His Unplanned Lesson

by Nickie Nalley Seidler

  A few minutes later I followed her around a curve and saw her car pull into a driveway I was unfamiliar with. She cut the car off and I stopped a little ways back¸ idling at the curb.. Well, this wasn’t her house, maybe I should just turn around and go home. Obviously, she has a new boyfriend or something. As I was about to pull around to make a U-turn, I noticed a very familiar truck. Then two people came rushing out of the house before I caught a good glimpse, it looked a lot like…Jake and Ava. Oh now, this was interesting. I turned my car fully around and watched in my rearview mirror as the two of them engaged in what looked like a pretty heated argument. I wondered if that was their mother’s house. I turned my lights off and slowly let my window down to see if I could hear anything, but I couldn’t. I heard yelling but couldn’t make anything out. Another young woman came out and shooed them off the property. Jake got in his truck and sped off the opposite way down the street from where I was sitting. Ava and the other woman had some words and then Ava got in her car. I turned my lights back on and high-tailed it out of there quickly, before anyone noticed me. The hairs on my arms were standing tall, and sweat was starting to form on my forehead. I heard a text ping from my purse and I reached over to grab my phone. Once I was clear from her street and where they were, I pulled over by a local convenience store. I read the message.

  Jake: Can I come by?

  Oh, now this could get real interesting. I didn’t know what to say back. Did I want to see him after being so confused? How could I approach this topic without sounding like a complete stalker? Who was the other woman? Why were they fighting? I was shaking because I was nervous. I got myself in this awkward situation and now I had to keep my mouth shut about it. Maybe he’d tell me now since he’s obviously upset from yelling. Maybe that’s exactly why he wanted to come by, to open up to me.

  Sadie: Sure, I’ll be home in a couple minutes.

  Jake: C U Soon.

  I threw my phone back in my purse and headed towards home. I wanted to get there before him in the hopes that I had a few minutes to calm myself down. As soon as I turned on Potter, my street, I knew the nerves wouldn’t be calm the second I saw his truck sitting in my driveway. My stomach was instantly in knots. I drove slowly past his truck in my driveway and placed the truck in park. I manually switched the lights off trying to take my time in hopes I wouldn’t have to face this head on. My nerves were shot, but he looked oh so damn good leaning up against the house by the door. He had a smile on his face, which made me even more confused. He was happy to see me, but it just didn’t seem like I could be happy after a fight like that. But I had to remember, he didn’t know I knew about that.

  I grabbed my purse, shifting myself out of the old beat up truck. I walked slowly up the pathway to the door, head down, nervous about how this night was going to go. As soon as I got towards the door, I looked up at Jake and his hands went straight to my face, cupping my cheeks.

  “I missed you.” His soft voice soothed me. His lips met mine and he deepened the kiss before pulling back to get a better look at me.

  “I didn’t know you were working so late tonight.” We moved to unlock the door.

  “No, um I just went for a drive, it’s a gorgeous night. How was guy’s night?” I looked up, straight into his eyes while pushing the door open. His phone dinged and he had it lit up in his hand, reading a message as we walked in the door. I kept my eyes focused on him waiting for a response.

  “It was good. Lots of fun as usual.” My face fell but I tried to keep my composure. He just lied to me. He wasn’t looking at me to see how disappointed I was in hearing that blatant lie. My heart ached, and my breathing picked up. I was mad. I was boiling deep within me, waiting for my anger to hit the surface. This was the only concern I ever feared with men. Lies. My worst nightmare was coming true before me and I had no clue what to say. I couldn’t just say, you’re a liar. He doesn’t know what I know. Hell, Luke even came by here, looking for him. Do I even bother to say that, because then I’d be dragging Luke in the middle of things like he clearly didn’t want to be. I didn’t know how to handle this. After he finally looked up from his phone, I faked a smile.

