Mood: swipe left and tap the media box above to listen to You Don't Own Me covered by Madison Beer.

Lydia

Marc and I flew to my hometown a few days after Christmas to visit my mom and dad. Dad was his usual polite and jovial self, but Mom was indifferent to Marc.

When we went to eat out at a family restaurant, Mom whispered to me, "I don't like the way he looks at other girls. He can't get his eyes off the waitress."

The waitress assigned to our table was attractive, with a shapely figure that was an easy distraction for guys, including Marc. Every time she smiled at Marc, her eyes flirted with his.

"Mom, shhh, Marc might hear you," I whispered back.

"Let him hear me. He's got wandering eyes," she hissed loudly.

I stared at her. She stared at me. Her lips were pursed, and her tiger eyes were ready to attack.

"Lydia, Jake and his family were at the Christmas church service," Mom said loudly.

"Oh yeah?" I asked.

"His mom and dad passed on their regards to you," she said. She glared at me.

"Oh, tell them I said hi, too," I replied.

"You can tell them yourself. Jake said you would be visiting him sometime during the holidays," Mom quickly responded.

Marc's eyes were now focused on me, and he looked uncomfortable.

"This is your friend Jake from school, right, Lyds?" Marc tried to join in the conversation.

"Yes, he's like a brother to me," I said. I glanced at Dad for help, but he was busy eating his meal, avoiding eye contact with Mom and me.

"Oh, he was nothing like a brother to Lydia," Mom said. "The way he talked about you when we saw him last, you would think he was in love with you, Lydia."

"Mom, Jake, and I are just friends. You completely misunderstand the situation. Besides, he's a player. He's sleeping around in college, and he's with a different girl every week. They call him 'Heartbreaker.' Did you know that?" I returned Mom's tiger stare with my glare.

"Lyds, I thought you said there was nothing between you and pretty boy," Marc said.

Marc had been calling Jake pretty boy after seeing the Christmas photo and an old framed photo on my desk of Jake and myself. Mom purposely took that photo from my drawer and placed it on my desk for Marc's arrival. Sneaky Mom.

"May, can you leave Lydia alone?" Dad asked weakly.

"Ben, you said-"

"Forget about what I said. She's here with her guest, a handsome, young fella. Say, what was the name of your football team, son?"

"The Hawkes," Marc said. "Excuse me." With that, Marc got up and left. I thought he was at the gents,' but I saw him outside on the phone. It looked like a deep conversation, as he didn't come back for a while. I suspected he was on the phone with his parents, coach, friend, or female friend.

Mom, Dad, and I ate in solemn silence. When Marc got back, he looked slightly flushed and did not make eye contact with me.

Later that night, when Marc was in the bathroom, I saw a message come up on his phone. It was from a Becky W. It said: Miss you too, babe. I can't wait for you to warm my bed. The message ended with a kissy face icon.

Oh. My. God. The sickening truth hit my stomach. I ran downstairs to the guest bedroom, which had an attached bathroom, and emptied the contents of my stomach into the toilet. I felt sick to the core. Marc Solomon cheated on me. I flushed all my feelings away.

I had locked the door so no one would come in. I stripped my clothes, ran myself under the shower, scrubbed my naked body hard, and cried.

I needed to wash myself clean. I felt dirty. Filthy. Cheap. The last time I felt this way was after senior prom. I shut that memory out as I shut my eyes.

Then I noticed a light pink fluid trickling down my legs. I just got my period. Fantastic.

By the time I was done showering and had put my clothes back on, I noticed I had some missed calls and messages, all from Marc. The last one said: Where r u?

It was close to midnight, and I knew Jake was back home for the holidays. He was either out in town partying, with a girl, or at home reading something. Carrie was at Johan's, and Reggie was goodness knows where, probably getting high with her friends from her photography course or something like that.

It was an impulse that I had to call Jake. The phone rang to his line and kept ringing until I was ready to hang up. Then he picked up.

"Hello?" His voice sounded tired. He wasn't at a club. He was either with someone, or he was alone.

"Jake, I need your help. Can I come over now?" I pleaded.

"Missy? Are you in town?"

"Yeah, I'm at my parents' place."

"Is lover boy with you?" his voice sounded uncertain.

"He's the problem. I need to be alone. Just you. And me. Not him," I replied.

I heard him sigh on the phone. I pictured him furrowing his eyebrows and ruffling his hair.

"Can I come over? Alone?" I pushed again.

"Yeah, sure, come over."

A few minutes later, I grabbed my stuff and texted Mom that I was driving to Jake's and for her not to worry about me. I told her it was stuff between Marc and me.

As I walked through the living room toward the front door with my mom's car keys in my hand, I ran into Marc.

"Is everything okay?" His blue eyes looked at me.

"Yeah, sure, I got my period and need to go to the twenty-four/seven store around the corner to pick up some stuff," I replied.

"Need me to come with you?"

"No, I'm okay. I'm taking my mom's car." I could barely look Marc in the eye. He insisted on coming with me to the store, but I told him I needed to be alone.

"Lydia, something's wrong. Tell me what's up," he urged.

"Ask your friend Becky W." I turned the doorknob, but he grabbed my hand and blocked me from going out the door.

