The Pieces Left

Chapter 10

It was 6:30. I was pacing our room rehearsing the questions in my head. Did he force you to do anything? Did he come onto you or did you come onto him? Was it mutual? Did he tell you about me? Are you in love with him? The more I went over the questions, the stupider they sounded. I don't know why I felt so intimidated by this girl. She was so much younger than me. That made me feel so uneasy. I guess I felt as if I was about to meet with my past self. Salem was me a few years ago. Exactly me a few years ago. There are so many things I would tell myself now. Don't marry the first dude you meet after Jimmy. I glanced at the clock and then glanced at the door. Jimmy had gone to pick Salem up. She lived in lower Manhattan. It was 6:46 pm. I felt a little off with the whole picking her up and then being alone. I shouldn't feel off though. He loves me and I love him. I then heard the door open. I took a deep breath and then walked out into the living room. I saw Jimmy first as he closed the door and then I saw her. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. She was beautiful. She had long chestnut hair and an olive complexion to match. She had piercing green eyes and long, full eyelashes. She was tall. Taller than me by what seem like miles. She had the frame of a ballerina, skinny and dainty. She had on a long blue sweater and black jeans. This girl was pregnant with my boyfriends kid. She was gorgeous and I saw my past self in her green eyes. "Salem?" Jimmy asked her. She looked at him and smiled. "This is Stevie.....my girlfriend" he said. She slowly turned to me. The expression on her face was worry. "Hi" she said softly. "Hi. Nice to uh meet you" I said. There was an awkward silence as we both took each other in. "Well, do you want anything? Water, tea, coffee?" Jimmy asked her, breaking up the silence. "I'll have water" she said. Jimmy walked into the kitchen. "Here,  sit down" I said as walked over to the couch. She followed and sat down across from me. Jimmy sat down a glass of water in front of her. She stared at it. "Salem?" I asked hesitantly. She looked at me. "Listen, I know this is really weird and I wanna make this simple. Would you mind telling me how you and Jimmy met?" I asked. She shifted uncomfortably. "We met about a year ago. I babysat for Jimmy when he was away." She started. "Wait, babysat? I thought you only got supervised visits with the girls" i said. "I do...but for a while Nancy let me take them for a week out of the month." Jimmy explained. "At first, things were normal. He was just my boss and was my father's good friend, that's how I got the job. I don't know, after a while we just started talking and joking around, becoming friends. I was in my senior year and was so stressed out about college apps. Jimmy helped me a lot with my applications and said he'd hire me as an intern over the summer if I could graduate early. So, I did and got into Fordham University. I've always loved Film and TV so became inspired by Jimmy and declared that as my major. He would help me with my assignments and homework, we'd stay up till dawn finishing my projects. I rarely came over to babysit instead I would just come over to hang out. One day, back in December, I asked Jimmy if he could show me around the Studio. I wanted to see how everything worked so he invited me over on a Sunday afternoon when nobody was really working." She said. She stopped talking. I could see the memories rushing to her. It was honestly hard to watch. She took a drink of water and hesitated. Jimmy put his arm around her. "Long story short, we had sex. In his office on a Sunday afternoon." she then said. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air.  My mouth hung open. Salem looked around awkwardly. Jimmy coughed. "Um" I said trying to figure out what to say. "We said we'd never do it again. We left that day and swore not to associate or be seen together. But that didn't last long. We had sex again about a week later" She said. I was still at a loss for words. "I found out I was pregnant about 2 weeks ago and i'm going to keep it." she said as she smiled at Jimmy. "Listen Stevie, I know this is really hard to understand but Jimmy cares about me. He told me he loved me" She said in an innocent tone. I raised my eyebrows. "I never said I loved you" Jimmy quickly said. "Uh yeah you did. You told me when you came in me the second time" she said. Her whole tone had changed. She seemed condescending more than innocent. She was acting as if I was a nobody to Jimmy. Jimmy's eyes widened and he took his arm away from her. "Is that what you wanted to know? " she asked me. "Are you in love with him?" i finally asked. "No....but i do want him" she said back. "Aren't you married?" she asked. I thought of poor Beckett. "Not anymore" i said. "Salem, I just wanted to know how this whole situation makes you feel. Did Jimmy force you or pressure you into doing anything you weren't okay with." I said. "You wanna know why he has this fetish for young girls. You wanna know why he chose me instead of waiting for you to cheat on your husband with him. How did I satisfy him when you couldn't? How did I get him to risk everything again?" she said. She was really pissing me off now. "Salem!" Jimmy exclaimed. "What? She wants to know" Salem defended. "Maybe you're just too old for him now. Maybe even i'm too old for him now. It doesn't really matter because I am the one pregnant with his child. When my father finds out, that will be the end of Jimmy. I can see the headlines now." she said. I was fuming with anger. Jimmy got up and grabbed her arm. He dragged her to the front door. "Leave" he said sternly. "You invited me" she spat. "How could you? What happened between us was a mistake but I owned up to it and am trying to make it better. You were of legal age so don't go crying victim. I will support you and care for this thing we created but you will not disrespect my girlfriend. WE WERE A MISTAKE" he ranted. "Oh fuck you! That's not what you said when you fucked me on your desk! You just won't admit to yourself that I gave you what she couldn't." Salem exclaimed. I stood up from the couch and watched the screaming at the door. "Goodbye Salem" he said as he pushed her out the door. "Tell her! Tell her about the others!" she said and then the door closed. My heart sank. The others? Jimmy has secrets and a darkness that I don't know about. I had tears in my eyes. Who is this man? What darkness is inside him? Maybe the universe was protecting me when we failed at love.