  “What do you say we take this night to the bedroom, and you let me ease your mind?” He rubbed up against me and I couldn’t help but feel the tension course through my body. I backed away immediately.

  “What’s the matter?”

  I shook my head, “Nothing.”

  He moved closer to me and wrapped his arms around me, kissing my neck. I stopped him again. The touch of him after that filthy lie just was spit from his mouth made me sick. It made me cringe just feeling his arms on me. He wasn’t getting his way tonight. I wasn’t about to let a man walk all over me. I wasn’t about to be lied to and played like some damn fool on April Fool’s Day. The thought of him kissing my neck didn’t turn me on, it disgusted me. Who the fuck was this man? My body ached violently from the verbal punches thrown my direction. The fire that rose up under my skin demanded that I be treated with dignity and respect. I was not brought up to deal with and handle a liar.

  “Stop, just stop. That…” I pointed between us, the sexual tension he clearly had, that I lacked. “Is not happening tonight. Forget it. I’m done with men who can’t fucking hold up their end of the relationship.” I pushed passed him and paced into the kitchen, fuming with the desire to kick him out on the porch and make him just think.

  “Sadie, what the fuck? What are you talking about?”

  “I suggest you just leave.”

  “I’m not leaving, what the hell is wrong?” He approached me and I backed away.

  “What’s wrong? I don’t deal with men like you. Not now, not ever.” I spat. Walking to the doorway and opening it wide, I was signaling for him to get the fuck out.

  “Men like me? What am I missing here? I can’t just walk out of your house without any explanation as to why you’re acting so damn crazy.” He walked towards me, standing at the door.

  “Crazy? You think I’m acting crazy? Nice fucking choice of words, asshole. I’ll show you fucking crazy if you think that’s what I’m being.” I flicked my wrist and pointed outside.

  “I’m sorry, that was a poor choice of words on my part, I’m sorry. Sadie, please. Talk to me, baby.” He reached for my hand and tears welled up in my eyes. I wasn’t crying because I felt sorry for him. I was crying because I felt sorry for me. That I dug my hole so deep in my heart and let him in, that he was breaking it to shreds this very second by acting so oblivious to his lie. He doesn’t know that I know he lied, but he sure as hell wasn’t confessing to it before I had to say it.

  “Please, do not baby me, Jake. Even if I needed babying I would have called a babysitter to keep me occupied. If I needed love, I would have called a boyfriend, but apparently this man standing in front of me, is far from loving anyone.”

  “Sadie, I do love you. Stop this. What are you doing? Why are you doing this?”

  I screamed, “Ughhhh. Get out! Now!” I couldn’t hold the tears in my eyes any longer as I pushed him out of the doorway and slammed the door shut, locking it behind me. Was he seriously telling me he loved me after lying to my face about where he was tonight?! I was making this a big deal, because lying to me was a big deal. I didn’t know how else to deal with this situation other than shutting him out. How could lies and love be said within minutes of each other? He ripped my damn heart out and I didn’t even know why he was lying. That was the kicker for me, my heart raced just thinking of what the big deal was in the first place. He couldn’t tell me he ran into Ava? He couldn’t tell me he was at his mother’s? Why lie to me? Was it easier to hide behind his pain of whatever the hell he had going on by lying to his girlfriend because I was a part of a world where he could be free and not worry about his life? The life I was so clueless about and I was more than ready to find out what demons hid in his closet. The demons that haunted this life that he felt he had to keep from me. Was it even worth it? How could I ever forgive him for lyi
ng so soon in our relationship over something so stupid? What else was he lying about or would he lie to me about? I wouldn’t have even known he was lying if I didn’t stalk Ava’s ass from that club. Or if Luke didn’t come by and warn me off his best friend, which it seemed everyone was doing. Warning me from a man I felt so comfortable with, except tonight.

  The rage coursed through me as my phone started to go off.

  Jake: Sadie, talk to me, please. I just told you I loved you, and you slammed the door in my face.

