'Second Guesses'
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"Heheeeyy, Jay~ Long time no see~ ♡"
The way Jace's eyes narrowed in apparent anger would've probably made me soil myself on the spot, had it been directed at me.
"Go home, you're not welcome here." He said coldly.
"Aww, c'mon Jay, I missed youuu~ Can I get a hug? It's been a while~ ♡" said Nicole right as she stepped foot inside the house. Jace immediately tried to push her back out, but Nicole countered that attempt by wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him into a tight embrace.
"Nicole, let go of me. It's only been--"
"Come ooon, is that how you treat a lady-friend you've known since you were ten? You're worse than I thought~ ♡" Nicole said before turning to me with a smile that could only be described as mocking and psychotic. She then redirected her attention back to Jace, which is when her expression changed. She was now looking up at him with puppy eyes, perhaps her attempt at softening his growing temper.
"Every time you find a new girl to play with, you always cast me aside. Like I'm just a used condom."
"That's not what's happening here, get the fuck out of our house." Jace struggled a few times to get her grip off of him but to no avail; seems like this woman was a lot stronger than what her build would supposedly suggest.
"Why do you want me to leave so badly? Hmmm? So that you and your new girlfriend over there can finally be alone together?"
"Piss right off, she's my--ackk, can you fucking let go of me for a second?!"
"J-Jace--"
"Yeah, I bet you two fuck like crazy, each single day. Meehh, can't blame ya, Isabelle here is an absolute cutie~ If I were a guy, I'd fuck her brains out everyday, too~ ♡"
I physically recoiled hearing those words come out of her.
"Last warning, Nicole. Don't make me ask again."
"Or what? You'll put your hands on me? Like you always do? Sure, why not, let's give your girlfriend a little show while we're at it~"
"T-That wasn't--Nicole, please..."
"Yepp, let her know just how good you are at giving me bruises and shit, you know? So go ahead, leave some marks on me, show your jailbait of a fuckbuddy exactly what you're made of."
It was at that point where I'd had enough. Her grating voice, her condescending tone, her inability to take a 'no' for an answer, I couldn't stand any of it any longer. I immediately got in between the both of them and somehow, in just one swift motion, I managed to get Nicole off of Jace and then began to push her out the door. She put up somewhat of a struggle, but in less than ten seconds I got her out of the house with the door locked behind her.
I expected her to immediately start banging on the door demanding to be let back in, but after about half a minute of silence had passed, all Jace and I heard were her footsteps that faded into the distance as she finally left the premises.
I then turned to Jace, who immediately averted his gaze away from mine. What was probably just a few seconds felt like hours, filled with tension thick enough that it could be cut with a knife.
"Seems like you and Nicole have quite the history." I said, in an attempt to break the deafening silence.
"Yeah, tell me about it." Jace responded with the energy equivalent to a rotting corpse.
"Yes, I just might..."
"Wonder what bullshit she fed you while you two were out taking a stroll together."
"I don't know, you tell me."
"What?"
"Nothing. I mean they're probably all just lies, right?"
"Lies that I'd like to know about regardless, Issa."
"You're the one who's known her since you were ten, you should already know the kind of, and I quote, 'bullshit' she'd spread behind your back."
"Issa."
"Oh, better yet, why don't you go after Nicole right now and ask her yours--"
A loud thud cut me off, the impact reverberating through the wooden door that my back was pressed against. Jace's palm struck the surface beside my head, his intimidating frame casting a shadow over me as he leaned close enough that I could feel his breath on my chin. I froze instantly, feeling like a small animal that had been cornered by a wolf, and was only seconds away from being mauled.
"... You were saying?"
Jace was exactly the same height as I am, but at that moment it felt like a giant was towering right over me. I found it hard to even breathe, let alone stand, that I had to make a conscious effort to not just outright collapse right there on the floor.
"I-I... Ja..."
As I stammered out, I saw the expression on his face soften in a split second; for a moment I wondered why, until I felt tears start to run down my face.
"Issa, I'm--"
"N-No, it's... " I immediately scrambled to wipe them off with my hands, but they just kept on pouring. Jace tried to reach for my face and wipe them off himself, but I just flicked his hand away. "*sniff* Agh, I'm... I'm sorry... " The urge to just bawl right there was so immense that I swiftly pushed past him and made my way upstairs before any of that could happen.
"I-Issa!"
So many conflicting emotions, so many raging thoughts, and yet so little that I could actually say.
Jace, please... forgive me...
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The utter fear that was in Issa's eyes, the way she looked at me like I was a monster, I couldn't have made a bigger mistake. She didn't speak to me for the rest of the day, and would only give me a cold glance each time we were near one another. The look in her eyes spoke only of contempt and fear, something that felt like a gut punch every time I laid my eyes on it.
To see her go from being a complete sweetheart to one who could only look at me so coldly, it gave me a feeling that nearly reopened old wounds. Not that I'm in any position to complain; this is a bed I've made, and I'm ready to lay on it for as long as I have to.
That evening, it was the same song and dance; Issa continued to treat me like I was a complete stranger. Dinner itself was eerily silent, as if Mama and Sis could tell something was up between Issa and I, but in the end they chose not to speak their thoughts.
Once dinner was over, I volunteered to do everyone's dishes. Mostly so I could partially take my mind off of the recent issue, but also for Issa to fall asleep first without having to experience the displeasure of seeing my face before she dozed off.
"Wonder how long it'll take for her to be able to forgive me... "
"Jace." Issa called out to me from behind. I could not have turned any faster than I did at that instant.
"H-Huh? Yes, what is it?"
"Go upstairs. I'll take care of the rest of that."
"What? But you--"
"I said go upstairs. Now."
I was not used to hearing such an authoritative tone come out of her. Combine that with her usually soft and tender voice, and it made for quite the jarring combination.
"Y-Yeah, right away." I dropped the dish that I had been rinsing back into the sink, before hastily making my way upstairs and into our shared bedroom. I spent the next couple minutes there waiting, pondering and thinking about the things Issa may want to say or do to me in retaliation to the borderline abusive display I had subjected her to earlier. Whatever it may be, I shall wholeheartedly take all of it, if it means having to earn her forgiveness.
As I waited, I stepped out onto the terrace to bask in the cold, evening air, leaning over on the railing only to have my thoughts interrupted by a pair of arms encircling my chest from behind.
"Issa?"
"... Jace." Her tone seemed even softer than usual, almost a polar opposite of how she sounded when we were in the kitchen.
"Hey, uhm... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have--" Issa interrupted me by moving her hands up to my mouth, covering it.
"You don't have to apologize. It was my fault to begin with."
"How so?"
"From the moment I met her, from the moment she first spoke to me, I should've known something was up. I can't quite put my finger on it, but every voice in my head screamed to me that Nicole was not someone to be trusted..."
Her arms tightened around me as she continued to speak.
"... And I wish I had listened."
"She has her way with words. It's not your fault."
"I still feel bad. She spoke of terrible things about you, while at the same time trying to make it as if getting intimate with you was the best thing since sliced bread. She even tried to persuade me into letting her have a threesome with us."
"That sounds like something she'd do."
"It's almost as if she's obsessed with you. "
"That she is, unfortunately." I paused for a moment, and then took a deep breath before continuing. "There were days when I still called her my lover, but those days have long since passed. Now she's just another thorn on my side, one that still clings to the 'happy days' of when she still had me under her thumb."
"I'm so sorry to hear that."
"I wasted six years of my life with that woman. Six Godforsaken years that I'm never going to get back. And all of it for what, a crippling fear of older women?"
