Who is She Page 3

* * *

  A few hours and two glasses of wine later I'm sitting on the couch in a t-shirt I stole from Leah and a pair of shorts I stole as well.11

  Leah made the call and now we have a computer-savvy, well-dressed, gay man with a laptop pulling all of my fiancé's phone information. It's not totally legal, but it's a secret.

  "It's done downloading!" He says. I look at him anxiously and try to get up, but Leah pushes me down. "No, let me see it first." She says and hands me her glass.

  I roll my eyes and lay back, clutching her wine glass. She looks at the laptop and I watch her expression intently. Okay... Leah's face is hard to read. She shows no emotion whatsoever.

  "What is it?" I ask, fearful.

  She sighs and sits down beside me, "gimme." She demands and takes both glasses from my hands. "Read it, please don't do anything stupid." She says.

  I take the laptop and start to read and scroll. What I see is my worst nightmare coming to life. Danny is cheating on me.

  8

  "How do- what? Is this a joke?" I ask and look at Leah and her friend.

  The guy shakes his head no and Leah raises her eyebrows.

  I'm staring at photos of some girl with my fiancé, naked photos... this is... this is ridiculous. And now I know where Danny ran off to the other night. He was with... her. And I let him. I sucked- oh my god. This can't be happening. This is what happens in movies... not in the real life happily ever after!

  "Nathan, thank you. Delete all of this and go hom-"

  "No." I cut Leah off and glance at her. "I want to catch him." I say and she looks surprised.

  "You want to confront him?" Her brown eyes widen and she waits for an answer.1

  "Hell yes I want to confront him! If he can ask me to marry him while taking part in this shit, he can tell me the truth... to my face." I grit.

  "That's... ballsy." She says and sighs.3

  "Go back to the calendar. Where are they meeting tomorrow night?" I ask and scroll back to marked calendar dates.

  "Italian place on main... 6:30pm." Leah reads off.

  "Wanna have dinner with me tomorrow?" I ask her and force a smirk.

  She laughs quietly and grabs my head and kisses my forehead. "Mm, you're a crazy bitch, aren't you?" I guess I am.14

  * * *

  After last night's events and findings, I'm stressed. I woke up and with a pimple on my face and I'm ridiculously tired. I slept on the couch. Danny was too drunk to even notice I wasn't in bed when he came back home.

  I have a lot of mixed emotions about all of this, and I think deep inside I'm hoping it'll be okay and turn out to be a joke or something. This is the man I have spent years building a life with. We are supposed to get married and grow old together! It can't just be over like that.2

  It's 6:30pm right now, and Danny isn't here. He left earlier but didn't specify where he was going... little did he know I already knew where he was headed.

  I talked to Leah today and she tried to talk me out of this, but failed; however, she did manage to get out of doing this with me. I don't care, I can handle it myself.

  I make it to the restaurant and pull up to the valet parking area. I step out and hand the man my keys, but I tell him to keep the car close because I'll only be a moment.

  My adrenaline gets more powerful than my nerves for a second and I walk into the restaurant like I own it. I glance around and see Danny's scumbag face at one of the booths. He's with a girl, a young girl.2

  I feel something inside of me snap as I walk to the table. "How's the work thing?" I ask him and look at the girl.

  He freezes and looks up at me, "Jennifer?!"

  "Yeah, your fiancé?" I say, being a smart ass.

  The girl looks down and away from me, not saying a word.

  "I hope you have fun with your new girlfriend, Danny. Here... maybe she wears the same ring size as me." I hiss and take the ring off, placing it in front of the girl.10

  I walk away quickly before I start to cry and go to my car. I tip the valet worker and leave, the tears starting to flow.

  It took me a moment to realize what I just did... I just ended a nearly ten year relationship. What now?1

  I call Leah and she answers quickly. "How'd it go?" She asks me.

  "It... it went. I left him, Leah." I say, making myself realize it as well.

  She sighs, "alright, I'm coming over. You can stay with me for the next few days until my parents get back in town. After that... we can work something out." She tells me.

