Every Scar Has Its Story

Chapter 23 The Depths of Heartache

I sat on my bed, clutching my phone as if it were a lifeline. 71 missed calls from Jax. Each one felt like a fresh wound, a reminder of the love I thought we shared. I hugged my knees to my chest, the darkness of my room matching the darkness inside me.

Mom knocked gently on my door, her voice soft. "Hey, you doing okay?"

I felt like confiding in my mom, I hurt her feelings time and time again and all she ever did was receive all of my wrath.What did it feel like to be her? To feel the disappointment of having me as a daughter and having to deal with me as her daughter, she must've suffered a great deal of pain and heartache that is unimaginable compared to the one I'm feeling. Jax was my first love, and losing him felt like losing a part of myself.

"You need anything? Water? A hug?" Mom said through the door

"A hug would be nice," I whispered.

She slowly opened the door and sat beside me, wrapping her arms around me. She didn't say a word and neither did I, I allowed my mom to comfort me and she allowed me to comfort her. She finally got up,"Hot chocolate?"

"Mom?"

"Yes honey?"

"I'm sorry."

" I'm sorry too sweetheart." She left

My phone buzzed again. Another call from Jax. I ignored it, but my heart ached. I wanted to hear his voice, to believe his reassurances, but the betrayal was too fresh.

The next day, I still found myself in a fog of sadness. I went through the motions of my daily routine, but my mind was elsewhere. Walter tried his best to keep my spirits up, but it was an uphill battle.
I was waiting for my mom to pick me up, when I heard a familiar voice. "Thea!"

I turned in the direction of the voice, recognizing it immediately. "Jax, what are you doing here?"

"I needed to see you. Please, can we talk?"

I hesitated,but nodded. The tension between us was palpable.

"I'm so sorry, Thea," Jax began. "I should have told you about my ex. I didn't mean to hurt you. She and I used to date..."

"It's not just about her, Jax. It's about you. This whole thing got me thinking, I don't know you, do I?"

"I know, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to earn your trust back. I promise I'll tell you everything, I just need you to take me back."

I could hear the vulnerability in his voice,I wanted to believe him, but the pain was still raw. "I need time, Jax. I need to figure out what's best for me."

"I understand. Just know that I'll be here, waiting for you."Jax gently took my hand. "I love you, Thea. That hasn't changed."

My heart ached, but I pulled my hand away."I know." Bryce barked to let me know he was seeing something familiar, my mom was here.

" Tomorrow, I'd like you to meet my friends at the café. I promise I'll leave you alone after that."

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" Walter,I know I shouldn't even be doing this. But if I'm doing it, I'd like you to go with me."

" I really don't know how I got roped in all of this, okay I see him approaching with his friends."

" How do they look?"

" Pretty decent, there's two guys and a girl. She looks familiar, oh it's the Instagram girl."

" He brought her?!"

" Yeah he did. They're here."

"Hey." Jax said," This is her."

" Hi Thea, I'm Aaron."

" I'm Dylan."

" And I'm Toni."

I finally spoke up, " Nice to meet you all, this is Walter my friend."

" So you want to know all about Jax, where do we start? It's Aaron speaking by the way."

" You don't need to do that she knows." Jax spoke

" Oh I'm sorry."

"I think I know him more so I'll tell you. Jax and I grew up together, my mom and his mom are bestfriends. His mom and dad are only the best doctors in the country, their only flaw-they don't spend as much time at home as they're supposed to. Jax is a pretty decent guy, he's 21, not so good-looking so don't be fooled. He's 6'1, yeah exactly 6'1 don't let him lie to you about being 6'2. He goes to Martin's, he's not into any sports because he believes sports are a waste of time so he spends his time reading or learning a new language or cooking he's a great chef. He's pretty well built for someone who isn't sporty. So we started dating last year, lasted for a month or two, the worst two months of my life. We only dated because we were bored I guess and it was all about clearing the what ifs, so I have this guy that I liked and I asked Jax to put up that photo of us on his Gram to make the guy jealous. I wouldn't have asked if I thought it'd be a big deal."

" You might not believe her,but it's true we were there when that happened."

"I really wouldn't have asked, we just didn't know if he was seriously telling the truth about being in love. None of us had met you before and you don't have any social media presence."

" But it's really nice to meet you and you're a very chilled person."

" Right, I was really thinking about how cool she is."

" We don't know what else you wanna know but surely Jax can tell you himself."

" I think he will."

" So we're outta here, Walter let's bounce man."

" You'll be okay right?" Walter put a comforting hand on my shoulder, " If you hurt her again..."

" I won't Walter. I won't. "