Circles | Jody & Tyler | The Dumping Ground

Break-Up

Jody POV

I'd sent the text asking to meet up at the park. Tapping my nails against the table, I stared at my phone screen waiting in anticipation until I got the reply.

Okay, see you there x

I glanced at the kiss he'd placed on the end, feeling my guts clench inside me as my screen slowly faded to black. There'd be no more of that after I ended things with him.

The truth was, I was never going to be ready. I needed to accept that things could potentially end badly between us but it was up to me to try as hard as I could, not to let that happen.

My mind was focussed now, knowing that Tyler had my back made things a little easier. We were doing the right thing, waiting until we were older. Both of us had already had our fair share of teenage relationships and sometimes it made sense to step back to see the end goal.

Despite all this, I was still saddened by what I was doing. Brandon and I had made a good couple; he made me realise that I was stronger than I'd thought, especially during boxing, and the fact that he'd cared enough to ask me away with him, showed how much I meant to him. If it wasn't for my own distractions, I probably would've jumped up at the idea. But I liked Tyler.

And so I needed to make the right choice for everyone.

I remember when I used to sneer at the rom-coms Carmen and Tee used to gush over, crying when a protagonist broke up with their loved one. I didn't get why they were so invested in the hurt and upset, but I understood it now.

Even though I liked Tyler... breaking up with Brandon and ending what we had was going to hurt me too. But not as much as it would hurt him.

Brandon POV

I scratched my head and sighed. Jody could be an enigma at the best of times but that was why I liked her so much. She was a fantastic boxer, not to mention how strong a person she was inside as well.

I felt for her... she'd been abandoned by her family and had been forced to grow up with a house full of strangers. Strangers who'd become like family to her. She was only 16 but she'd gone through stuff that I couldn't even begin to understand.

Maybe that was why.

Asking her out had been a gamble, and I'd been genuinely surprised when she'd rung me back. It was true, we hadn't known each other that long but over the past month, I'd gotten to know her to be a strong-minded girl who was determined to prove herself to everybody. She was completely different from every other girl I'd ever met. She knew what she wanted and she fought for it.

I was her boyfriend.

Yet sometimes, it felt as though I didn't know her at all. My mum had advised me that she'd probably gone through some truly horrible things in her past, things that were personal to her and would take a while for her to talk about. I reckoned that's why she was so quiet at times, in between the chats, laughter, and boxing... she had her own insecurities.

She was drifting away from me.

That's when I'd decided on asking her about the trip to Florida. I needed to know if she still liked me if we still had something worthwhile... something serious. She hadn't even met my family yet. I pondered over asking her if it was because families were a sensitive topic, but I hadn't wanted to sound patronising.

Arriving at the park, I smiled as I approached Jody who was already sat at a bench looking quite solemn. Her head lifted itself from the table as I came to greet her but there was something sad in her eyes, as though she knew something I didn't. I'd seen that look before.