  Before I have a chance to respond she ends the call. I go home and go straight to our bedroom and grab a suitcase. I throw clothes into it quickly, wanting to get out before Danny comes back.

  About halfway through my packing ,Leah comes into the room and frowns. "I'm sorry." She hugs me tightly and strokes my back.

  "He's a douche. I just- I'm stupid. I didn't see it." I say and shake my head, "how did I not see it?!"

  "I don't know what to say, Jen. I'm sorry. This sucks." She says and shakes her head.

  "Screw it." I say and open another drawer and pull all of its contents out, tossing them onto the bed Danny and I once shared.

  "He can re-use them." I hiss, looking at all of the skimpy lingerie outfits I've collected over the years.

  Leah laughs a little bit and bites her lip, "yikes, you're one of thosegirls?" She teases me.

  I shoot her a look and she laughs, "kidding. Come on. Let's go."

  I go with Leah to her parents house and put my things in the guest room. Danny has been calling over and over, which isn't surprising to me. I won't answer now and I probably won't later on either. I don't even want to hear his voice.

  I toss my phone to the other side of the bed and sigh. Then, I see the door open a little bit and Leah sticks her arm in and swings a wine bottle from side to side.2

  I laugh a little and she comes in, "this makes everything better." She assures me and sits down in front of me, handing me an empty glass.

  She pours both our drinks and puts the bottle on the floor beside the bed. "You know he is an idiot, right?" She asks.

  "Yeah." I say and roll my eyes.

  "Jennifer, I'm serious. He should've never cheated on you... he's not going to find another you."

  "Right. That Gabriella girl is gonna give him everything I did and then some by the looks of it. How long was that happening for? I feel like such an idiot for not noticing." I whine and shake my head.

  Leah's head shakes again, "this isn't on you, it's on him."

  "Leah. I gave him head the morning after he screwed her." I admit.

  She fights a smile and laugh, "get past it. I've kissed a man before... that's worse in my opinion." She jokes and she even makes me laugh a bit.

  "Are women as bad as guys?" I ask her and lay back, looking up at the textured ceiling.

  "Mm, no. Not in the same ways, at least. Girls have a much better understanding of each other." She explains to me.10

  "I can't believe I didn't know!" I say, seriously frustrated with myself. "I feel like I should've seen it coming."

  "Okay, look." Leah says and grabs my hand and makes me sit up and look at her. "You shouldn't have seen it. You trusted him, if you saw it coming it means you had doubts... which you would have made for a very unhealthy relationship. I'm sorry that he's a piece of shit and did this to you, but it doesn't change the fact that you are a good person and you were faithful to him. Okay? Screw him, Jennifer. Take it as a chance to learn and grow! This is years of your life... you have a lot of things to catch up on. And plus, if he finds out that I'm still talking to you and that we are going to remain as close as we are... he'll never speak to me again. I'm okay without him. He's never been the best anyway..." she jokes and nudges my leg.

  I smile slightly and she touches my chin, "you're okay. This is okay." She reassures me and I nod my head.

  Hours later I'm in Leah's bed watching a movie with her. Danny won't stop calling and texting, but I've basically built up an immunity to it at t
his point. I don't have time to worry about him. I just want to go to sleep.

  "You sleeping here?" Leah mutters and looks over at me.

  "Mmhm." I nod, too tired to form actual words.

  She leans over and presses her lips to my head, "Okay, goodnight." She whispers and I fall asleep soon after.

  9

  After hours of Danny's begging, I couldn't stand it any longer. I agreed to meet with him to talk, but I'm mainly going to the house to get more of my things.

  I get there and go inside, Danny runs down the stairs and tries to bear hug me, but I quickly put my arm out, "don't." I mutter.

  He looks at me with sad eyes, "Jennifer.."

  "What? What do you want? You want me to act all sad and tell you I miss you?!" I laugh and fold my arms over my chest and walk upstairs.

  He rambles as he follows behind me, "I love you, Jen. That- that was nothing to me." He lies.

  "Nothing, huh? Look me square in the eye and tell me how long." I demand.

