Summer of Secrets

Scumbag

Jaelyn

I’m so relieved to finally be getting out of this bus. I must admit the trees and country foliage are beautiful, but the heinous country music is revolting. We have stopped at a gas station for a break, before the last half an hour drive to the camp site. I am one of the first out of the van and in the station at the chocolate bar rack. I grab a Hershey’s bar and because I already had a Snickers, a bag of gummy bears. I walk to the counter passing my fellow campers just coming in from the van. Next I decide to use the bathroom. I head to the woman’s room, but the door is locked so I wait and lean against the wall. Out of the window the kid from the airport, Nikolai, is smoking. He is tall, and probably attractive to those kind of  girls who like the “tall, dark, and handsome” types. A lady exits the bathroom and holds it open for me as she passes by. 

“Thanks.” I say to her as I enter.

In the mirror I see that my eyeliner has begun to fade, and that my ponytail has started to droop. I first use the toilet. Then I wash my hands, without really touching any of the nasty looking appliances. I take my midnight colored eyeliner out of my purse and retouch my eyes. Then I take my hair band out of my hair. My long tresses fall down my shoulders and my back. I decide to keep my hair down, liking the feel of it being out and free. 

As I’m walking back around the station to where the camp van is parked I notice a pay phone. During the ride I realized that my phone had died, and I never had time to call Dylan. Putting the treats in my bag I dig some change out of the bottom of my purse. I dial his number from memory excited to finally here his voice since its been a couple of days since I last spoke to him.    

“Hello?” says a female voice. For a second I think I have called the wrong number until I here Dylan’s husky voice in the background telling whoever said hello to give him the phone.

“Um, who is this?” I ask.

I hear the girl giggle.

“Who is this?” she says in a terse voice.

Then I hear Dylan again,  “Give me the phone Bridge.” Bridge? I think. He cant be talking about Bridget? No. Not Slutty Bridget? I suddenly feel sick, like all the food that I’ve consumed in the last month are ready to be regurgitated. 

“Hello?” Its Dylan. 

“Hel--” he starts to say again.

“Dylan.”

“Jaelyn?”

“What the hell is Bridget Lenords doing answering your phone Dylan?” My voice is on the edge of being shrill.

He is silent. And then I hear her again.

“Tell her Dylan. Tell her that your with me now.”

“Yah Dylan tell me. Tell me how your done with me and are going to be with Slutty Bridget!” I’m getting upset now, so much so that I don’t even care when I see some campers notice me as they head back to the van.

“TELL ME DYLAN!” My blood is boiling, I am past having tears, I cant believe he would even want to leave me for that skank.

“Jaelyn, its not what you think…”

“ITS NOT WHAT I THINK? WELL OBVIOUSLY SHE DOESN’T THINK THAT! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS? YOU SAID YOU LOVED ME!

“I do love you.” He says, but it just makes me angrier because lovers don’t cheat.

“YOU LOVE ME!!? I HATE YOU! YOU’RE A FAGGOT PIECE OF--”

All of a sudden the phone is ripped from my hands and slammed down onto the reciever. Before I can even understand whats happening I am being turned and pressed up against the gas station wall. Mere inches from my face is Nikolai. 

“He’s not worth it.” he says. I shudder and feel the sting of tears and the flush of my cheeks going red. A mixture of anger, and surprise. And then Nikolai is gone, just as fast as he had come and  I am being held up not by his body but by the grimy wall behind me. I gulp for air, feeling shaky and unsettled. I pick up my purse which I realize must have fallen in the mist of my screamscapade, or Nikolai’s sudden appearance.

“Are you okay?” I lookup into the grey piercing eyes of Eric.

I force a smile.

“Bad breakup?”

“You heard that?” I ask embarrassed.

“I think half the state heard you” he says. “But no worries, that guy doesn’t deserve you. Come on lets get you back to the van before they leave us.” I brush the hair out of my eyes as Eric takes my arm, and leads me back to the now idling van. I get in, but not before noticing all the staring faces, all but one…Nikolai. He‘s just sitting in the back looking out the window like nothing happened. Great now ontop of everything else they all know that I’ve been cheated on.

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Hey so the picture we put on the sideis....  Dylan!!!