"Lydia, let me explain!"

"Marc, in our relationship, have you ever cheated on me?" My voice pitched two notches higher than usual.

Marc was awfully quiet. He didn't respond, and his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Lydia..."

"Did you? Did you or did you not cheat on me?" I was at my breaking point-my ears and face felt hot, flushed, and red. My knees were weak and shaking, and I wanted to scream.

Marc was quiet for a few seconds. Then...

"I did."

"Thank you, Marc. Thank you for telling me the truth. I need to get a fucking tampon now," I replied, shouting at him. I was pissed, hurt, and felt like shit.

Following that, I left the house and opened the door to the car. Nobody was stopping me. I needed to talk to Jake.

---

I rang Jake's number when I stood outside his house. I didn't want to ring the doorbell to wake his parents. I thought maybe the car would make enough noise to alert him I was there, but a minute after I parked, there was still no sign of Jake coming out to let me in.

"I'm here," I said when Jake picked up the phone. Then I hung up.

I waited for a bit and was about to head back to my car to drive to the all-night convenience store to pick up tampons. I had toilet paper in my underwear to stop anything from leaking through my clothes.

Then, I heard the front house door open and the rustling sound of Jake's feet walking towards me. I faced the front door of the driver's seat of the car and started banging my fists on the window.

I broke down and unleashed a river of tears before feeling the warmth and gentle strength of his hand on my shoulder. The salty tears streamed down my cheeks, and I howled in utter agony, pain, and despair before crouching down to the ground.

"Missy." Jake kept saying my name. "Missy, get up. Please. Come inside."

I turned to him with a mess of tears across my red, puffy face. My lips were blood red, and my nose was stuffy.

"I'm so sorry for ruining your night. With whoever she is," I said. "I can go home now."

"Missy, you're not going anywhere. Come inside," Jake coaxed me in. "C'mon. Here. Let me help you."

Jake helped me walk towards and inside his home, up the stairs to his bedroom. He'd closed and locked all doors, including his bedroom door. I cried in his arms like a baby and told him I was sorry for being such a shit friend. That I needed him more than ever-I promised I would never leave him alone again.

Once I had calmed down a bit, and Jake got me a cup of warm cocoa (my favorite warm drink; he knows me so well), I told him everything that had happened.

"The lying, cheating, son of a... scumbag," I babbled. "I know you're thinking, 'I told you so.'"

Jake gave me a warm smile. "Told you so," he joked lightly and gently. He poked me in my ribs, like he always did to try to make me laugh. I giggled.

"That's the Missy smile that I've been missing," he said.

We talked for another ten to fifteen minutes, and by then, I had stopped hiccupping and started breathing normally again. My eyes were still red and puffy, and a few loose tears continued to stream down my face.

Thankfully, Jake offered me a hand towel, and I blew my nose, wiped my eyes, and all the tearful contents into that towel. It was pretty disgusting, but it didn't faze Jake. He was more concerned about me.

"Jake, you know what the worst thing was? In the middle of all this, I just got my period!" I looked at him.

"You okay? You need anything?" His violet-blue eyes looked at me.

"Can you drive me to the convenience store around the corner? I need to pick up tampons. And paracetamol. Just use my mom's car."

"Sure, Missy. You ready to go?"

"Uh-huh." I nodded.

"Give me the keys," he commanded.

In the car, I texted Marc to tell him I was staying with a friend and not to wait up for me.

Marc texted back: Your friend Jake?

I didn't respond.

Mark: ???

I wrote: I'm safe with my best friend. A real friend.

Marc: Please come home. I love you.

Me: You love Becky. And every other fuck you've had.

My phone rang. It was from Marc.

It rang again. It kept ringing until Jake told me to switch it to silent.

---

When we got back from the convenience store to Jake's place, it was nearly 2 a.m.

"I don't want to go back home," I said. "He's there, and I can't face him right now."

"You'll have to face him eventually. You can sleep over tonight, but you'll need to deal with it in the morning," Jake said.

"I already told that monster that I wasn't coming home tonight. Mom also knows that I'm here with you."

"You'd better text her again to assure her you're safe with me," Jake replied. He took his shirt and jeans off.

I texted my mom: I'm safe with Jake, and I'm sleeping over at his place. I'll be back in the morning.

Mom texted back: Lydia, your dad and I are working tomorrow morning. We're exhausted. You need to deal with whatever it is with your guest-first thing in the morning. I need my car back. No later than 8 am.

I replied: I promise I'll do that first thing in the morning.

"Done," I said. "All sorted."

"C'mon. You can borrow a shirt of mine and sleep here with me. Unless you want to be in the guest bedroom downstairs," Jake said.

"I'll sleep up here with you. I can sleep on the carpet. I just need a blanket and pillow."

"Don't be dumb, Missy. C'mon over here. I don't bite."

"Okay." I crawled into Jake's bed and snuggled into him. He was nearly naked now, except for a pair of boxer shorts.

"Missy," Jake started.

"Yeah?"

"I was alone tonight. There wasn't anyone else."

With that, Jake kissed my forehead and said good night.

"Good night, Jake," I smiled as I drifted into sleep.

A/N: If you enjoyed this chapter, please vote and/or comment. Thank you.