  He swallows and sighs, "maybe... four years?" He says quietly.24

  My mouth drops. Four? "You've been cheating on me for that long? Wow, you really are pathetic." I laugh and throw some of my t-shirts into a bag.

  "Jen!" He says and grabs my arm.

  "Get off." I hiss and shake my head.

  "Where are you staying?"

  "That doesn't concern you, Danny. I'm done. This is over and there is no fixing it." I assure him.

  "I tried to make it stop, Jen. That girl... it wasn't supposed to last. That's why I wanted to have a baby. I wanted to make things with you my priority." He says, trying to give an explanation.

  I don't know in what part of his sick and twisted head having a whole entire baby made sense in. "I'm so glad I didn't bring a child into this world with you. You would've made a great dad... cheating and lying and all..." I say, sarcastically.

  He stays quiet for a moment and I zip up my bag. "I'm leaving. Do not call me again." I hiss and walk away.

  He follows me all the way to my car, begging me to stay.

  I laugh and speed out of the driveway, headed back to Leah. I reach the house and park in the garage so that my car is hidden. Just in case Danny decides to come by...

  I walk inside and go to the guest room to put my new bag of clothes down and then I hear Leah yelling for me.

  I walk out to the living room and see her standing there in her bikini holding a bottle of Smirnoff and a small matte black box. "What are you doing?" I laugh and she shrugs her shoulders and walks to me.1

  "Here, I got you something." She says. I look at her funny and take the box and open it slowly.

  I was expecting something funny... a joke. But I see a pair of Versace sunglasses looking up at me. "Oh my god, are you crazy? I'm not- what?" I laugh and close the box. "What are these?"

  "They're for you... you deserve something after the past few days you've had!" She says.

  "Leah, this is sweet. I just- I can't." I say and shake my head.

  In this moment I get worried about Leah and her having feelings for me. "Leah, I don't want you to-" I stop myself. Don't do that Jennifer, you're setting yourself up for embarrassment.

  "What?"

  "Take them." I say and shake my head.

  "You're taking them." She insists and pushes the box to my chest. I hesitantly accept the gift and shake my head, "I can't with you." I laugh.

  She winks and walks back outside to the pool.

  I join Leah by the pool and we have a few drinks and talk about life. She asks about her brother... I tell her what went down and how he is a total idiot.

  "When will your parents be back?"

  "Tomorrow." She says and sits up.

  "Shit. I need to find a place to go. I'll call my little sister. She just moved into an apartment." I say and take a deep breath. "This is the most stressful thing I've dealt with in a while." I admit and laugh a little bit.

  "You're handling it pretty well, I think!" She tells me.

  I nod and shrug. She's right, this could be a lot worse for me.

  * * *

  Hours later we are inside the house laying on opposite ends of the couch watching a movie. I'm laying with my knees bent and a blanket over them, so I can't really see Leah.

  I sigh and lay my knees down and she laughs at me, "bored already?" She teases.

  I sit up and shake my head, "what's that supposed to mean? I'm hard to entertain?" I laugh.

  She slowly sits up and shakes her head no, "that isn't what I was implying, but you said it..." she continues to mess with me.

  After a short pause she puts her hand on my wrist, "you gonna be okay?"

  "I'll be okay." I whisper.

  "Good, I don't want you to waste your time being sad over my dickhead brother..." she rolls her eyes.

  "I won't. I made it clear I was done today too... it's just gonna take me a second to get used to being alone and not having someone to cuddle with at night. It's a big change for me.. it's been years." I explain.

  She nods and sighs, "it'll be easier than you think to get through it."

  Leah kinda stares at my face for a second and I smile a little, "what?" I giggle and she shakes her head at me and bites her lip. Uh oh.25

  She leans in towards me and softly kisses me. I kiss her back for half a second, just a little peck, and then I put my hand on her shoulder. "Leah..."10

  "I'm sorry. That's my fault, I shouldn't have." She says and backs off immediately.

  I look at her and bite my lip. "I just- I'm not- yeah." I stutter. Awkward.2

  She nods, understanding what I'm trying to tell her and I force a smile. "I think it's time for bed. Thank you for everything." I tell her and grab her hand.

