************************************ Chapter 7 ************************************ Jess didn't head home right away, she drove around her old neighborhood for a little bit, just thinking. I don't get it. Why would he do that? "Why? To make himself look good obviously. Pretentious asshole. Who the hell does he think he is? I'll show him." She answered herself. She started toward her apartment. She'd surprise Mark, she wasn't due home for another couple of hours. He'll be happy. He always wants me to stay home in the morning. She pulled into the parking garage and parked in her normal spot. As she made her way up in the elevator she couldn't help but think of what Nick said on the radio. Treating a girl with respect is one of the most romantic things a guy can do. "Nothing but a bunch of bullshit if you ask me." She said as she stepped out of the elevator and made her way to apartment 7E. She put the key in the lock when she heard sounds inside. It sounded as if Mark had company over. She turned the key and opened up the door. No one was in the living room or kitchen. She decided she must have heard things and made her way to the bedroom, then she heard the noises again. Oh God. Please no. Please let it be the TV. She silently prayed, hoping her worst fear wouldn't come true. She opened up the door and saw Mark laying on his back on the bed with some big breasted red head lying on top of him. When they heard her enter they snapped their heads toward the door. Marks eyes looked like Wile E. Coyotes after he discovered he was about to fall off a cliff. Mark pushed the red head off of him and stood up with the covers covering his lower half. "Baby. It's not what it looks like." He tried to explain. Jess looked at him like she didn't know who he was anymore. "What? You're baking a cake together?" "Okay. Maybe it is what it looks like but let me t-t-try to explain." He stammered obviously knowing he was about to get shot down. The look in Jess' eyes told him all he needed to know, she was pissed, and she wasn't going to take this laying down (no pun intended). "You think, Mark? What do you think I'm stupid? That after I found out you were, are cheating on me I'd just look at you and accept you're apology and things would go back the way they were? That everything would be fine again? Hell no!" She turned and started to walk towards the front door, Mark followed behind her. "Jess, sweetie. Wait. Don't just leave me here like this. Please, you can't walk out on me. Can't we talk?" Hearing his pleas she whipped around and walked back toward him. "I'm not walking out on you. This is my damn apartment; I'm the one that pays the rent every month. I pay the bills. I'm going to my moms, you better be gone by the time I get back or my brothers and my cousin will beat the shit out of you. And if they don’t I will." She turned back around and left a half-naked mark standing in the middle of the living room. She walked out into the hall right past the elevator and headed down the stairs. Exercising somewhat always cleared her head a bit. ************************************** "Nick, man. Why did you go and say that?" Brian asked almost frustrated with his best friend. Nick was facing the window hoping that Jess would pull in but she hadn't yet. He turned back around to face his confused friend. "Honestly, I don't know why I said what I said. It just flew out. No ones ever asked me about Jess and what happened to us before. At least not since we broke up. I didn't mean to hurt her. I didn't know she'd take offense to it as much as she did. I thought she was over that." He explained. He turned his gaze back towards the window. Brian turned away, sensing that he didn't really want to talk about it right now. He left the room and headed to poolside where everyone else was relaxing, trying to forget about what happened at the radio station. AJ was in the pool and when he say Brian Exit the house he asked him a question. "So Rok? What's up with Nick? Did he tell you why he said that?" AJ as much as Brian wanted to get to the bottom of this whole Nick-Jessica thing. "No, well, sort of. Let's just say he's about as confused as we are." Brian took off his shirt and jumped in the pool making a huge splash that covered everyone sitting on the left side of the pool. Brian emerged from the water grinning from ear to ear. Everyone jumped in and started splashing him to get him back. Back in the house Nick still hadn't left the window. When he heard the laughter coming from the back he was tempted to join but then he saw Jess' truck pull into the driveway. He rushed out to greet her, to explain to her, hopefully better than he explained to Brian. She exited the truck and he called out her name. When she looked at him his heart felt like it broke a million times all over again. He knew that look. He was stupid enough to put that look on her face once. "Please no." He whispered to himself as Jess slowly moved closer to him. "Jess. What's wrong? What happened?" He asked. She looked up at him and a tear fell slowly down her cheek. He noticed her trying to gain her composure to speak, but it was hard for her. Finally she spoke to him, in a soft and weary voice. "I um, went home after I left the radio station and um, when I got there…Mark was there in the bedroom…with…uh…with someone." She couldn't even finish what she wanted to say. She wanted to ask where Bri and the guys were but she knew when she heard the laughter and splashing coming from the back. She couldn't face them now. They were having fun and if she showed they would just feel bad for her. She turned her gaze back to Nick and saw the concern on his face. He stepped toward her and placed his arms around her and said, "Jess, I am so sorry. I don't know what to say." She hugged him back, finding some solace in his arms that she used to long for on dark and lonely nights. "Don't say anything. Just hold me please." They stood there, embracing each other, a silent understanding of what the other is feeling. Nick knew what he put her through and he knew that it was the same thing that Mark was putting her through right now. He swore to himself he would be her friend, he would be there when she needed him. He pushed his feelings for her away, hoping that they would disappear. That's what she needed right now, a friend.
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