ReminiSING

2015-August (Part 1)

One of the first days in August
"And then she cussed out my father!" Leigh-Anne laughs as she tells us about her and Jesy at a dinner last week. We all laugh as I look around the table at my friends. I'm so grateful for all of them. Perrie's phone pings as we talk about our weekends.
"Oh my god," Perrie says softly. She looks up at me and I see something in her eyes I've never seen before. Tears pool at the side of her eyes as she looks at her ring.
"Oh no," I whisper. Leigh-Anne and Jesy snap their heads towards me.
"What's wro..." Leigh-Anne starts but Jesy shoots her a glance. Perrie scoots her chair out and walks into the bathroom. She left her phone on the table. The three of us look at each other and Leigh starts reaching towards the phone. I touch her arm and shake my head. She nods, understanding, and we all sit back and wait. I have a sinking feeling in my stomach that I know exactly what happened. A few minutes pass when the door to the bathroom opens.
Perrie takes a deep breath and says "it's over." She turns, swallows, and glances back at us. Her eyes are filled with a mixture of confusion, pain, and something else. I later realise that a light inside of her eyes had disappeared. She grabs her phone, turns, and walks away.
"Wait, Perrie!" I say, standing up.
"Jade, don't," Jesy says softly. "Let her be on her own for now."
"But we're her friends," I cry.
"Jesy is right, Jeed. You have to let her be," Leigh-Anne pats my hand as she curses softly under her breath.
"F***," she whispers. "And over text?" Jesy glances up. She looks sad. We all sit in silence for a while until Leigh grabs her purse.
"I've got to go," she says. "Bye guys." She smiles sadly.
"Uh, me too." Jesy says. I know it's hard for her too. We've all had breakups, but this one is just awful. I nod, stand up, and leave as well. My heart aches for Perrie, and I know that she needs us more than ever.
August 4
We're sitting at an interview with E! News and we're all rather nervous. There's an elephant in the room but so far, no one has said anything. We're just settling in when the reporter asks the question I had been fearing.
"So Perrie, fans are heartbroken..." Perrie interrupts with a yep, and smiles, her dimples apparent. I glance quickly at Leigh and Jes and I see panic in their eyes.
"...want to know how you're feeling," the reporter finishes.
"I'm good," Perrie says, looking down. I see her eyes glisten over as she fakes a smile. Oh Pez.
"We don't really want to talk about it," Leigh says, coming to her rescue.
"We're here to get our nails done," I say in an American accent, hoping to distract them. It works, and everyone chuckles.
Later that evening while we're back in the hotel room, Perrie sobs in her bed. Jesy, Leigh, and I sit on my bed, as we worry if we'll be too invasive. I've been single for a while, and I don't know what to say. I've never been engaged and have never gotten it broken off. Leigh tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and walks towards the kitchen. She throws a couple packaged meals into the microwave. We offer one to Perrie but we get a muffled "no" in response. My heart aches. It really does.