Photos of me and Will from Callo’s that last day I saw him.
One is of Will and me sitting across the table from one another, the next – Will holding my hand across the table, and the last, a photo of Will and me hugging outside of Callo’s.
I look up at Jake. “Where did you get these?”
“Are you fucking him?”
I feel like he’s just slapped me.
“No.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Believe what you want, it’s the truth.” I drop the photos onto the coffee table, along with the envelope. “Did you have me followed?”
“No. Do I need to?”
I glare at him.
“The press sent them,” he fires at me. “They’re running a story that you’re having an affair with him.”
I snort at the ridiculousness of it.
“You find something funny about this?” He stares at me with glassy eyes.
He’s high right now. And he’s also not amused.
Well guess what Jake, neither am I.
“I’d say so, yeah.” I drag my hands through my hair. “The press are about to accuse me of having an affair with Will – the man who was the one wronged because I had an affair with you. It’s beyond ludicrous! We can’t let this happen. We have to tell the press the truth – and I need to call Will and warn him about this.”
I get my phone out of my bag ready to make the call, but Jake lunges forward and grabs it from my hand.
“You’re screwing around with him, and you’re going to call him here in front of me!” he yells.
“Jake, I’m not cheating on you with Will. Barring the fact that I would never do that to you, when exactly would I do so? I’m with you all the time. And I’m also here in the US, and Will is in the UK. Seriously, please just see sense here, and give me my phone back.” I hold my hand out to him.
“You’re not calling him, Tru.”
“Give. Me. My. Phone. Back.”
“No!” he yells, and throws my phone clear across the room and all I can do is watch as it smashes to pieces against the wall.
“Have you lost your mind?!” I cry, hand clutching my head. “Jesus Christ, Jake! Who is this version of you?! I feel like I don’t even know you anymore!”
I go over to where my broken phone lays, crouching down, I pick the pieces up and hold them together like I can somehow repair it.
Staying there for a few moments, I take some deep breaths before speaking again.
“Whatever issue you have with Will,” I state calmly standing, putting down the remnants of my shattered phone onto the table – poor Adele. “He’s done nothing wrong and it’s only fair to warn him if he’s about to get screwed over in the press. He’s got a career to think about. Surely you can understand that.”
Jake stares at me for a long moment, his chest rising and falling heavily. “I’ll get my lawyers to bury the story.”
“You can do that?” I feel a huge sense of relief. I don’t want Will getting any more hurt than he has been, and if Jake can stop it then all the better.
“I can do anything I want.”
I hate it when he’s arrogant like this.
I love sexy arrogant Jake. Not, ‘I’m king of the world drug taking’ arrogant Jake.
“So why all of this … hang on – was this some sort of damn test? The story’s already buried isn’t it?” I ball my hands into fists at my sides.
Jake says nothing, just stares steadily back at me.
“Why couldn’t you just talk to me properly about this instead of all the theatrics?”
His face laces with anger again. “How the hell do you think I felt seeing these photos, Tru?” He jabs a finger in the direction of them. “And then you side with him just like I knew you would!”
“Side with him? We’re not in school here!” Then I pause, collecting myself, realising the yelling is getting us nowhere.
“Jake, I’m not siding with Will,” I say in calmer voice. “I know it must have been a shock for you seeing them like that, but please just try to see reason here, those photos are not what you thought they were. And I get it, this issue you have with Will, I do, but you have to let it go now and trust me. He was the one wronged here, not us.” I take a step closer to him. “I’m with you. I’ll always be with you. I’m not a cheater, as ironic as that sounds. I only did, what I did to Will, with you, because it was you, Jake. Because of how I feel about you. How I’ve always felt about you. I have loved you my whole life. You must know that. Yes, I handled it all so very badly, but I promise you, I will never hurt you like I did Will.”
His eyes scan my face. “I just need to know if anything happened with Will when you saw him?”
Am I talking to myself?
“No.” I’m trying to stay calm, I really am, but I’m struggling at the moment.
“Just the thought of you with him.” He drags his hands through his hair, looking agonised. “When were you going to tell me that you were sleeping with him again? Were you ever going to tell me?”