  "You're welcome, Jennifer." She says.

  I walk away and drop her hand as I go.

  I'm not necessarily surprised she kissed me, but I couldn't just let it happen. I'm not mad she kissed me either. Like I said, it was sort of expected...1

  I've never actually dated a girl, but I'm not against the idea. Not that I will be dating Leah... that would be weird and very messy. But maybe dabbling in the women-pool of dating wouldn't be a bad thing for me.

  10

  I wake up and it's still dark outside, but I hear voices coming from downstairs.

  I sit up and push my hand through my hair and check my phone. It's 4:01am. Who in the hell is awake this early?!

  I quietly walk out of my room and to the top of the stairs and I catch a small glance of who is there. Danny.

  As soon as I see him I step back quickly and cover my mouth with my hand. Leah's talking to him and keeps telling him that she hasn't seen me and she doesn't know where I am. Thank god my car is still hidden.

  "Well, if she reaches out to you for something let me know.... and don't believe anything she tells you. It's not what she thinks it is." I hear him say. I shake my head and go back to my room and shut the door.

  I'm not surprised he came here searching for me, but I am surprised he came at four in the morning. He has to be drunk. Sigh.

  I'm going back to bed. Leah kept me hidden and I do not feel like discussing anything with her right now.

  * * *

  I wake up for the second time this morning, only it's 10:20am now. Thisis more my time... I put my hair up in a bun and go downstairs to find Leah drinking coffee and playing music in the kitchen.6

  "Good morning." She smiles at me.

  "Morning." I say and sit down. She grabs a cup and slides it to me. "You're such a morning person..." I laugh and pour myself some fuel for the day.

  "I could be grumpy and not talking, does that sound better to you?" She teases. "No, no, no..." I shake my head, "be a morning person all you want."

  She smiles and we make small talk for a little while, then it gets into the good stuff. Where am I going to go? How am I going to make it work? How is this all going to play out for me? Leah is more than willing to do anything she can to help me, but even all that she can do won't b
e enough.

  I've been a stay at home dog-mom for years. I don't work... I have things handed to me. I've become spoiled and I wish it wasn't like that, but it is. I hate to admit it, but I kind of put my entire life on hold for Danny.

  Leah wants to help so bad, but it isn't like she's got stacks of money laying around. She isn't even here permanently! I can't depend on her for anything... except maybe a friend.2

  "Leah, I don't know what I'm gonna do. I'll call my sister and see what she's doing and if I can maybe move in with her for a while. I'll have to get a job and stuff... build myself back up." I say and Leah nods.

  "Go call her. My parents will be here in a few hours. The flight they took was earlier than expected. I'm sure they wouldn't mind having you for the night, but with that comes some explaining." She tells me.

  I nod and take my phone outside to call my sister.

  "Hi Jen!" My sister answers cheerfully.

  "Hey baby, how are you?"

  "I'm good, but I can tell by the tone of your voice that you're not. What's going on?" She asks.

  I take a deep breath and touch my finger where my engagement ring used to sit. "I'm- Danny and I aren't together." I say and my sister is quiet for a moment.

  "Not together?! Why?!" She gasps. That's news that no one saw coming.

  "Because... to make a long story short he is a lying, cheating, bastard." I say.

  "Oh my god, Jen. I'm so sorry!" She gushes and I really feel her sympathy for me.

  "Do you need anything?" She asks me.

  "Actually, yes. That's why I called. Would it be okay if I shacked up with you for a couple months?" I ask with my fingers crossed, "just until I get back on my feet."

  "Of course!" She answers without hesitation.

  "Thank god. I'll move my stuff in tomorrow I guess. Don't tell anyone about me and Danny please... I'll handle that later." I tell her.

  "You have my word. Call me for anything. I love you."

  "I love you too."

  Once I have my living arrangements situated I go back inside to Leah and she follows me upstairs to help me pack and better organize my clothes.

  "Thank you for all your help." I say to her and smile, "it means a lot!"