on my my doorstep.

I had thirty seconds at most, to try and think of a way to get out of this situation.

"You're married!", Jessica repeated at a much higher and irritated tone. This time, I was sure it wasn't a question.

"Yes", I began defending myself. "I was married", I continued making sure I directed my last sentence to Lisa, who couldn't hide her humor about the situation.

By this time, we were all gathered around the kitchen counter. It was almost like an interrogation, with a very low chance of survival.

"I don't understand". Jessica ran her hands through her hair and directed her body towards me. "Why didn't you ever mention anything?"

"It's not something I'm proud of", I admitted. I wanted to soothe her, whilst also respecting Lisa.
"Besides, you've never asked".

She started to tear up and I couldn't help but feel guilt. Once again, I had hurt another innocent female.

"Why ... why is she here?", she asked whilst also trying to contain herself.

I sighed. "It's complicated".

"Are you f*cking her?", she replied.

"I think I should leave you two alone", Lisa said as she starting distancing herself.

It was only then, that I started questioning what Lisa might have thought was going on.

"Wait", I sat up. "Stay, it's not what you think. Me and Jessica", I paused trying to find the correct words. "We're not together, we're just-

"He's just putting his d*ick inside of me and releasing his contents. But, yeah, just friends", Jessica said, cutting me off.

I gritted my teeth and gave her a daring look. I didn't think she was the jealous type. Apparently, I wasn't a very good judge of character. By this time, Lisa had gone, but not before I saw a glint of sadness in her eyes.

"Look", I said with stern look. "We were never a couple. We weren't even dating. Please enlighten me on how you feel it's appropriate to just show up at my house, unannounced, and start causing unnecessary drama".

"Unnecessary drama", she scoffed whilst repeating my last words. "After pretty much seeing each other every weekend for about two months, you just disappeared . You don't answer your phone, or reply to any of my messages, what else was I supposed to do?".

"Not this", I said with a higher volume than intended. "Look", I said trying to control my anger, "This is exactly why I never wanted anything serious. My past is too complicated."

Silence filled the air giving me the time I needed to place my words correctly.

"Lisa and I, we fell in love and got married at a very young age. I did some horrible ... horrible things, I ended up hurting her. We got divorced and I swore to never commit to anything or anyone ever again."

I let out a deep breath before saying, "I put Lisa through hell, I won't let myself repeat the same mistakes".

Her expression softened, but still mirrored confusion. "I still don't get it. If you're not together anymore, then why is she here?"

"It's ... complicated", I said, rubbing my eyes from the exhaustion of the situation.

Another moment of silence filled the air as Jessica tried to process the little information I had given her. My brain couldn't help but blame myself for getting into this situation. I had one rule, just one. To never bring the same girl home more than once. I broke that rule with Jessica, and here I was, paying for the consequences.

"You know", she began. "I don't think it's that complicated. In fact, I think it's pretty simple".

I furrowed my eyebrows unsure of what she was referring to.

"You're still in love with her".

____________________________________