  Jake: Sadie please.

  Jake: Please don’t shut me out.

  Reading these one after the other, I had to respond.

  Sadie: Shut you out? It looks as though you’re shutting me out! I’m done with someone who can’t tell me what the fuck is going in their life. I’m done being your fucking rescue to whatever the hell you have going on. Don’t dare say I’m the one shutting you out.

  Jake: What makes you think you’re my rescue? You’re not. Who told you what? Where is this coming from? Don’t believe anything anyone tells you.

  Oh, so now he was being careful. Now he was trying to protect his balls from being ripped open by the people he had to know were speaking against him. Why would he believe someone was speaking to me?

  Sadie: What people? I can’t have my own basic instincts about someone?

  Jake: Well, your instincts are wrong.

  Sadie: I beg to differ. Just leave me alone. I need some space.

  Jake: FINE.

  Tears poured out of my eyes while I tried so hard so to forget what just happened. My brain flooded with red flags just like everyone warned me of. I tried too soon. I tried too hard. I gave my heart away to a guy I thought was going to be better. I thought would be by my side through everything, when he was clearly against it. I wanted answers, but I didn’t know if they were worth digging for. I picked my phone up from the table and texted Ava.

  Sadie: Ava, please, I want to talk. I miss my best friend.

  Ava: Fine, let’s meet tomorrow.

  My eyes lit up, shocked that she even responded to me. Finally, I had gotten her attention.

  Sadie: Ok, where and when?

  Ava: The diner. Noon.

  Sadie: See you there.

  I didn’t even know what I was going to say to her. Jake told me she was protective over him, and what would Ava say about the fact that I caught him in a lie, while I was stalking her? I couldn’t say that. I could only hope she would come out with everything without having me ask any questions. I felt evil. I felt like the things I knew, I shouldn’t. I shouldn’t have been spying. I needed to confront Luke, he was my only option. But first, I needed sleep. I needed to try to sleep knowing I had the late shift tomorrow at work. I couldn’t let this ruin me, or else I’d be finding myself going down that dark path in my life that I once was at. That I hoped real hard, I never had to go back to.

  *~*

  The morning came quickly, without me being able to get much sleep. I couldn’t stop thinking about Jake and what the fuck was going on with us, with him. What everyone was warning me of. The fight that I couldn’t fight without more knowledge. The love I had for Jake was shattered, and I wasn’t sure it was able to be picked back up off the ground and put back together. People might have called me crazy for going overly upset about one lie, but this lie, was more than a lie to me. It represented our relationship on a level of trust. I trusted a simple conversation and he just simply lied. That to me meant he didn’t trust with me with the truth. He hid something. Something was being done that was out of my reach or control, and until I found out what, my mind was going to drive me crazy. It was going to stir my dreams. It was going to keep me awake at night. Something had to give. I was meeting with Ava in an hour, and I couldn’t be more damn nervous to meet my best friend for a conversation that I dreaded. I missed our closeness, missed it, and hoped that today brought it back.

  I didn’t feel like being too presentable, since I was purely exhausted, but I refused to not go today. I pinned my hair up out of my face, put my nicer sweatpants on and paired it with a t-shirt. I was as ready as I was going to get. I got in my truck and headed over to the diner. It was bustling with a crowd this afternoon, and Ava wasn’t here yet. I got us a seat and waited patiently with my coffee cup. After about twenty minutes, she showed up, looking like hell. Her hair was all over the place, her face was pale, and she looked horrible.

  “Are you okay?” I asked while she plopped down in the seat across from me.

  “Does it look like it?” She snapped back at me.

  My mouth hung open at her snotty remark, but I quickly closed it and faked a smile. “Look, I’m trying to be nice. It isn’t fair that you’re treating me like this when I don’t know what I did.”

  “Fair? Let’s talk about fair for a second. You’re dating my family.” She had a lack of eye contact towards me.

