Page 1 of Broken Promises

lucy

. . .

Luzzini’s: Are you up for some fun time later?

The words swirledin front of my eyes, followed with a winky smile face that only stabbed at my heart further.

I blinked once as if the motion would magically make the words disappear, but they remained on my boyfriend’s phone screen. My chest tightened as I dissected every letter in a simple text message.

“Jason, what’s this?” I stammered. It felt like the phone was somehow contagious with his betrayal, yet I couldn’t force myself to let go of it. My hands shook as I climbed out of bed and approached the door to our bathroom. “Jason!”

“What’s what, babe?” Jason called from the shower. He had just finished his workout, and we were meant to head out for dinner together. Now, it felt like a cold water had been poured over me.

“You got a message from Luzzini’s,” I said. Luzzini’s was a nearby Italian restaurant from which we often ordered pizza. There was no way they were asking him if he wanted to have some fun later. No, he was hiding someone’s number from me.

The moment the words left my lips, Jason rushed outside. He’d barely had time to properly wrap a towel around his waist. He grabbed the smallest one, which looked ridiculous around his muscular frame, as he tried to keep himself covered, before reaching for his phone. I stepped back, still holding the device in my hand.

“Since when did they start texting you to ask if you want to have some fun later?” I asked. Just saying it out loud made me sick to my stomach. Bile rose to my throat, threatening to spill at any point now.

This can’t be happening.

“Luce, I can explain…” His face was pleading as he took another step toward me.

“Go ahead. Explain.”

His mouth opened and then closed again. For once, Jason was speechless as I stared at all 6’5” of him. His blue eyes were frantic, and strands of still-soaked blonde hair scattered over his forehead. The silence that followed was louder than anything he could have said.

“Who is she?”

“Look, I?—”

“Who is she?!” I snapped. The back of my eyes burned, but I desperately tried to keep it under control. The last thing I wanted was to break into tears right now. He didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserveme.

“I didn’t want you to find out like this. There’s really no easy way to say this, I suppose, but I want you to know that I didn’t plan on anything like this happening. It just…did. You were so busy all the time, and we’ve barely been spending any time together. And I guess I’ve just…needed someone by my side. I needed to feel loved and appreciated.” He swallowed, his entire body tense as he gathered the courage to say the words out loud. “What I’m trying to say is…I met someone else.” He leanedagainst the bathroom counter, still trying to hold up the towel wrapped around him.

The urge to scream and cry was there, but neither of those things happened. My heart shattered into a million pieces, yet I remained surprisingly calm. I didn’t know how I was doing it—all I knew was that I was taking the news well…all things considered. It seemed like disassociation went a long way. “And when were you planning to tell me any of this? How long has this been going on?”

He stayed silent, telling me it was longer than expected. I wasn’t in the mood to play around. I needed to know how badly he had messed up so I could go through with damage control. “How long?” I repeated myself.

Silence.

“How long!?”

He flinched as I snapped, finally daring to meet my eyes again. “Jesus. I’ve been seeing her for six months! I didn’t mean to; it just…happened. I was lonely, and she was there, and I…what are you doing?” he asked as I dashed out of the bathroom and into the bedroom.

“If you’re lonely, you get a cat, Jason. You don’t find someone else to stick your dick in,” I told him, opening the closet we shared and nearly tearing the door out of its hinges. He followed closely behind, watching me grab the suitcase and pull it out.

“Please, can we talk about this? I can’t?—”

“I never would have cheated on you!” I snap at him, opening my underwear drawer and tossing a few panties into the suitcase. For all I knew, I was packing six pairs of underwear and nothing else. I just needed to get out of here. “This doesn’t need to be said, but we’re done. We’re so fuckingdone,” I swore. The tears threatened to spill down my cheeks at any point, so I tried to focus on the task ahead. I needed to pack my things as soon as possible.

I quickly rummaged through my shelves next, grabbing only the most necessary items and throwing them in my suitcase. I’d come back for the rest of my things later—for now; I just wanted to be able to get through the next day or two.

Jason grasped my arm, turning me around so I’d face him. I couldn’t even look at him.

“Babe, please, let’s just talk about this. Don’t make any rash decisions,” he said softly. “Please, let’s just talk all of this through. Let me explain myself.”

“No. There’s nothing to explain. Nothing you say is going to change my mind.” My hands trembled more. I could barely grab the items I wanted to put in my suitcase. “You don’t cheat on someone you love.”

---