Authors: Ellen Lane,Taylor Young
Jen
I have just left Eddie for good. I can’t believe that after all we have been through that he would cheat on me. I mean
if
he were ever to cheat on me, I knew it would be with Krystal. Yet, it wasn’t one of those ‘accidental’ things where you end up being in some awkward situation and end up kissing someone. This was premeditated. After proposing to me and marrying me, he still planned this. What am I? Chop liver? How dare he just cast me aside like that? Doesn’t this boy know that I’ve been in love with him since middle school? Did our relationship—all of those times we spent alone together—mean absolutely nothing? The intimacy between us—was that all just a part of his ruse? I suppose it’s like the old adage says: ‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on you.’ Well, he won’t get that second chance. I watched as his eyes lit up every time Krystal was near. The funny thing is that she claimed to be in love with Jimmy, but her eyes sparkled just the same for Eddie as his did for her. Poor Jimmy! Here I am sitting and wallowing in my woes, but Jimmy is in the same boat. His marriage to Krystal has been a sham, and they even have a child! I’m thankful I didn’t have a child with Eddie. Still, I can’t help but to think back on all of those years we spent together—there were signs, but I didn’t want to see it.
I can’t believe it! We have all worked so hard to get to where we are. It is absolutely amazing. I have everything I could ever want—good grades, college offers, great parents, and of course, the perfect boyfriend. I’ve been chasing after Eddie for quite some time. I’ve fantasized quite often about becoming ‘Mrs. Edward Chavers’. I always thought he would end up with Krystal, you know. I mean, they spend so much time together that it’s almost as if they are a couple. I try not to let jealousy take over, but it is so hard. I see them always walking, matching stride for stride, and laughing. I want so much to be
that
person in Eddie’s life, but at least he is mine now. He says he loves me. The way he holds me almost reminds me of those romance novels, you know. His touch is so gentle, yet firm. It reminds me of the cowboy type, but Eddie is so far from the cowboy type. As a matter of fact, he’s not really even the kind of guy I typically go for. I usually go for the ‘tough’ guys. You know, the cowboy, the biker, or the fighter. I’ve always dreamed of ending up with someone whom I can just feel protected with.
So, you ask, why Eddie? I’ve even asked myself that one on many occasions. It could be his smile—that movie star million dollar smile. It could be the way he exudes confidence while trying to hide in his own shadow. It could just be because of those beautiful eyes of his. He is so beautiful—like a masculine Botticelli. I guess that’s why I crave him so much. He’s like a sweet addiction.
I know this sounds creepy. I sound obsessed. I’m not obsessed like
that
. I’ve dated other guys in high school, but there’s just something about him. But now, it’s our senior year. He’s got his own place, so we don’t have to worry about prying parents when we spend time alone—well, when we manage to get time
alone
. Almost always, we have a ‘tag a long’ by the name of Krystal.
I had to distract her, so I managed to set her up with Jimmy. He’s on the football team—but not the typical jock. Rather than being loud and boisterous, he’s quite stoic. He’s perfect for Krystal. She can do all of the talking and rarely will Jimmy argue. He’s a peacekeeper. He can be an ass from time to time as well, but only if certain buttons are pushed.
You see, Jimmy is one of my cousin’s best friends, so I have his ear. I also know exactly what he’s planning and on graduation night, he will be proposing to Krystal. That should remove her from Eddie’s focus for a while so that maybe
our
relationship will bloom.
I know Eddie loves me, but with Krystal hanging around like a lovesick puppy—that shit’s got to go. Eddie is my boyfriend now, and it’s just a matter of respect as far as I’m concerned. There they are now.
“Hey, honey.” I said to Eddie. “Hey, Krystal.” I said to the leech as I smiled.
“Hey, Jen. What are you up to?” Krystal asked.
“Well, I was just going to see if my honey,” I said looking at Eddie with my sweet doe eyes. “…wanted to go with me to the mall. We could do our graduation photos.”
