Matt's POV

I didn’t really know how I felt about things. I had started to date Jarren to see if Ella got jealous, but honestly, I ended up actually liking Jarren. I liked her so much, in fact, that when Ella told me that she didn’t trust Jarren, I chalked it up to jealousy, and wasn’t even the least bit excited that Ella was jealous. I wanted her to back off Jarren.

And now… Well. Now it turns out Ella wasn’t jealous, she was just right. I was out my girlfriend, and the girl I had a crush on. I felt sad for myself for a moment, and then it was straight back to anger.

It was bad enough to be cheated on, but why did she have to create so much drama while she did it? She obviously was either lying about Greg freaking out on her, or she was an idiot for hooking up with a guy who did. Either way, I was done. I picked up the phone to dial her number, but then decided better. I would do it face to face.

On the drive over to Jarren’s house, I thought about what to say. I didn’t want to get Ella in trouble. Ella didn’t seem like she still wanted to be friends with Jarren, but I knew through what Ella had told me, and hearing the story Jarren told me about Greg that she had a flair for the dramatic. I knew Ella’s life right now was dramatic enough, and I didn’t want to add to it.

I called Jarren when I was outside of her place. I should have called before I left, to make sure she was home, but I hadn’t thought of it. However, with how early it was… Well, if she wasn’t home, then she was still with Greg.

“Hello?” She answered, sounding a little groggy.

Good. She had just woken up. If Greg was still there, I could catch her in the act. If he wasn’t… Well, I would have to come up with another reason to break up with her.

“Hey. I um, need to talk to you.”

“OK.” She said. I heard her move around. “What’s up?”

“I’d rather do this in person. I’m right around the corner, can I come up?”

“Um… What’s this about?” She asked. She was sounding more awake. And more on edge. Was that because Greg was still there?

“I’ll tell you when I get there.” I said, abruptly hanging up the phone before she could protest.

Call me paranoid, but I waited a few minutes, watching to see if anyone left in a haste. Even though the proof Ella had given me was pretty solid, I guess I was just looking to see it with my own two eyes.

When nobody came out, I shook my head. I had to break up with Jarren. Just this whole stunt alone was turning me into one of those crazy boyfriends that I always rolled my eyes at. I’d just tell Jarren that I was experiencing trust issues, and that I didn’t think it was fair to her. It made my stomach roll a little that I wasn’t telling her what a crazy lying bitch she was, but again, I didn’t want to get Ella in trouble.

I walked to her door, knocking on it. After a few minutes, she answered, looking tired and disheveled and a little annoyed.

“How was your night last night?” I asked, sounding a little accusing. I couldn’t help myself. Part of me wondered if Greg had been here and just hadn’t left, and was now somewhere in her place, hiding until I left. Again, I shook my head to get rid of the paranoid thinking. It didn’t matter even if he was here, he could have her, I was done with her.

“It was fun.” She said, smiling slightly. I felt my blood boil. “I missed you though. I’m glad you came over, even if you did wake me up.” She said, while moving towards me. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I had to gently untangle myself from them.

“Jarren, I came over here to talk.”

“OK.” She said, a worried look starting to cross her face. She sunk down to the couch. “What’s up?”

“Nothing… I just…” I wondered how exactly to go about this without just blurting it out, but I realized there really was no such way.

“You’re breaking up with me, aren’t you?” She asked.

I didn’t say anything, just looked away. As mad as I was, this was still hard to do. Not being able to tell her the real reason, and then… Well, I liked Jarren. For the first time the anger wore off a little and was replaced by this feeling of hurt.

“I can’t believe you!” She yelled. “Why just out of the blue? Just the other day you were telling me how you’d protect me and how much you cared about me. Were you lying?”

“No… I just…” I shrugged. What was I supposed to say? You lied to me, so why does it matter if I’m lying to you?

“Is there someone else?”

I was quiet again. There was someone else, maybe not for me. But… For her.
She rose from the couch and started to pace. “Who is she? Do I know her?
How long has it been going on?”

“Nothings going on Jarren. I am not a cheater, I’ve never been a cheater. I don’t tolerate being cheated on so I wouldn’t do it back to someone. I’m just… I’m not feeling this like I was. I know it sudden and I’m sorry, but things change and I wanted to tell you so I didn’t lead you on.”

“Oh. Ooooh. Well, thank you SO much.” She said, her voice dripping in sarcasm. “I really appreciate not being lead on.”

