When The Curtain Falls

8 ~Surfacing Emotions~

"You what?"

"Well, nothing's for sure, but he wants to see more of our work, and the best part is that he's Greta Van Fleet's tour manager..."

"What!?"

"Meaning, I'm guessing, we would be touring with them..."

"Oh my God! You know how good this would be for us!? We would be able to sightsee and eat new food and get new clothes. We'd finally have a steady job and be financially stable and we would be together every day!"

"No doubt about it... the only thing is I'm not sure if I can be around Jake all the time."

"Bella, you know that 75% of the time it'll just be me and you in all those big cities!! Please, you don't have to worry about Jake. Just think of it as our job, we are only there for OUR job, also I have Jake's boots and clothes so if you see him again give them to him."

"Let's just see what happens, remember we aren't sure if we have a job yet, and THANK YOU!! He was looking for them all morning and I felt horrible acting like I had no clue where they were... he even said something about them being his lucky pair."

"Oh for sure, you better get those back to him...Did you send Mr. Switzer more of our pictures he asked to see?" Jenna asked Bella in excitement.

"Yes, I sent him a bunch from the concert last night, don't worry I picked out the good ones."

"Ahhhh! I can't wait to see what he says. I'm so nervous...."

"Let's just not get excited yet, we always do this, Jenna."

"You're right. Let's just play it cool for now."

"I'll catch you later alright? And then you can tell me about your night with Jake," she winked at Bella.

Jenna grabbed her coat and left on a high thinking about the job touring the world with her best friend.

Bella waved from the window as Jenna drove off in her orange 1977 Ford Bronco. She threw herself on the couch, about to close her eyes, when saw the note with the number on it. "Call me", was written under the unknown number.

She took a deep breath in and dragged herself off the couch, grabbed the note, and took her phone out of her back pocket. She hesitated calling the number, it could've been anyone slipping it into her bag last night when she was out.

Finally, she did it. "Fuck it," she said under her breath as she added the number to her phone.

Hey

I'm glad you found my little note

Who is this?

It's the guy who you fucked on the bathroom sink last night... any guesses?;)

Hmmm, Josh?

Fuck You

Joking..haha, have you found your lucky pair of shoes Mr. Kiszka?

Nope, they're gone, i've never lost them, and i have no clue where to look

Can I swing by your apartment later? I have something to give you..

I'd rather just swing by your place when i have a minute

Oh, ok. That's fine, I'll be home all day...

*****

Meanwhile, Jenna and Nate were at their apartment as they made dinner. Jenna was keeping an eye on the stove while Nate chopped onions. The radio played and the two were dancing and bobbing their heads. Then a Greta Van Fleet song came on. Light My Love.

Nate came up behind Jenna and put his arms around her waist, swaying to the music with her. She put her wooden spoon down and turned around to face him. They began to dance to the song. Nate was unaware that this song was by Greta Van Fleet. When Jenna heard Josh's voice all she could think about was the wonderful time she had with him. She felt so free with him. She felt excitement in her life for the first time in a while.

"I love you, Jenna," Nate said. He swiped the hair from Jenna's face and tucked it behind her ear. "I'm sorry about hitting you before. I just get insecure when I see you with another guy. Please promise me you won't see him without me."

Jenna was unable to look into Nate's eyes, but she felt him gazing into hers. She didn't want to fight with him again. "I promise, Nate," she finally looked him in the eyes. He pulled her into a kiss.

"Thank you," he smiled.

********

There was a knock on Bella's door around 8 pm and it startled her, she thought Jake forgot to come. "Coming!" she yelled from the bathroom.

Opening the door there stood Jake wearing black skinny jeans and a white crop top with the same loafers he had on this morning.

"Hey"

"Hey"

They stood there awkwardly in the doorway

"Sorry, please come in," Bella said in embarrassment.

"I gotta go so can we be quick?"

"Oh, that's fine...I just wanted to give you your-"

"My shoes!"

"Yeah! I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner I got caught up in some stuff and you know this morning and-"

"I was out all day." he rudely interrupted her

"Excuse me?" Bella said, surprised by his tone.

"I was out all day, looking for them, And you knew I was looking for them... You had them this whole time didn't you?"

"Listen, you don't know the story so don't go blaming me for losing your shit, I was returning them like a good person.

"Save it, I don't wanna hear it, I'm taking my stuff and going."

"Jake! I could have kept them or sold them! Would one of your other flings return your stuff? Huh? I could definitely use the money, I can only afford to live in a crappy hotel at the moment, barely, but I didn't pawn them off, even before I knew who you were!! So yes, please leave, I'm not arguing with someone who doesn't even have the balls to take me back to his own apartment, but better yet, oh yeah, dump me on your little brother, great move Jake. You don't know me, you haven't even scratched the surface. I was stupid to think this was something more, even in the slightest."

"Bella no-"

"Please go.."

Jake left silently, slamming the door behind him

Bella fought the urge to cry, but he wasn't worth the tears.

Even though it was early, Bella just wanted to wash up and lay in bed.

By the time she got to bed, it was 10:30. She laid in bed and contemplated the conversation she just had with Jake.

"Did that really happen?" she whispered. Cursing herself, she rolled over and closing her eyes.