Chapter 3

I arrived home at 11 p.m. and found a message waiting for me. It was from Sabrina.

“Could you call me when you’re alone?”

8:00 p.m.

“It’s important.”

8:30 p.m.

I dialed her number and waited for her to answer.

“Hey, Jayyy! How are you?”

“The meeting was nice. And you? What was the important thing you wanted to tell me?”

“I’m going to Los Angeles tomorrow!”

“Oh. Are you spending the day in the city?”

“No! I’m going to the village. To Bridgetown. I’M COMING HOME.”

No.

“Why? Are you visiting your family?”

“I’M VISITING YOU.”

What?

“I’ve dropped out of university! It’s great news. Now we can start over. NOBODY IS GOING TO INTERRUPT OUR RELATIONSHIP. This is our chance.”

No. No no no no no.

This wasn’t happening.

“Come on, Jayyy. You’ve made mistakes too. Give me a chance, and I’ll give you one as well.”

“I’m too exhausted to talk about serious things right now. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Okeyyyy. See you tomorrow.”

I hung up and quickly texted Lara.

“What happened, Jacob? Why are you calling me at this hour?”

“Sabrina is coming home tomorrow, and she wants another chance. She’s not at university anymore.”

“And what are you going to do?”

Tell her about Darla’s confession, I thought.

My stomach twisted. My mouth filled with saliva. I swallowed and took a deep breath, trying to suppress the wave of nausea.

“Maybe I should give her a chance. She’s closer… And I’ve made many mistakes,” I repeated Sabrina’s words. “Now I can do better.”

“If you’re okay with that…”

No. I’m not okay.

Scream. Shout. Cry. Vomit. Do something.

“I don’t want to tell you what to do, but don’t tell Darla. You’re going to hurt her.”

A tear slid down my cheek.

“No. I care about her.”

But who was taking care of me?

Not Darla. You won’t let her. You’re scared.

I blinked rapidly, trying to keep my thoughts from overwhelming me.

“Thank you, Ginger, for your help.”

“You’re welcome.”

The call ended—and so did I.