🎶So I'mma unfriend you ~ Greyson Chance

●Tara Afua Henrie●

How are you supposed to react when you find out that your best friend, someone you've known since your childhood, married the guy who was your first... well, everything?

This was the question I struggled to answer as I watched the wedding videos Nana Adjoa had sent me. Seeing Sheeda smiling as if she had won the lottery, twirling around in that cut-to-fit ivory gown under Cudjoe's electric gaze, I felt like I had been rudely tossed to the sidelines. What both of them did to me no longer mattered, and the thought sent a jolt of pain through my heart. Those two had hurt me a lot, and what they did changed my life.

Remembering it all brought tears to my eyes, and though I tried so hard to hold them back, they still seeped past my eyelashes, ruining my makeup.

"Hey, Tara. Some of the—hold on, are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Jax." I quickly brushed away the tears, but it was too late. 

He sat beside me and grabbed my hands. "Tara, look at me. What's going on? Why are you crying?"

"It's nothing. Just go back to the party." Yanking myself out of his hold, I turned the other way and, in the process, dropped my phone.

Jax didn't hesitate to pick it up. The wedding video was still playing, their laughter echoing out of the speakers. 

"Is this why you're crying?"

I didn't respond. My eyes were fixed on the floor, trying to hold back the sobs that were clawing their way up my throat.

Then Jax sighed and inched closer. "Look, I want to help you, Tara. But I can't do that if you won't tell me what's going on with you."

"Can you help fix my past?" I asked, ignoring the crack in my voice as I turned back to face him.

Jax clearly wasn't expecting the question because he stared back at me, dumbfounded. "What?"

I steered my vision back to the ground. "I've made decisions I'm not proud of. I trusted people I shouldn't have... got too close to some I wish I'd never met."

"Is that them?" Jax quizzed, lifting my phone and pointing at the video. 

I nodded, swallowing down the lump in my throat. "That's Sheeda. My former best friend. And Cudjoe... my ex-boyfriend. They got married yesterday." The weight of those words hit me again, and my voice cracked.

"Oh." Jax's expression softened with understanding, and then he paused. "What...what happened between you three?"

"A lot," I managed to choke out despite the lump in my throat. "I remember how I found out—in one of those moments that turns your entire world upside down."

Jax hit pause on the video, allowing silence to reign.

"Sheeda and I had been inseparable since our childhood," I started. "We grew up together, shared secrets, dreams, and ambitions." My eyes moved down to my wringing hands. "I introduced her to Cudjoe when we first started dating. At the time, he was my world, my first love, and I trusted Sheeda more than anyone, so it made sense to tell her. But I should have known." As the words left my mouth, every single one of them was shrouded in regret. "I should have noticed the little things—the way they lingered in conversation just a little too long or how Cudjoe suddenly seemed distracted whenever Sheeda was around. I brushed it all off as my own insecurities, not wanting to believe that either of them could betray me."

Jax's eyebrows dipped low as he listened attentively.

"Then, one afternoon, everything fell apart." I shook my head at the memory. "We were at work, finishing up a project, when I accidentally saw a text message pop up on Sheeda's phone, which was charging on the desk beside mine. The message preview was from Cudjoe. It was short and to the point. It read: Last night was amazing. I can't wait to see you again." I swallowed. "My heart just stopped."

"For a moment, I thought I was imagining things. I picked up her phone with shaky hands. As I scrolled through the messages, the truth slammed into me like a train at full speed. They had been seeing each other for months—behind my back, under my nose, laughing and sharing moments that should have been mine." One tear rolled down my cheek, and I hurriedly brushed it away. "The texts were explicit, full of love and passion, confirming that they had been together for a while... and being the idiot I was, I had absolutely no idea."

I sniffled. "I remember feeling numb, like I was floating outside my body, watching someone else's life crumble. I confronted Sheeda right there in the office. She couldn't even look me in the eye. Her only defence was, I didn't mean for it to happen." I shook my head. "I just snapped. I lunged at her, knocking over chairs and scattering papers across the floor. We fought—screaming, pulling at each other's hair. I don't even remember the details anymore, only that I was blinded by pain and betrayal, and I wanted her to feel a fraction of what I was feeling. Then my boss walked in just as we crashed into a filing cabinet, and that was it."

A sigh left my mouth. "I was fired on the spot for unprofessional behaviour."

"And Sheeda?" Jax asked.

"She kept her job," I mumbled. "After that day, I spiralled into one of the darkest periods of my life. I was left broken, jobless, and betrayed by the two people I had trusted the most in the entire world. I sank into a deep depression, unable to process how my life had unravelled so quickly. There were days when I could barely get out of bed, when I questioned my own worth and whether I would ever heal from this. And now, here I was, watching their wedding videos, sent by Nana Adjoa, who probably didn't even realize the emotional grenade she'd just thrown my way." I tried to mask my sadness with a chuckle, but the tears started to well up, and despite my best efforts, they overflowed, blurring my vision.

