Situations Are Irrelevant Now

Jealousy

Chapter 21: Jealousy

Ronnie Radke is the only person who can tear me down and bring me right back up within moments of each other. Having him in my life was like being forced to ride a roller coaster over and over again. I’m starting to get incredibly nauseated.

The blinking light on the answering machine and subsequent messages were all it took to erase nearly any memory of the night I had spent with Craig.

The first message was from Max. As soon as I heard the concerned tone in his voice, I knew that any of my assumptions regarding Ronnie were correct. All those tears that I had so desperately held back were starting to leak down my cheeks as I continued to listen to the message. 

How could I be so stupid? I let my guard down and let myself enjoy the notion of being in a relationship with him, only to have my heart broken for the millionth time.

I was torn from my self-loathing when Max’s message got cut off…like he was suddenly surprised by someone or something. Did Ronnie walk in while Max was telling me about what he’d done? What if they got in another fight? Feeling overwhelmed with guilt and disgust, I curled up on the couch, not caring how soaked the cushions became.

I had forgotten that there was still one more message on the machine, which auto-played once Max’s message had ended. Ronnie’s voice poured through the speakers.

Naturally, his message was a complete contradiction of Max’s. Max said that Ronnie was with a girl while Bryan imitated him on the phone. Ronnie said that Max was jealous of our relationship and purposely made it seem that he was with a girl so that I would want to break up with Ronnie. For the briefest of seconds, I could feel myself wanting to believe Ronnie’s side of the story. But I knew it was all a lie. Max had no reason to be jealous; he had his own girlfriend.

Who do I believe: Max, my best friend who always had my best interest in mind, or Ronnie, the guy my heart seems foolishly insistent on falling for

“I love you, Megan, and don’t forget it.”

The last words of Ronnie’s message echoed in the silent room. There was such sincerity in his voice that I wasn’t even sure if it was actually Ronnie speaking. Could it be that Max was lying?

Not wanting to go to bed feeling so utterly depressed and heartbroken, I decided to believe Ronnie for now, at least until they’re back home and I can conduct a proper interrogation.

+++

Despite my desire to stay in bed, the world around me had other intentions. My phone wouldn’t stop ringing, blasting some Bullet for my Valentine song I’d recently set as the ringtone.

The call ended before I could reach my phone. I groaned as I continued groping around for the phone with my eyes closed. Whoever the hell called better have a good reason for doing so. Unable to find it, I begrudgingly opened my eyes and screamed when I saw a person hovering above me.

Craig was equally startled and lost his balance. He fell onto the bed, landing with his face incredibly close to mine. “This is…uh…an interesting wake-up call,” I said, laughing awkwardly.

“I tried calling you, but since the front door was unlocked I just let myself in. When I saw that you were still asleep, I couldn’t pass up such a perfect opportunity,” he teased.