“Yeah, that’d be great.” He said. My heart fluttered. I was excited to spend some time alone with him. “Can Krystal come?” he asked. And that, my friends, was the knife in the proverbial chest. Didn’t he understand that I needed some alone time with him? I’ve been patient—as patient as I can be.
“I don’t have to go.” Krystal said. “Actually, Jimmy wanted me to spend some time with him. He’s been saying he feels ignored lately with all of the senior planning stuff. I figured he understood since he went through it last year, but I guess I
have
been spending too much time away from him.”
“Aw, it would have been awesome of you to come.” Eddie responded as he tousled her hair. If they hadn’t been best friends for ages, I’d have punched her in the throat. Eddie seems to think I’m this docile woman who will take anything, but that’s because he’s seen the gentler side of me. If lines are crossed, I can’t say what I would be capable of.
“Yeah, Krystal. That’s a shame, but I know Jimmy has missed you a lot. My cousin says he’s a changed man since you two started seeing each other.”
“He said he had a surprise for me this weekend. It’s our anniversary, and he said he wants to take me out to a special place. He won’t tell me where.” She crossed her arms in a pout and then looked at me. “Say, Jen.
You
don’t know where he’s taking me, do you?”
“Nope,” I replied shaking my head. “And I wouldn’t tell you if I did. If he is planning a surprise, that means no one except him knows. He’s strange like that. Most guys tell their buddies, but not Jimmy. He won’t even tell my cousin until the day of something or after it happens.”
“Damn.”
The bell rang. We had less than a month to go of our senior year, and then, we would officially be high school graduates.”
***
Krystal
I look back on everything and can’t help but to feel horrible. I’ve known for such a long time that I’ve been in love with Eddie, but I thought he had eyes for Jen. I mean, sure, in high school we hung out a lot, but he’d easily ditch me to go spend time alone with Jen—even though I was with Eddie, there were several times he could have invited me
and
Jimmy along. The times that we would all four hang out, I’d secretly pretend that it was Jen and Jimmy dating rather than
me
and Jimmy. I’d pretend I was with Eddie. Every time I saw Jen lace her arm with Eddie’s, I’d pretend it was me. I know it seems obsessive, but we
were
in high school. It’s natural to want to be near something you covet.
I think about our last month as high school seniors. So much was changing so fast. I had no idea what was happening. About a month from graduation, Jimmy and I were celebrating our one year anniversary. Technically, it was our fourth year, but we were on-and-off-again so much, it was hard to keep track—that was, until the month before junior year ended. Suddenly, we got really serious about each other, and it all made sense.
“So, I was thinking, babe…” Jimmy said. “What if we go out somewhere really nice this weekend for our anniversary?” He and I were having lunch together. Eddie was dealing with finalizing some papers for his. He’s always putting stuff off, so it was just me and Jimmy alone. Don’t get me wrong. I loved Jimmy at the time and still love him in a way, but I think it was more so that he was ‘safe’. I could depend on him. He got up, went to school, went to work, played football until the season was over, and pretty much stayed busy. He was always doing something. He was always up at 4:30 in the morning, made his bed, and even kept his room clean. What kind of teenage boy does that? I mean, most guys were like Eddie—slept in when he could, avoided making a mess in the first place so he didn’t have to clean it, abhorred working, and certainly didn’t care for sports. Something was fascinating about Eddie. He was an old soul—but more a troubadour. I liked that. Jimmy was too ‘grown up’ for me and rarely any fun.
“Sure,” I said. “That’d be nice. Where are you thinking?” I was hoping it wasn’t just to Applebee’s or Charley’s like every other time he said he was taking me somewhere nice. He was so predictable most of the time.
“Well, that’s the thing. I want it to be a surprise.”
Okay, so not as predictable as I thought he was. I responded, “A surprise?”
