When the food came, Jayvon took the bones out of the fish for Jaslene and kept serving her food, like I didn’t exist.
I told myself it made sense. He was looking out for his cousin who had just come back from abroad. So I kept quiet.
E
Jaslene would talk to me every now and then, but I wasn’t in the mood, so my answers were kind of half–hearted.
When we were about to leave after dinner, it suddenly started thundering outside, and then it poured like crazy.
I looked out at the stormy sky and said to Jayvon, “Jayvon, can you drive me home? I’ll leave my car at your compa- ny.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, he replied, “Go grab a taxi. Jaslene can’t drive, so I gotta take her back.”
I was stunned.
My brow furrowed a bit, and I felt uneasy inside. But then I thought it was kind of petty to be jealous of my boyfriend’s cousin.
Jaslene said to me with a bit of a sheepish smile, “So, Bree, you’ll have to take a taxi home. I’m leaving with Jayvon now.”
She waved goodbye to me, smiling sweetly.
I watched as Jayvon opened the car door for her and then drove off.
I stayed in the restaurant until the rain stopped, and then I drove home.
My pants got splashed by a puddle on the side of the road. I was about to hop in the shower and change when my phone pinged with a few photos from a number I didn’t recognize.
I opened them and froze right there.
The photos were of Jayvon and Jaslene, kissing under a streetlight, looking like a couple in love. But they looked quite young, like they were from a few years ago.
I scrutinized those photos for a good while and could tell they hadn’t been photoshopped or anything.
The two were definitely kissing!
For a moment, I couldn’t catch my breath and felt like I was choking. My heart was throbbing and numb. After a few deep breaths, I finally managed to steady my hand enough to call Jayvon.
I wanted to ask him what was going on between him and Jaslene!
But no matter how many times I called, all I got was the cold, robotic voice. He didn’t pick up even once.
0.0%
13:00
:
Standing in the living room, I felt my heart getting colder.
Jayvon didn’t come back until the third day. He showed up with a bouquet and gave me a hug.
“I’m so sorry, baby. After I dropped Jaslene off that day, I got word that there was an issue with a project at work, so I had to leave for a business trip without telling you. I’ve been so busy these past few days that I barely had time to sleep.”
I wasn’t entirely convinced by his story, but he had dark circles under his eyes, clearly from lack of sleep.
è gave me a necklace as an apology and he seemed sincere, so I reluctantly believed him and didn’t press him about
where he had been.
But there was still one thing I
‘t let go of.
I showed him those photos and confronted him. “Tell me, what’s going on here?”
13:00
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Chapter 4 A Cover
