Page 103 of Another Love, Another Time
“That doesn’t mean I won’t get something else on you. I can only imagine what else you’ve done. What you did at prom wasn’t the only time you’ve done something like that. Don’t worry. I’ll get you. I would watch my back if I were you.” I smirk at her. “You know, it’s really sad that you have to threaten people to stay away from Auggie.” I’m hoping that by antagonizing her a little more, she will say something incriminating.
She growls, “He’s mine. You ruined everything when you came back.”
“How am I ruining things?” I ask her innocently. “Auggie and I are only friends and partners. How is that ruining things? I thought you were engaged.”
“Well, after you threw a tantrum and left, he changed his mind and told everyone we weren’t engaged. You ruined it. He would have gone along with it if you hadn’t thrown a fit and left.” She let it slip. I feel like celebrating.
“A tantrum? I left quietly, and I haven’t spoken with Auggie since.”
“You always ruin everything!” she screams at me.
“You already said that. Look, Melissa, you had five years to lock him down, and you couldn’t do it. So, what, he sleeps with you once in college, he lets you live with him, and you think you have a claim on him?” I laugh, but I quickly stop when I see the look on her face. It’s the look she used to show me when she knew she’d gotten her way with the moms.
“Is that what he told you?” She tsks, but I don’t say anything. I know what she’s about to say is not something I’m going to like. “That silly boy. We’ve slept together more than once. In fact, he lost his virginity to me.”
It feels like a knife is being pushed through my heart. She knows that Auggie and I planned on being each other’s firsts.
“You’re lying.” But I can tell she’s not. She waited to share this piece of information to hurt me. I see something out of the corner of my eye. I turn around and see Auggie standing there.
“Is she telling the truth?” I ask Auggie. Melissa still has a smirk on her face. She’s done what she came here to do. She knew he wouldn’t tell me this, that this would hurt me, especially coming from her.
“Yes, it’s true,” he starts, “but I need you to let me explain. It was—” I hold up my hand, trying to interrupt him, but he ignores me. “No. I need to tell you this while she’s here so you will believe me. We only slept together twice. We will talk about the details in private unless you would like her to be here for that.” I shake my head. He glances at Melissa. “And don’t try to spin it, Melissa. It was only twice, and both times were mistakes.”
Melissa nods and swallows. She doesn’t dispute what he’s saying, so I’m guessing he is telling the truth. The smirk is gone from her face, and now, she’s holding back tears. If it wasn’t Melissa, I’d feel bad for her.
He’s right; I wouldn’t have believed him. I don’t want to show her that she’s gotten to me, that I’m not completely shattered again. I’m more hurt that he lied to me. I told him to tell me everything when we spoke when I first got back, and he purposely kept this from me. What else is he keeping from me?
I don’t know if I’ll be able to get over this. He doesn’t deserve another chance, but I’ll listen to him and then make him leave. I can’t accept another lie. I need someone in my life whom I can trust.
I clear my throat and say flatly, “Anything else you need to get off your chest, Melissa? I really do need to get ready for work tomorrow.”
But it’s not Melissa who speaks. It’s Auggie. “Leave, Melissa, or the next time I see you, I’ll slap you with a restraining order.”
As she turns to leave, she bumps into me and says, “Doesn’t it suck to know that I had him first? He’s mi—”
She doesn’t get to say anything else because, without thinking, I grab her hair, pull her head back, and punch her in the face. Her nose crunches. I don’t give a shit. The bitch deserves it. I bet she never thought I’d hit her.
When we were younger, I bit my tongue because I didn’t want to get into trouble. Not anymore. I don’t care if I get in trouble. She needs to learn she can’t mess with people and get away with it.
“You bitch! You broke my nose!” She screeches. Her hand is pressed to her face, and it drips with blood. “Auggie, aren’t you going to do something?”
His arms are crossed. He calmly answers, “I just saw you try to attack River. She defended herself.”
“Are you kidding me? I can’t believe you’re defending her. She left you. I was there for you. You wouldn’t be where you are without me.” Melissa bends over, trying to keep the blood from dripping onto her clothes.
“Maybe not, but I am here, and I’ve finally seen you for who you really are. Get this through your head: I was never yours. I neverwanted to be yours. My mistake was trying to be a good friend. I naively believed you were my friend, but you manipulated every situation. I see that now. I’ve finally pulled my head out of my ass. I could blame you, but I take full ownership in my fuckup, and I will spend the rest of my life proving to River that I’m hers, that my heart hasalwaysbeen River’s andalwayswill be.”
He addresses me with his next comment. “Up until now, I’ve been a shitty friend to you. I haven’t shown you how important you are to me, but I’m about to. I’m going to be the man you deserve.”
All I can think is,“Those are pretty words, Auggie.”
He turns back to Melissa to deliver one last message. “Stay the hell away from River. I could possibly forgive the stunt you pulled on Saturday, but you just tried to hurt River. You showed your true colors. I already planned to tell her today, but what you just did was cruel.”
She’s still wheezing, and blood streams from her nose. He must not have heard us discussing the attack, or I’m sure he would have said something about it.
I’m done with this conversation. I’ve already given her more time than she deserves, so I make my last statement before I head into the house. “Get the fuck off my property and don’t ever show up here again, or youwill regret it.”
And then, I walk into the house. Good thing I took notes on the way home. My mind is everywhere. Auggie will have to make sure she leaves.
