NEPO BBY

40

As I walked Dad out, I opened the front door to my penthouse and was startled to find Carmen standing there, her figure framed by the soft glow of the overhead lights. The atmosphere was thick with an awkward tension that left us frozen in place for a moment, each caught in our whirlpool of emotions.

"I'll leave you two alone," Dad said, breaking the standoff as he slipped past Carmen, his eyes darting between us before disappearing down the elevator, leaving us alone in this charged space.

"Can we talk?" Carmen finally managed to ask, her voice barely above a whisper as she stood in the doorframe, a seemingly fragile barrier separating us. Though I wrestled with my feelings of anger and betrayal, I could not say no to her, so I opened the door, inviting her.

We took a seat on the sofa, a chasm of unsaid words hanging between us as we both sat in silence, the weight of our unaddressed issues enveloping us like a thick fog. It was unbearable, and finally, I broke the silence, my heart racing as I turned to her and asked, "Did you sleep with him?"

Her response came as a soft, sorrowful utterance of my name, "Jack."

I felt my frustration boiling over; I simply needed a direct answer. "Just tell me yes or no. It doesn't even matter; we're not together anyways, right?" I pushed, my voice edged with bitterness, desperate to cut through the emotional haze surrounding us.

But Carmen's reaction was heartbreaking, tears spilling from her eyes as she struggled to find the right words. "Jack, you know this is more complicated than that," she said, her voice cracking under the strain of her emotions.

Time seemed to freeze as I demanded, "Yes or no!"

Her response was a plea rather than an answer, "Jack, stop it, please just listen to me," she begged, her hands reaching out instinctively to grab mine.

But instinctively, I yanked my hand away, feeling an overwhelming need for physical and emotional distance. "Carmen, I don't want you to touch me right now," I said sharply as if my words could somehow fortify the walls I had tried to build around my heart.

"Jack," she pleaded, her voice breaking.

A knock came at my front door, interrupting us momentarily. "Goddamn it! Who the fuck is it now?!" I yelled through the house, my frustration boiling over as I stormed up to the door, leaving Carmen alone in the living room, an echo of unspoken words hanging between us.

I flung the door open, and there stood Anna, her cheerful smile. My heart sank as my eyes widened in disbelief; the tangled mess of the night before replayed in my mind, leaving me momentarily speechless. "Are you okay?" she asked, concern etching her features as she glanced at my state, but I couldn't focus on her words.

I looked over my shoulder instinctively, the worry churning in my stomach, then stepped outside, closing the door between us and Carmen. "No, what are you doing here?" I demanded, a mix of anger and desperation lacing my tone.

Anna's confusion was palpable; she held up my watch, the one I'd been wearing last night, symbolizing my reckless choices. "You left this at my place last night," she said softly, and I snatched it from her, shoving it into my pocket with a hasty motion.

"Thank you. Can you please leave? Now is not the time."

Before she could protest, Carmen suddenly emerged from the shadows of my penthouse; her face obscured as she shielded it from sight, her vulnerability cloaked in anger and hurt. "I was just leaving," she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper as she brushed past us, and I felt an overwhelming urge to reach out, to stop her, as if a single word could somehow bridge the chasm of betrayal that had opened between us.

"Carmen! No! Wait!" I called out, desperation clawing at my throat.

She turned to face me, and in that moment, all the emotions spilled forth—pain, fear, disbelief. I finally saw the hurt in her eyes, red and puffy, streaked with remnants of tears. "Oh! Did you sleep with her?! Did you, Jack?! You're such a fucking hypocritical asshole!" Her voice cracked like glass, each word slicing through me with searing precision as she slammed her hands into my chest, a physical manifestation of all the emotional turmoil I had wrought.

And just like that, she spun on her heel. She was gone, down the elevator, leaving me standing there in the doorway, frozen in regret and self-loathing, an echo of her words ringing in my mind, haunting me as I grappled with the reality of the choices I'd made and the hurt I had inflicted.

I turned to face Anna, a whirlwind of emotions surging through me as I struggled to find the right words, my voice barely above a whisper as I implored, "Please leave."

The incredulous look on her face was enough to ignite a spark of anger within her, and she scuffed her feet defiantly, taking a few aggressive steps toward me. "Are you kidding me?" she retorted, her voice climbing with every syllable, and my heart raced as I braced for the inevitable confrontation. "You slept with me when you were with her?"

The accusation hung like a heavy fog, suffocating and disorienting. "No!" I shouted. "Carman and I aren't together!"

My proclamation seemed only to deepen her skepticism, and I watched as she narrowed her eyes, disbelief etched across her face. "Yeah, right!" she shot back vehemently, her frustration boiling over as she thrust her hands against my chest with a force that nearly sent me stumbling backward. "I hate you!"

She stared into my eyes with such intensity that I felt exposed, raw, and vulnerable as if everything I had tried to explain was lost in the chaos. And just as quickly as the storm had erupted, it dissipated; Anna spun on her heel and stormed into the elevator, leaving me paralyzed and bewildered, the sound of the doors sliding shut echoing in the cavernous silence behind her.