"I know I shouldn't care." I wiped my tears with the back of my hand. "I'm here in Mexico, building a successful music career for myself and living the dream. But it still hurts... it still hurts so much."

Without a word, Jax pulled me into a hug. The warmth of his arms caught me off guard, and for a moment, I allowed myself to lean into him, tears silently streaming down my face.

"They're not worth it, Tara," he whispered. "Seriously, Cudjoe, Sheeda, whoever they are, they're not worth a single drop of your tears. Just let them go. You've got so much ahead of you. Don't let them hold you back."

"Easier said than done." I pulled out of his embrace, brushing away the salty tears that had strayed onto my lips. 

However, Jax stopped me by cupping my face gently. "You have no idea how amazing you are, Tara," he said quietly, his face inches from mine. "You're talented, great with music. You're also charismatic, helpful, and gorgeous inside and out." He paused to push a braid behind my ear. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

His touch against my cheek was soft and soothing, and while a part of me relished the warmth, a bigger part of me felt uncomfortable—uncomfortable with the way he stared deeply into my eyes... like he wanted something. 

The air suddenly felt thick, and I pulled back, putting some space between us again. "Uh...thanks." I shrugged.

Jax simply nodded, then slouched forward, placing his elbows on top of his knees. He was quiet as I cleared out the last traces of my tears. "You know, this situation," he began. "Kind of reminds me of what Ricardo and Bria did to me, Eden and Carlos. After everything we had been through as a band... they just decided to rip it all apart." He shook his head. "We've both been through it, Tara. Betrayal, abandonment... it sucks. But look at us now. We're stronger because of it. Thanks to them, you're here in Mexico, living the popstar dream and working with the coolest band ever."

"Yeah?" I managed to smile. "Although I'm not so sure about Carlos' habit of talking to his drumsticks like they're real people."

"It's a little weird," Jax admitted with a grin, "but at least he's not naming them after his exes anymore. Remember the time he introduced us to Veronica? Dude was literally drumming with a stick named after his high school crush. I swear, it was like watching a breakup therapy session, but with more percussion."

"What?" I couldn't help but chuckle, recalling how Carlos had a full-on conversation with the drumstick in the middle of rehearsal about a week ago. It was too absurd to ignore. "Wait, wait, so you're telling me Veronica is actually real?"

Jax nodded. "Oh yeah, she's tall, dark-haired, slender figure. Carlos couldn't forget her even after uni. That's why he named the drumstick after her. Unfortunately, she 'broke up' with him after he chipped her on the cymbals. Poor guy acted like he'd been dumped all over again. He even buried the stick in the backyard like it was some kind of tragic love story."

"Oh my God." I burst out laughing, and it lifted the weight off my chest, if only for a moment.

Jax chuckled too, but then fell silent, his eyes lingering on me. His laughter faded, and for a second, he just stared, like he was seeing something beyond the joke.

"What?" I asked, the laughter still tingling on my lips.

"Uh, nothing," he muttered, then turned to look the other way.

I shook my head, chuckling softly to myself. Leave it to Jax to go from cracking jokes to something weirdly intense in the blink of an eye. But I was grateful for the distraction he provided. For just a little while, the weight and heaviness that had been pressing down on me were gone. My heart felt lightened, and I could breathe again.

"Thanks," I said softly. "For making me laugh... and for everything. I really needed this."

He smiled. "Don't mention it, T. As your bandmate, I've always got your back. Plus, if you ever need more comic relief, just ask Carlos how his latest drumstick relationship is going. Guaranteed entertainment."

I shook my head again with a grin, feeling much better. But as we sat in silence for a few moments, Jax shifted slightly before breaking the quiet with a question. "So, uh... have you been seeing anyone since Cudjoe?"

"No, not really." I took in a deep breath and exhaled. "Ever since we broke up, relationships haven't really appealed to me, well...not until recently."

"Oh." Jax sat up. "So there's someone?"

"Yeah," I muttered, my thoughts drifting to Shaun. "We've been seeing each other for a—"

Before I could even process what was happening, Jax's lips were on mine, seeking that friction that comes with a kiss. I just froze, completely taken off guard, until my brain kicked in and I pushed him back, still reeling from the shock. "Why did you—"

Then my eyes wandered over to the French doors, and my heart just dropped.

*****

Ugh, I'm so glad I finally got this chapter up. Because the stakes were so high, I kept deleting and re-writing, deleting and re-writing. It was tiresome, but I'm happy I was able to come up with something that was at least good and realistic enough for this scene.

Next chapter follows shortly. Don't forget to share your thoughts!