it was 6:39 on friday, july 18th. i was scrolling through twitter when i saw it. the picture of chance and meredith kissing, with the time stamp of July 17th on it. with tears in my eyes i lock my phone, not even that upset because i knew it would happen again sooner or later.
tess
6:43 pm
jack, come pick me up. i cant be here right now.
jack
6:44 pm
i'm on my way.
i walk out of the room, met with chance as he was walking down the hall.
"hey babe." he says.
"don't fucking babe me chance." i say,
"tess, what's wrong?" he asks.
"go ask meredith fucking mickelson" i say, walking away from him. i look back, his face looks defeated, he knows what he did. i walk downstairs, going into the kitchen, tony stops me,
"tessa, he was drunk. "
"tony, i truly don't care. sober or drunk, his actions are still his actions." i say, walking away from him, aggravated that he's sticking up for him. a few minutes later, a text comes through
jack
7:04 pm
i'm outside, be careful, sea of fans outside.
read 7:04 pm
i walk out the front door, loud yells coming from every direction as they see me. i stop, take a few pictures with people, then walk over to jacks jeep. "TESS WHAT HAPPENED WITH CHANCE" and "YOU'RE WITH JACK NOW?" being yelled at me as they realize it's jack in the vehicle. i look at jack as he pulls away from the house, a warm tear slides down my face, we drive for 10 minutes when we pull up outside of Eightfold and jack looks at me.
"let's go carb and you can tell me why a pretty girl like you is so sad." he says, as he opens his door. i open mine, as jack is walking up to my car door. he grabs my hand, leading me toward the door of Eightfold.
once we're in there, and we have our toast, muffins, and coffee, he looks at me, waiting for me to tell him why i cried earlier. without hesitation i tell him,
"chance and meredith mickelson kissed yesterday, and they took a picture and somehow someone got ahold of the picture and posted it on twitter and tagged me, and that's how i found out." i say, he looks at me, confusion scattered across his face, i look down at my legs not wanting to remain eye contact.
"tessa, maybe you are meant to be hurt by him, maybe you're supposed to be here with me, right now, hurt as you've ever been, maybe i'm supposed to be here for you, while you fix yourself, and repair your heart." he says
"i'm glad i'm with you right now. i'm glad i'm hurt and here with you. you always find a way to make me happy." i say, a small smile on my face as he places his hand on mine.
"can i stay at yours tonight? i don't want to go back to the T10 house." i ask.
"yes, but don't you need permission from jake?" he asks me
"yea, but he'll understand why i dont want to be there, i hope." i saw, realizing how fucked up it is that i have to ask someone that is my age for permission to stay out.
tess
7:54 pm
jake, i cant be near chance right now, can i stay at someone's house tonight?
jake
7:55 pm
yea tess, where are you staying?
tess
7:55 pm
jacks, ill be home tomorrow morning, and later today to pick up clothes
jake
7:56 pm
okay, i'm sorry for everything that happened with chance. you don't deserve it.
read 7:56 pm
jake had always been the most understanding boy in my life, he cares so much for me, and never really enforces the rules for me, but i thought i'd ask anyway, just in-case he was in a bad mood.
"what'd he say?" jack asks
"he said yea," i say, smiling at him. "can we go back to the house so i can grab clothes?" i ask
"well of course. " he says, standing up and grabbing his garbage. we drive back to the house where i grab a pair or nike running shorts and a blue sweater, my toothbrush, and my hair brush, assuming jack will have good shampoo at his house. the whole time i'm there chance had tried to talk to me about everything. as i ignore him, his face gets red with anger almost tomato red, i grab a pair of jean shorts and a JP X sweater that's cut into a crop, and walk out of my bedroom. "goodbye chance." being the only thing i say the whole time i'm in the house. i walk out, getting into jacks jeep as chance is standing in the door way looking pissed.
chance
8:14 pm
cant believe you're with him, the day after we stop talking. you're such a whore.
tess
8:15 pm
whatever you say chance. but just remember, i didn't cheat on you, i never cheated on you. so if either one of is a whore, i don't think it's me :) x
the night drags on, tweet after tweet from chance just consistently talking about me as if he wasn't "in love" with me 5 hours earlier.
"tessa, stop reading them, you'll forget about him if you stop worrying about what he's saying." jack says looking at me as i am sat on his bed.
"he's making it look as if i'm the one that cheated on him. he's making it look as if i'm the one the told him i wanted a future with him, and promised him happiness just to turn around and kiss another boy. i didn't do that, he's the one that told me we would be happy together, and that we would have a future, and he's the one that turned around and kissed another girl. he's the one that fucked this up, not me." i say, every word filled with raw emotion, and every word becoming indistinguishable as i choke my way through the sentences.
"tell your side of the story, when you're ready, when you believe that you have enough proof that you believe would woo the people of the internet to realize that he is the biggest asshole, douchebag, piece of shit little boy out there." jack says, every word getting louder, as his face fills with red and anger, "and if you feel like you can't be at the house with him, my room is always open for you, and i'll stay in a guest room." he closes his speech off with, getting quieter and closer to me as his sentences come to a close.
"thank you, i appreciate you so much, we haven't even known each other that long and you're here more for me than the girl i believed to be my best friend. and i know that whole house knows what chance did, and she hasn't even texted me." i manage to utter as i realize that the only people in that house who might even have the slightest bit of care for me are jake and nick. "how about a movie and some soda and some shitty postmates?" jack says in a questioning tone. i nod my head, a smile spreading across my face.
i wake up, in a comfy bed, surrounded by boxes that were previously filled with food, and an empty two liter of pepsi on the night stand. i look over at jack, who's sleeping soundly on the other side of the bed. i get up carefully, making sure i don't wake him. i grab my clothes, and make my way to his bathroom that is connected to his room. i shower and think about everything that happened last night.
i found out my boyfriend cheated on me, i texted the only person who i thought could make me feel safe, spent the night with him, while my "best friend" hadn't tried to contact me to make sure i was okay, and now i'm in jack gilinskys shower, as he is in the other room sleeping, and i'm feeling happy, even though i shouldn't, i was just cheated on.
i get out of the shower, dress myself and brush my teeth, i dont even attempt to get a brush through my hair right now. i hear a knock on the door "TESS, IM ABOUT TO PISS MYSELF." i laugh out loud, and open the door. as he runs over to the toilet, i leave the bathroom, not trying to see anything i dont want to see at this point. jack walks out,
"good pee?" i ask.
"the best." he says laughing a bit, "i'm about to go wake johnson up and make some breakfast, sound good?" he asks.
"sounds perfect, ill be down in like 10." i say, thinking about how long it's going to take to brush my hair.
as i said, about 10 minutes later i walk down the stairs, trying to remember my way to the kitchen. i make my way down there to see johnson and gilinsky sitting at the counter, drinking protein shakes and eating buttered toast.
"when you said 'breakfast' i assumed you meant like eggs and bacon, and like actual breakfast." i say, slightly disappointed.
"i made you a strawberry p shake." jack says,
"its the thought that counts" i say, taking the cup from him.
i wouldn't mind my life if this was what it was all the time.