  “From what I’ve been told, you’re not very family-oriented. But this is what I’ve been told. Please correct me if I’m wrong, Ava. Look, I’m not trying to pick a fight with you. I came here for you to tell me what was bothering you. You warned me off your brother, and I want to know why.” I sipped my coffee. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you ahead of time, but we were kind of dealing with you and Daryl’s break up and I was being there to support you. I didn’t want to rub in your face, that I was happy with someone while you were sobbing rivers, heartbroken from a break up. I figured you could understand that. I also had no idea that he was your brother or related to you. Till, that day.”

  “I don’t believe that, Sadie, that’s bullshit. How could he have not said anything? How could you have not known?”

  I pointed to myself. “Me?” I rolled my eyes. “Ava, I’ve never bullshitted you in my life. Why would I lie about that? I for sure, cross my heart, can tell you I didn’t know. I knew you must know each other because I met him at your party. But, that’s it. I swear.”

  She ordered a coffee from the waitress as there was a quick break in conversation. I was getting heated. Why was she acting like that? Clearly, this conversation wasn’t going the way I had planned.

  “I didn’t come here to talk about Jake. If that’s what you want to do is ruin lives, then so be it. I came here to talk about anything but a love life.” She rolled her eyes.

  “See, that. I don’t understand these comments and remarks. Ruin lives? How would I be ruining someone’s life?”

  “You’ll be ruining your own because that’s Jake.”

  “I came here to talk about Jake, Ava. Just be upfront with me, you’re supposed to be my best friend.”

  I reached across the table and squeezed her hand while she looked away in another direction. “Ava, please talk to me. I’m dying over here to have my friend back and you’re pushing me away and I don’t even know why.”

  “Forget I said anything about Jake. If that’s your life, and you’re happy, then fine.”

  I let out a huge sigh and just confused myself even more as I wasn’t getting answers, I was getting the run around. It just hurt to get it from my best friend. I didn’t expect her to act this way.

  “How was your doctor’s appointment? How are you doing?” I changed the subject, hoping to bring light to what was really important. The reason why friends were friends. To care about one another when they needed it.

  “I’m twenty weeks pregnant. I’m about as good as I can be for a single mother.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?” I raised the coffee cup in my hands up to my mouth and inhaled the aroma, waiting for her respond.

  “I talked to Daryl, he wants nothing to do with me or the baby.”

  “I’m so sorry, Ava, it’s his loss, you have to know that and keep telling yourself that.”

  “I don’t really want to discuss this or anything for the matter. I’ve had a really rough morning with horrible morning sickness and frankly, I just want to go home and crawl into bed.”

  Hormones. I didn’t even think the possibility of h
ormones raging through her system may have made her bitchy. I immediately forgave her and just ignored the Jake part.

  “I got the bill, don’t worry.”

  “Thanks. How’s the job working out for you?”

  “It’s working out great. Thanks for asking.”

  “I’m really glad everything is working out for you. You deserve it.” She stood up from the table and left a few dollars for tip. “I’ll see you around, I’m heading home.”

  I smiled and watched her walk away, out of the diner. She was clearly miserable, but I had nothing in me to get up and follow her out when I had no clue how to comfort her anymore. A bond seemed to have broken between us and it made me sad. I paid the bill and headed back home to get ready for my shift at work. All this drama going on made me miserable. It made me want a drink, a real strong drink.

  Chapter 10

  Jake: I’m sorry. Can we please talk?

  This was what I had to wake up to today. I wasn’t ready to talk to him. I didn’t know how to discuss why I was so mad without discussing it with Luke first. Today was my day off and I planned to get much accomplished. I had some stuff to do around the house, and I wanted to make my way over to Luke’s to figure out what was going on. I knew I had to get it out of him. I cleaned house and finished that book I was wanting to get done. I didn’t respond to Jake and he simply left me alone, thankfully. I couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact my life seemed to be falling apart.