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I picked up the phone , surprised to hear Jack’s voice on the other end.
“Hi, Lauren,” he said when he heard that it was me. His voice had gone soft and gentle, the same way he had been speaking to me since Rebecca had stormed into the house. I knew he was trying to soften me up but it wasn’t going to work. I had made up my mind about him already, and I wasn’t going to budge. “Can you have Corina bring the tax forms for the restaurant to me here? I kind of need them tonight.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I’ll ask her.”
“Thanks,” he said, then paused. “How are you?”
“I’m fine. I have to go put Ivy to bed,” I said, though Ivy had fallen asleep an hour ago. “I’ll send Corina. Goodnight.”
I hung up the phone before he could answer, going upstairs to fetch Corina. Her light was off in her room, but I knocked on her door. She answered, her eyes puffy with sleep.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“I’m so sorry to wake you up,” I said. “Jack needs some papers tonight. He asked you to bring them, but I’ll go ahead and do it. Can you turn on the monitor for Ivy? Just keep an ear out for her while I’m gone. I should only be about a half hour.”
“Sure,” said Corina. “Thanks for going for me. I’d go, but I already took my blood pressure meds.”
“It’s fine,” I said, though I wasn’t looking forward to seeing Jack. He had seemed like he really needed the forms though and he was expecting them, so I went downstairs to his office and grabbed the folder, sticking it in my bag before I left the house. I went to the restaurant and got out of my car, seeing through the window that it was bustling and busy. I approached the door but I froze when I saw Jack. He was standing with a woman in the corner, a flirty smile on his face. I watched as he laughed, touching her arm. She took down her hair and shook it free, and I caught a glimpse of her face as she turned her head. She was beautiful, about my age, blonde, leggy, and perfect. Everything in my body tensed as I watched them.
The blonde took off her apron then, draping it over her shoulder, and put her hand on Jack’s arm as the two of them walked through the restaurant and disappeared in the back. I stood there staring after them, unable to move. I felt sick, betrayed even though Jack and I weren’t together. It was true what Rebecca had said—Jack was a serial player, somebody who would flirt with or fuck any pretty girl with a pulse. I had seen his face when he looked at her, and he hadn’t even hesitated to go into the back where the customers couldn’t see them.
I went into the restaurant and walked up to the counter. A boy turned around and looked at me.
“Can I help you?” he asked. I pulled the folder out of my bag and slid it across the counter for him.
“This is for Jack,” I said to him.
“Do you want me to go get him?” the boy asked. For a moment, I was tempted to have him do it, if only to interrupt whatever was going on between Jack and the blonde in the back of the restaurant. But I thought better of it—whatever he was doing was none of my business, and I had no reason to stop him from doing what he wanted.
“No,” I said to the boy, then turned around and left the restaurant, a knot forming in my chest. I got in my car and took a deep breath, trying not to cry as I drove off toward home. I kept picturing Jack’s face as he talked to the girl, the way he’d looked at her. It hadn’t just been my imagination. He had looked at me the same way, like I was the prettiest girl in the world. I felt stupid for falling for it; Jack was probably like that with every woman he met. I had felt special for a moment, but all of that had shattered when I’d seen him disappear with the waitress into the back of the restaurant. I knew what that meant—Jack didn’t care about me. I had been mistaken to ever think that he did.
I arrived home and went to my room, beginning to pack my things up. There was no way I could keep working for Jack. I needed desperately to get away from him if I was going to move on; I wasn’t going to be able to do that living in his house.
I stared at all of my stuff when it was packed up, sitting on the edge of the bed. I was tempted to leave right then but I knew that I had nowhere to go other than back to my parents’ house, and I couldn’t bear to face them now that I’d failed so miserably at getting out on my own yet again. I sighed and laid down in bed, trying to get some sleep so that I could get up early in the morning. I knew even as I tossed and turned that it was no use. I couldn’t stop crying, though I felt weak and stupid for doing it. Even as my body shook with sobs, I thought of Jack, and felt my heart break inside of my chest all over again.
