“Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t fuck the same girl twice. Not really my style.” In desperation, I went for my worst asshole tone of voice.
“We’ll see,” she said smugly before heading out my door and closing it behind her.
I tore the sheets from my bed and threw them in the corner, half tempted to light the damn things on fire. I opened the window as far as it would go, trying to air out the sick smell of sex from my room. Images of my idiocy replayed in my mind and I wished I could reach through my head and rip them from my skull.
I walked down the hall to turn the shower on, my reflection in the mirror forcing me to stop short. I turned to face myself, my bloodshot brown eyes staring back at me. I balled my hand into a fist and lunged toward the mirror, stopping just short of striking it.
You idiot! You pitched a perfect game last night. A perfect game in baseball. And then you almost took your perfect relationship and flushed it down the toilet. This is your future, you asshole. Don’t ever be that careless with your future again.
SIXTEEN
CASSIE
The last few weeks of summer flew by as the fall semester approached. The magazine extended my internship and I convinced my mom to let me keep the car, promising that I wouldn’t use it to do anything crazy other than drive back and forth to the magazine offices. She was reluctant at first, but when I screamed that she was ruining my life, she relented. I’d have to use that tactic more often.
Jack would be home shortly, depending on if his team made playoffs or not. I’d fallen into a comfortable routine of working and reading while he’d been away, surpassing my self-imposed goal of getting through twenty books in the summer. The Opportunist was my twenty-fifth and I was completely engrossed in the story, wishing the main character’s mental anguish on no one…except maybe the sorority girls who enjoyed making my life hell.
I walked through the door of our apartment and shouted Melissa’s name. No response. I tossed my purse and car keys onto the counter before opening up the refrigerator door and grabbing a bottle of water. My cell phone rang, blaring Jack’s song, and I sprinted to reach for it.
“Hey!” I answered with a smile in my voice.
“Hey, Kitten.” The flat tone of his voice caused unease to spread in my empty stomach.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” I asked, unprepared for what came next.
“I fucked up, Cassie.” He swallowed hard.
“What are you talking about? Are you okay?” My stomach twisted as the ominous sound of his words settled in.
“I have to tell you something.” His voice was so unnatural, it hardly sounded like Jack.
My body slid down onto the cold kitchen floor as I fought against the bile threatening to rise up into my throat. “I’m listening,” was all I managed to get out.
“Oh God. Okay.” He took a quick breath. “Remember the night a few weeks ago…” he paused, “the night I pitched my perfect game?”
“Yeah,” I responded, my lips barely moving.
“Remember when I called really early and woke you up?”
“Uh-huh.” My chest tightened and my stomach heaved.
“I kept saying no, Cassie. I swear. I told her no at least a hundred times,” he rambled, not really making any sense. “I was mean as hell to her, but she didn’t care.”
“What happened, Jack?” I couldn’t stop the shaking in my voice.
“She was just so fucking god damned persistent. She wouldn’t take no for an answer and I was really fucked up.”
“What did you do?” My tone was harsh, the tears already welling in my eyes.
“I called you that morning because I made a mistake and I wanted to tell you. I wanted to be honest with you, but then I heard your voice and I couldn’t do it. I knew I’d lose you and I wouldn’t lose you for some girl who meant nothing.” His voice trailed off into a whisper.
“What are you saying?” I demanded.
“I told you I’d fuck screw up, Kitten. I ruin things,” he whispered.
“No. You don’t get to do that. Tell me what you did!”
“I slept with someone. I’m so sorry. It didn’t mean anything. I made a mistake. I just wanted it all to go away. I wanted her to go away.”
My world spun around me at breakneck speed as my heart literally felt like it was shattering inside my chest.
“Cassie? Say something,” he begged.
“How could you? Why?” I shrieked through my sobs.
“There’s more.”
“More?” I froze. My head whirled, unsure of his meaning.
“Fuck.” He breathed hard and I remained silent for a full minute before he finally continued. “She’s pregnant.”