"You did what?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I looked at my friend, Jenny, in disbelief.
"I followed Mark...and I saw what I saw." Jenny looked down at her hands.
"You followed my husband. Why?" I sat down on the couch beside her.
"You said you were wondering if he was screwing around. So, I followed him." She reached down and took her cell phone out of her purse. "I took pictures."
"You have got to be kidding me." I took the phone from her, dreading what I would see. I silently flipped through the pictures. My husband of one year. Making out with some woman in his car. More pictures of him walking with her, hand-in-hand, into a hotel. He didn't look like he was worried about getting caught or anything.
"They were in there for two hours." Jenny said quietly.
"You stayed there and watched for him to come out?" I asked in surprise.
"Yeah. I know you care for him. I'm sorry to be the messenger of such bad news. But you had a feeling he was doing this. You can't be too surprised."
"I know. It's just that I was hoping I was wrong." I handed the phone back to her. "What am I going to do? I can't go back to my mom's. She warned me not to marry Mark in the first place. She always said eighteen was too young to get married."
"You're nineteen now. You don't have to make any rash decisions right away. I wouldn't confront Mark yet. Maybe you can just wait it out. Give yourself time to process it all."
"You're right. I'll do that. You better go. Your boyfriend will be home soon and wonder where you are." I stood.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Jenny stood also.
"I'm fine. Thanks, Jenny. I really appreciate you. You're an awesome friend. I'll text you later." I followed her to the front door and opened it.
"Okay. I'll see you later. Stay strong."
I shut the door behind her and leaned against it. I lowered my head and sighed.
My head jerked up when I heard my cell phone's ringtone. Looking around, I finally spotted it across the room on the sideboard. I hurried but didn't reach it before it stopped ringing. Looking at the missed calls, it was a number I didn't recognize. I waited to see if they left a voice mail. Nothing. Hmm. I didn't normally do this, but I decided to call the number back.
"This is Jack." The deep voice on the other end of the line sent shivers down my spine.
"Hi...Jack. I just got a missed call from this number." I said.
There was a pause. "I must have dialed the wrong number. Sorry about that. I hope I didn't interrupt anything, hon."
"Just my life falling apart. But I'll be all right." I sighed.
"No matter what you're going through. It's going to be all right. Just breathe."
"Yes, sir." I took a deep breath and smiled. "Thank you."
I could hear the grin in his voice. "Good girl. If you don't mind, I just want to tell you that you have a very sexy voice."
I blushed. "Thanks. You have a very nice voice, too."
"Thank you." He said huskily. "What color is your hair?"
"Auburn."
"Long or short?"