Page 92 of The Broposal

“I know you,” I said, pointing a finger at him and squinting. “How do I know you?”

The guy downed the last of his drink before looking up at me. It looked like I might not have been the only one trying to drink my problems away. He got up from his stool and came over to sit next to me.

“You’re Kenny’s boyfriend,” he said nonchalantly.

“No,” I mumbled, finally admitting it was over tosomeone. Even if I didn’t really know who. Then again, how did he know that?

“Sorry,fiancé.” He raised his fingers to catch Dion’s attention and asked for another drink.

“You want another, too?” Dion asked me, and I nodded and thanked him.

We were quiet while Dion made the drinks, but when he handed them to us, I finally spoke up.

“Ex-fiancé.”

“Damn. I know your pain, man…” He took another swig. “Jackie?”

I looked up from my drink at that. Then it hit me. This guy did know my pain. He knew it all too well, because he was Jackie’s ex. Bryan.

“Yeah, it was Jackie” was all I could bring myself to say. He didn’t need to know the details. As far as he knew, our exes dumped us for each other. I was fine with him thinking that. To be honest, that was kind of what it felt like to me, too. I know, I know. It was more complicated than that. Kenny didn’t have a choice. Blah, blah, blah. Still. “Fuck me,” I mumbled.

Bryan held up his drink for a toast, “Fuck Jackie,” he said, words a little soft around the edges. I clinked my glass to his and giggled.

“Fuck Jackie.” And we both drank.

“It’s probably a good thing we broke up, you know?” Bryan said with tears in his eyes, and I nodded. I didn’t know how Jackie’s relationship was with Bryan, but I wouldn’t doubt she was abusive toward him, too. “We both got screwed over so bad.”

“Yup,” I said, not knowing if he meant himself and Kenny, or himself and me. Either way, it was true.

“Like, you think you know someone, and then…” Bryan’s eyes got watery again, and, honestly, so did mine.

I didn’t want to face what happened with Kenny here at this bar, but what else could I do with Jackie’s ex staring me in the face? Kennyleftme. It wasn’t his fault, but he had. At the worst possible time. For once in my life, I’d thought everything was going to work out. That I’d get my green card and become a citizen. That I’d start a real relationship with Kenny. That I—we—could be happy, without having to worry about anything anymore.

But Jackie went and ruined all of it. If not for Jackie, Kenny and I would be married in a matter of weeks.

“I’m going to fucking expose her,” I mumbled, not even sure what I meant by those words. I just knew I meant them.

Bryan downed another gulp, not seeming to even hear me. Then someone behind me spilled their drink, and he turned his head at the noise.

That’s when I noticed it.

Scratch marks on Bryan’s cheek.

“What happened to your face?” I asked.

Bryan touched his cheek, like he forgot he had a scratch. “Oh, that. She fuckin’ slapped me. Used her nails and everything.”

His cheek looked just like Kenny’s the day he’d found out Jackie was pregnant. Anger burned my ears, balling my hands into fists on the bar. “Jackie hit you?”

Bryan sighed. “Yup. Just the one time, though. I ended it after that. She might think she can slap Kenny around like her little bitch, but she doesn’t have control over me like that. I’m not gonna put up with that shit.”

“Don’t talk about Kenny like that,” I snapped, fists squeezed so tight, I must have been breaking off my circulation. Jackiehit Kenny. How had I never seen that before? “None of this is Kenny’s fault.”

Bryan looked down at my fists, then held up his hands in surrender. “Whoa man, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not trying to get hit twice.”

I unclenched my fists at that. It wasn’t Bryan’s fault, either. He was just another one of Jackie’s victims. This was all so messed up. And I couldn’t even go to Kenny and tell him what I knew. All I wanted to do was show up at the apartment and guard it from Jackie, and never let her come near Kenny again.

But I couldn’t.

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