Page 18 of Jack

Not a good sign.

I took a deep breath. “I dated a guy in Michigan for a while – just over a year. It was one of those things where all my friends thought we were so perfect, but I was never really sure how I felt about him. Whenever I’d voice any doubts, they would shut me down, tell me I was crazy. Chad was popular, smart, hot, rich, all that–”

“Chad?” Jack broke in.

“Yeah, that was his name.”

“Douchebag name.”

I guffawed. “Yeah, well, he was a douchebag, so I should have known by the name.”

“Definitely.”

“Anyway, we dated, but the longer it went on, the more he started to expect sex, and the more he expected sex, the more miserable I became. I hadn’t had sex before, so I thought, maybe everybody is nervous and sort of dreads it their first time. I thought, okay, I’ll do this and get it over with, and then I won’t be so uncomfortable. So, I did it a couple of times and it was terrible. I mean, he wasn’t cruel or anything, I just wasn’t really into him, and having sex only confirmed that I didn’t want to be with him anymore.”

“How did he take it? He had to notice you weren’t into it.”

I let out a harsh laugh. “See, Chad was a bit of a narcissist and really controlling. If I didn’t enjoy it, it was because I was too uptight. He was like that about everything. Any issue I had with him, was actually my problem, which could be solved if I would only listen to him and follow his expectations. If I wanted to hang out with my friends, it would make it look like I was blowing him off, which would make him look bad. He would tell my friends how difficult I was, how patient he was with me. It felt like I had nobody, like I was trapped.”

Jack made a humming noise. “Freedom.”

Again, I felt tears rush to my eyes, again shocked to feel such validation coming from Jack, of all people, when I couldn’t even get it from my former friends. “Yes.”

“Your former relationship is why I avoid them altogether.”

I laughed humorlessly. “Yeah, well, I can see why.”

“So, how did you get out of it?”

“He tried to pressure me into having sex, and I felt like I was going to have a panic attack. I just couldn’t handle it. I broke up with him on the spot.”

“How did that go?”

“How do you think it went?”

“If he’s as controlling as you say, I imagine it went horribly,” he responded matter-of-factly.

That made me genuinely laugh. I was so grateful that Jack kept injecting moments of lightness in what would otherwise be a dreary tale of terrible dating decisions. “Yes, you are absolutely right. He went a little crazy. He got so angry he punched the wall, ranting and raving about all he’d done for me, all he’d given, how I belonged to him, and it was his decision when to end our relationship.”

“Jesus, Ava. Please tell me someone took care of this motherfucker.”

“Sort of. His family is wealthy and well known in our town, so the police were hesitant to do anything, but I had a million crazy voice mails from him, so they gave me an order of protection. We were at the end of the school year, so I stayed home and took my finals when he wouldn’t be in school.”

“So, he stopped bugging you?” Jack asked dubiously.

“No, he didn’t stop. Well, he stopped for, like, a week. At first, he started dating all of my former friends, which was fine by me, but I think he expected me to fall to my knees and beg him to come back when I saw him with his arms around one girl after another.”

“But you didn’t.”

“God, no. I was thrilled. I figured they could have him, and I could get on with my life. But when he saw that wasn’t working, he came at me full force. He basically started stalking me. Everywhere I went, he would leave me creepy voicemails telling me what I was wearing, where I was going, who I was with.”

“That shit is against the fucking law. Did you charge that asshole?” Jack demanded, his voice getting tight with anger. It was nice to have an ally, even if it was a year late.

“I tried, but you know how it goes. He had money, power, clout. I will say, his family did try to rein him in, but he was irrational and unmanageable. Finally, his father visited with mine and admitted that Chad had officially lost his shit, but he wasn’t going to let him go to jail. He offered my dad a lump sum of money to relocate so I’d be safe, and after a big family meeting, we agreed to it.”

“Ava, you have got to be shitting me. That dickhead let his entitled shit-bag of a son face no consequences when your whole family had to flee the fucking state?” Jack bellowed, his voice so full of outrage, it made me grin.

“I know, it’s extreme, but honestly I’m glad we did it. There was nothing for me in Michigan. I hated my friends, I was terrified to date anyone, and I was in such a constant state of anxiety my hair started to fall out.”

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