But I remembered telling the front desk that we
needed two rooms.
He insisted on one.
I couldn’t help the tears streaming down my face. “Jake, you’re an idiot!”
Seeing me cry, his eyes softened for a moment.
“You seemed to enjoy it. Men and women, it’s a natural desire, it’s normal in this world.”
I couldn’t stand it anymore. I grabbed a glass from the table.
<
8:06
And threw it at him.
LO
5
After Jake left, I hid in the bathroom.
0220
424
Hugging myself, I slid down the cold wall.
Afraid of my aunt and uncle hearing me,
turned on the water and exhaust fan.
|
Riley, you’re so dirty.
Why are you so cheap?
Falling for someone who isn’t worth it.
After crying, the pain in my chest got better.
I tried to cheer up and took a shower.
Coming out of the bathroom, I felt empty and
numb.
<
8:06
424
After thinking about it, I told my aunt and uncle
that I wanted to move out when I went to
college.
They were surprised and asked me what
happened.
I didn’t tell them about Jake, just the general
idea.
They sighed.
And said that if I had made up my mind, they’d
respect it.
Then, they took out a stack of stuff from the
safe.
My uncle patted me on the shoulder:
“This is the inheritance your parents left for
you, we took care of it for years and made it
grow many times.”
“You’re an adult now, we think it’s time to give
you these stocks, funds, and insurance.”
My eyes filled with tears.
If it wasn’t for Jake, I would have stayed with
my aunt and uncle forever.
6
The next day, I saw that Jake’s best friend,
Mike, had posted some photos on social media.
Some of them were of a hotel decorated with
roses and lights.
Others were of them eating and playing pool.
The caption read:
“Congrats to my bro for finally succeeding in
love.”
く
I clicked on a few of them.
They were live photos.
I could hear people talking.
“Jake, tell me the truth, did you sleep with your
goddess last night?”
I tensed up and swiped to the next photo.
Jake’s voice:
“I got her naked, but I couldn’t do it.”
“Jake, you’re just lying. You slept with Riley, but
not Brittany?”
“It’s different.
“Brittany’s too innocent, I don’t want to taint
her, I’ll wait until we’re married.”
<
At the same time, my best friend, Sarah, called
- me.
“Riley, look at our class group chat, they’re
saying that Jake slept with you at the motel.
“And that you’re ruining his thing with Brittany.”
Everything went silent, Sarah’s words echoing in
my head.
Three seconds later, Mike deleted the post.
I went into the group chat.
People were discussing something.
“Did you see Mike’s live photos, you could hear
Jake.”
“Riley’s so shameless, she knows Brittany’s
about to say yes.”
<
“I heard that her mom didn’t want her, and they
just abandoned her at the Jones’s house.”
The messages didn’t stop.
Until I got a notification.
Jake had sent a message.
“Everyone needs to shut up. Whoever gossips
about this will be sorry!”
The chat went silent.
I wiped my face and started packing.
7
I stopped packing when the doorbell rang.
Aunt Carol called me from downstairs.
I went downstairs.
I froze at the sight in front of me.
Jake was holding Brittany’s hand.
They were in the middle of the living room.
I stood in shock.
Brittany greeted my aunt and uncle and held
out her hand. “You must be Jake’s sister.”
