Chapter 24
The Breakup
TJ
Everything had been pretty chaotic recently, so I hadn’t gotten to see Charlotte much. I’d asked Tracy a few times about her, but every time I did, Tracy just told me that Charlotte was even busier than I was.
I was beginning to wonder if it was true or if she had just picked that other boy and was afraid to tell me.
I really hoped that wasn’t the case. I wasn’t sure I could handle her rejection. I was in too deep with her. I really missed spending time with her.
Maybe we’d get to spend more time together in a few weeks, when things calmed down—assuming she hadn’t already rejected me.
Tracy told me that Charlotte was coming over tonight. Just my luck. I had promised Neal that I would help him study for an upcoming test. If I’d known Charlotte was coming, I would have pushed it to another day, but I had already promised. Maybe we could finish quickly, and I could still get home early enough to spend some time with her, my beautiful angel.
“Yo, TJ, thanks for helping me study,” Neal said as I walked into his house.
“Any time, man. I know this test is supposed to be hard, so we better get busy,” I told him.
We went over to the kitchen and grabbed some sodas before setting up in his living room. I pulled out my laptop and notes, and we started going over everything.
The test was in chemistry, so we had to study lots of formulas. There was also going to be a practical where we’d have to mix certain chemicals
to make a new solution. I wasn’t sure which part would be harder, but memorizing formulas was my bet.
I wasn’t surprised Neal was worried. If we didn’t do well on this test, we could fail the class, which would get him kicked off the basketball team.
We spent hours going over the chapters in the textbook, and I was exhausted. I looked over at the clock and saw that it was 2 a.m. No wonder I was so tired. It wasn’t worth going home now. I was sure Charlotte had gone to bed. I would just sleep over here and go home in the morning.
· · ·
The next morning when I got home, I saw Tracy sitting on the couch.
“Hey, sis, how was your evening?”
“It was fine, but, um, I think we should talk,” she said seriously.
“Uh oh, what did I do?”
“Nothing. Um, please don’t tell Charlotte I told you this. It completely goes against bro-code or sis-code or whatever,” she said hesitantly.
“Okay, now I’m worried.”
“So, last night, while Charlotte went to the bathroom, she got a text on her phone. I didn’t mean to look at it, but the ping caught my attention, and I kind of saw a few lines of it,” she said.
“Okay,” I said.
“Well, I think she may be dating that ‘friend’ of hers,” she said, putting
air quotes around the word ‘friend’.
“Are you sure?” I replied cautiously.
“Well, she called him ‘lover’ in the text, and he was talking about the ‘pleasure’ he was going to give her when they get together. I told her she needs to tell you the truth if she has decided between you, and she agreed. I just wanted to warn you because I know how much you care about her. I am so sorry.”
“Um, thanks—I guess,” I replied before heading up to my room.
I sat down on my bed and felt some tears forming in my eyes.
I can’t believe she would choose him and not tell me.
I knew she was being a little distant, claiming she was busy all the time.
It all made sense now. I’d thought we had something. Apparently, it wasn’t enough.
I wasn’t sure if I could handle her breaking up with me. Of course, we weren’t ever official, so she didn’t even really have to break up with me.
Still, I needed to put an end to whatever we had before she did—and broke what was left of my heart. There were lots of females out there. I just needed to find another one. I was sure there were some that could compare to my sweet, funny, caring, adorable, gorgeous angel. Of course, Charlotte wasn’t even that person. She’d been pretending all the time.
“Trace, can you text Charlotte and see if I can stop by her house in a bit
to talk?” I yelled down to her.
“Of course. Are you going to be okay?”
“Yeah, eventually.”
About ten minutes later, there was a knock on my door, and Tracy walked in. She told me that Charlotte said I could come over any time today, and that she wanted to talk with me too.
Tracy gave me a hug and said she was sorry about everything.
Sometimes having a twin isn’t such a bad thing.
I hugged Tracy back and walked out to my car to head to Charlotte’s.
Thinking back, I wondered if she had ever liked me or if she had just been playing me. In all the time that we were seeing each other, she never gave me her phone number, and I never went to her house. I actually had to get the address from Trace.
I couldn’t believe I had let her play me like that. I felt pretty stupid, and it was all her fault.
· · ·
Pulling up at Charlotte’s place, I couldn’t help but stare. Her home was nestled in a gated community, and it was nothing short of breathtaking.
Clearly, her parents were rolling in dough—a detail she had conveniently left out. What else had she kept from me?
I made my way to her porch, my steps heavy with anger, and rang the doorbell.
“Hey, come on in,” Charlotte greeted me with a bright smile as she opened the door. How could she look at me like that, knowing she was seeing someone else?
I bet her shyness was just a ruse. She was a master manipulator.
“I’m fine out here. I don’t plan on staying long. I just had something to tell you real quick,” I replied, my voice devoid of any emotion.
“Oh, okay, well I have something to tell you too,” she responded, her
smile unwavering.
“Me first,” I insisted.
There was no way I was going to let her break things off and shatter my heart. I was going to end whatever we had before she could. She wouldn’t have the chance to manipulate or hurt me anymore.
“I think we need to stop seeing each other,” I said.
“What? I don’t understand. Why?” she asked, feigning shock. What a
performance.
“Are you breaking up with me?”
“We were never together, remember? So I can’t break up with you.
We’re over,” I stated, my tone firm.
“Is this because of my friend?” she asked, her voice wavering. It sounded like she was about to say more, but I cut her off. I didn’t want to hear her tell me she was choosing him over me.
“No, this isn’t because of him. I just don’t think we are good together.
Sorry, we’re through,” I declared.
“I thought we had something; I know you did too. Why are you doing this?” she pleaded, tears welling in her eyes.
She was so good at pretending to care. I was on the verge of breaking. I needed to leave before I fell apart, before I begged her to choose me over him, before I confessed how much I loved her.
“I’m sorry, we just aren’t compatible,” I said, turning on my heel and heading back to my car. She slowly retreated into her house, tears streaming down her face. It hurt more than I anticipated—probably because she was such a skilled manipulator.
I wondered if she would sit with that other guy and laugh about how she had played me. She was truly despicable.
When I got home, Tracy had popcorn, a beer, and a comedy queued up
on the TV.
“How’d it go?” she asked.
“I broke up with her. I’m not sure I could have handled her breaking up with me, so I did it first,” I confessed, my voice shaky.
“I’m so sorry, I really thought you two had something,” she said, pulling me into another comforting hug.
“Yeah, I did too. I guess we were both wrong,” I admitted.