“Jarren…” I started, not knowing how to finish that sentence. I had come here thinking I’d be so angry at her that I wouldn’t be able to keep the secret of what Ella had told me. But instead, I was feeling bad for her, sorry that I couldn’t tell the truth. Almost sorry that I was hurting her.

“Don’t. Don’t do me anymore favors other than getting the hell out of here. This is ridiculous Matt, and in a few days when you realize how stupid you’ve been, I won’t be here to take you back.”

“Alright then. Again, I’m sorry Jarren.” I said, walking towards the door.

“Sorry doesn’t really mean crap right now, Matt.” She said.

I turned to look at her, and then just nodded. I kept waiting for that anger to come back. I was half hoping Jarren would yell at me about how she cheated on me, so it didn’t matter, or how she had someone waiting in the wings anyway, so that I could get angry. But she didn’t. As I left her apartment, I wasn’t prepared for the sadness to hit me full force. Another failed relationship. Seriously, could I have done something to prevent it? Could I have been a little more controlling, spent more time with her so that she wouldn’t have had time to see Greg?

How come when someone hurts you, you spend a good chunk of time trying to either rationalize their behavior, or figure out some way that you’re to blame?

I drove home, and was glad to see that Seth’s car was gone when I pulled in. I’ll admit the guy was growing on me, and I wasn’t as jealous as I once was, but seeing his and Ella’s happy lovey-dovey routine right now just might make me vomit. I walked in and heard Ella on the phone. I followed the noise until I found her in the kitchen, watching out the back door as Cumulus ran around.

“So what reason did he give you? Really… No reason? You think there’s someone else… Why? Well. No, I haven’t seen him around anyone. I mean I have been with Seth a lot lately though… I don’t know.” She looked up at me with questions in her eyes. “Look, he’s home, so let me talk to him and see what I can find out. Alright. Bye.”

“Jarren?” I asked.

Ella nodded. “You said you’d talk to her. Not that you were going to break up with her!”

“What was I going to say Ella? I mean either she was going to deny where she was, or come up with some lame excuse. Besides, she knew I was at home last night, so how was I going to tell her where I saw her without busting you out?”

“You could have told on me. I don’t care. I knew that was a risk I was taking when I told you about her.”

“I know you don’t care Ella. And I do appreciate you telling me. I just didn’t want you to be dragged into the drama.”

She smiled, waving her phone at me. “She had to have called me the second you walked out of the door. Dragging me into the drama. With Jarren, you just can’t escape the drama.”

“I didn’t think about that. Sorry.” I said, sitting in a kitchen chair.

“Don’t be. I was just kidding. I appreciate you trying to protect me from her. She can be ten different types of crazy.”

“That’s what was so weird, El. I kept expecting her to pop out with ‘well it doesn’t matter anyway, because I cheated on you!’ or ‘I already have someone else lined up!’ But she never did.”

“That’s because then Jarren would have to admit that SHE did something wrong. She knows that if she told you, you’d tell me, and I’d probably get angry and go off on her and then she couldn’t play victim anymore. Jarren likes drama, but more than drama she likes attention, and she likes it best when everyone feels sorry for her and she can do no wrong. Right now you’re the bad guy. If she does decide to date Greg, she’s got an easy way to bring him in. ‘Oh yeah, he went crazy on me about Matt, but it’s only because he knew Matt was playing me. He’s been so good since the break up. Matt was a jerk, Greg was meant for me.’ Or some crap like that. She’s crazy, but she’s not stupid. She’s been playing these games for far too long.”

“You really think she’s that conniving?” I asked, surprised.

“I told you when you too started dating that she was four different kinds of rare nuts. She gets it from her Mom. Her mom seems like the sweetest person in the world, but she make sure she gets hers and gets taken care of, and she doesn’t care WHO she steps on to get it.”

“Jarren does come off as so nice… Even with her pulling the whole Greg thing… I dunno. I’m just having a hard time believing she’s so crazy.”

Ella shrugged. “Yeah. I get that a lot. Some people see right through her and stay away. Other people get some sort of inkling that something’s wrong, but they can’t quite put their finger on it. The first couple times… Well. I spent years making excuses for Jarren. She’s just young, she doesn’t know any better, she’s just hurt, her parents suck, and on and on. But honestly, I’ve seen her do it far too many times to far too many people to not believe it now. I know you’re sad Matt, but just be glad you got out.” She said, patting me on the back.