Wisteria (Eddie x Chrissy) ST

Reject

A/N (3/25/24): Sorry I haven't updated in so long. Just a heads up, I re-edited and rewrote parts in all the previous chapters since this story is actually almost two years old and I wasn't happy with it. Thank you for hanging in there with me! 

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When the Jeep pulls into a spot away from the other cars, Chrissy closes her eyes and counts to ten. The stress keeps mounting with each passing minute. That's been the case since they left the house. She needs to put her foot down and get this over with. It's day three of making small attempts that have gone nowhere. He will hear her out. No more excuses.

'I don't want to be a coward anymore.'

Jason barely said a word the whole ride to school. All they did was listen to songs on the radio. From how he's acting, there's a chance he has an idea of what's coming. It's been awkward and quiet between them after that night. Good. At least she's not the only one uncomfortable with this.

As soon as the music is off and his seatbelt unfastened, Chrissy knows this is her chance. "Hold on. We need to talk." The confidence she's hanging onto starts slipping away when his gaze lands on her. No. This has to be done.

"It can wait until later. The bell's going to ring soon and I have to talk to Patrick about something."

That isn't true. It's an excuse to push off what she has to say again. Nothing else can wait but he expects her to. "No, it can't. I've been trying to talk to you for three days and you keep saying the same things."

"Fine. What is it?" He fully turns in his seat, and gathering her scattered thoughts is harder. There was a game plan. She went over what she'd say like it was lines from a script for a huge role. "Well?"

"I, um..." His knee rocking to the side is distracting. Another sign of how annoyed he is. "If you're not going to say anything, then I'm getting out."

Chrissy fidgets and sucks in a deep breath. His impatience is making her more anxious. He's going to be so mad. It could be a repeat of Saturday night. "I think... maybe... I don't..."

"You think what? Tell me." He's tense. Alert and on edge. Guilt fills her for a moment. She remembers the good times they had, even before they started dating. Going to school football games with friends. Meeting up to check out movies at the theater. Complaining about their parents together. They made sense. Giving in to pressure was a terrible mistake. She tried to love him. It just isn't there.

"That... we should go our separate ways."

Jason's jaw goes slack. He stares at her, horrorstruck, not saying anything. Her assumption was wrong. That reaction gives away that he wasn't expecting this at all. She can see the wheels turning in his head through those light blue eyes.

What happens now? Is she supposed to wait for him to respond or get out to leave? It would've been better to ask a friend for advice on how to handle these kinds of situations first.

"No."

"No?" Chrissy is stunned. Was that an option? She didn't consider this a possibility. When a person breaks up with someone it's not supposed to be negotiable, right?

"I said no." Hearing it once more doesn't help either. "Who have you been talking to? I bet it was Charlotte. Is that where this is coming from?"

"W-What?" She's too shocked to think clearly. The way he's looking at her changed. Like the perfect image he's been marveling at for so long finally shattered to reveal something wretched in its place. "No. No one did anything. I decided it on my own."