“Yeah. I mean, sure, we’ve only been seeing each other a year straight now, but we’ve really dated for almost four. I kind of think that should be something special to celebrate, you know. I’ve been working really hard to plan this surprise, so I hope you’re definitely free Saturday night starting around four in the afternoon.”
“You don’t work Saturday?” I asked. This was definitely different. He
always
worked until about five or six on Saturday evenings, which left him Sundays only as an off day. Most of our ‘alone time’ as a couple was spent during the school day or two of the four Sundays he had free a month. I suppose that was his way to keeping everything balanced, you know. I’d get half of his off days where we’d just go hang at the river or something, and then he would hang out with his buddies going fishing or hunting on the other Sundays. This arrangement was totally fine with me at the time, to be honest. That left me more than enough time to hang out with Eddie around his schedule with Jen. She didn’t demand a lot of his time, but the actual timing of it was always odd. So, Eddie and I hung out at odd hours. Since he lived on his own, and my parents didn’t particularly care what I did as long as they weren’t bothered, I’d come over and hang out after Jen would leave. We’d stay up on Friday nights and the Sundays I didn’t spend time with Jimmy watching B-rated horror flicks.
“No, I don’t work Saturday. I know, it’s the first time in about a year I had off aside from last July 4
th
, which fell on a Saturday. The boss
is
patriotic. So, I’m off this Saturday and would like to spend an extra day with you. Your parents have any plans for you?”
“Jimmy, you know the answer to that. They never make plans that include me anymore. I don’t fit their ‘mold’. So, yeah, I’m free Saturday.” I didn’t mourn my entire relationship with Jimmy. When I
did
spend time with him, it was great. He was a great kisser. He was sweet, gentle, loving, and all that stuff. Plus, he was hot as hell! I mean, watching him mow a lawn with his shirt off made me feel the heat, despite the fact I was often sitting in an air-conditioned room. He made me feel things in the pit of my stomach that I never thought possible, but my soul simply belonged to Eddie. We were twin souls, he and I. But unfortunately for me, it was unrequited love. So, I would take the love from a wonderful boyfriend who treated me well.
“Great. Well, hey, the bell is about to ring to move on to the last period. I work tonight, so I’ll call you later?”
“Yeah, that’s cool. Love you.”
“Love you, too.” He stared at me for a moment before heading toward his class. In the hall on the way to fifth period, the last period of the day, I ran into Eddie. So, we walked and talked for a while down the hallway. We had fifth period together. It wasn’t long before we ran into Jen.
“Hey, honey.” she said to him. “Hey, Krystal.” The look on her face as she spoke to me was priceless. She looked like I was a threat, but that facial expression left quickly. I think it’s just natural that most girls are jealous. I would never cross those lines and kiss Eddie unless I knew for certain he was dying or if he was broken up with Jen. It would be wrong on so many levels if I did anything. I know I wouldn’t want it done to me.
***
Jimmy
Everything has been totally fucked up lately. I know my wife cheated on me, but for some reason, it didn’t hurt like I thought it would. I almost want to say that I saw it coming. I’ve seen the way Eddie looks at her for years, but I figured that he would have never tried anything because he always seemed afraid of his own shadow at times. It isn’t that I’m a bully, but I’ve always been a ‘hands on’ kind of guy. I play sports. I hunt. I fish. I work in all aspects of construction. I plan on getting to college so I can get my degree in Drafting and Design. I want to design homes. This basically means I’m a pretty stout guy. I am built, but I don’t necessarily use my size to intimidate folks. However, I had to do so recently when Eddie tried to approach me. My wife was honest with me about what happened, which I know doesn’t necessarily happen a lot. I knew what happened, but I certainly wasn’t ready to hear it from
his
mouth.
I don’t know what came over me. All I know is that he started talking and my natural instinct to just swing on him took over. I don’t remember much until I saw the blood trickling down his face and the bluish purple bruise beginning to form on his jaw and underneath his eye. I started to feel bad, but stopped the moment I recalled
why
his nose was bleeding and his eye was bruised.