Something's Gotta Give

Jade's Point of View

The morning of the New Year’s Eve party, I woke up to a text from Jay. We hadn’t really talked since he ended our engagement, and after finding out that he’d cheated on me with Isabel, I wasn’t exactly in a hurry. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and read the message.

Gonna be moving and found a box of your stuff. Can you come get it? Rather not start the new year with it.

I hated the cold way he’d said that. It was such a far cry from how great he’d been with me in the beginning.

Having a party tonight so I don’t have time to get it. If you could drop it off though, that’d be great.

I didn’t hear back from him right away, so I went about my normal morning routine of making my bed and heading downstairs for my coffee. After some (passive-aggressive) back-and-forth while I got ready for the day, Jay finally agreed to bring the stuff over in the late afternoon. The timing wasn’t exactly convenient since I’d be getting ready for the party, but it would have to do. Frankly, I wasn’t even sure I wanted the box; clearly, if I hadn’t noticed that I was missing anything in it, I didn’t really need it.

Just like the week before, I volun-told Jack for cleaning duties. “You know, since you did such an amazing job for Christmas.”

“Totally not fair,” he argued. “I have to go pick up the keg this afternoon.”

“Keg? Jesus, how many people are coming?”

“I don’t know for sure, but I did invite everyone.”

“For fuck’s sake. Well, since this party was your idea and you want to have it so bad, I guess you’d better ask Alex or one of the guys to pick up the keg, because I need your help.”

“Come on. How messy could the house be after one week?”

“You realize you live here, yes?”

He eyed the whirlwind of mess in the kitchen and family room, all of it his. “Point taken.”

Thankfully, Jack texted Alex about picking up the keg and steadily helped through the afternoon. Again, I spent the majority of the day in the kitchen. Our system was working out well, but I was distracted. I hadn’t seen Jay since the breakup, which meant that I definitely hadn’t seen him since I’d found out he was cheating with Isabel. I was torn on a strategy: should I confront him about it when I saw him? I didn’t really want any drama, but I didn’t want him to feel like he’d gotten away with it either.

By the time his text alerting me that we was here arrived, I’d decided that I wasn’t going to mention it unless he did. I would just match his energy and act as cold and detached as Jay.

When Jay stepped in the foyer, it was clear that my plan wasn’t going to work out. He glanced around the house, almost disapprovingly. “So this is what you decided to do with it, huh?”

It was hard not to prickle at that. “Considering the house is in my name, yeah. I figured I would do exactly what I want with it.”

I held my hand out for the box, which he gave to me. I opened it and began shifting around the contents. None of it was really mine, not anymore. It was stuff that we’d given each other or that he and I had collected over the years: pictures, cocktail napkins from different restaurants with the dates, the fancy pen I’d had engraved with his name, and other stuff like that. I hated to admit it, but it stung that he was giving it to me. “I don’t want any of this.”

“Well, I don’t either. I told you, I’m moving. The less shit I have to take with me, the better.”

“Shit, huh? Glad you feel that way about it.” About me, I wanted to add.

“Well, Jade, what do you want me to do with it? Throw it out?”

This time, I couldn’t stop myself. “You had no problem doing that with me.”

“Oh, Jesus, here we go.” Jay rolled his eyes. “This is exactly why I didn’t want to come over here.”

“You dumped me a month and a half before our wedding. I think I deserved a reason beyond, ‘we’re growing apart, and really, I’m doing this for you.’ It was bullshit, and you know it. So what was the real reason? Isabel?”

“Fine, you want the truth? Part of it was Isabel, yeah. With you and Alex both gone so much, it’s only natural that we’d gravitate towards each other.”

I scoffed. “Are you really trying to justify cheating on me?”

“It’s not like you didn’t do it too while you were away.”

“No, Jay, actually, I didn’t. I never cheated on you. Did I have plenty of opportunities to? Of course. But I loved you, and I never could have done that to you.” I shook my head. What else could I have possibly expected? “What was the other reason?”

“Jade, just drop it. I don’t have time for this.”

“The other reason,” I insisted. “You said it was partly Isabel, but what else? At some point you gave enough of a shit about me to want to marry me, so the least you could do is explain what changed.”

Long seconds passed.

“It was the miscarriage,” Jay finally said. He at least looked somewhat embarrassed when he said it. “I know it makes me an asshole. But it happened, and you just left! I was hurting, and Isabel was there, and…”

My breath caught in my throat and tears threatened to form. As I struggled to form words, Alex appeared like an angel behind Jay, bringing the keg in.

“Hey babe,” Alex greeted brightly as he barreled through the door. He set the keg down a few steps in, and walked over and kissed me on the cheek. Then, he looked at Jay like he’d just noticed him and sized him up. “Problem?”

“No problem. I was just leaving.” Though he looked confused about my interaction with Alex, he didn’t question it.

As he turned to go, I finally found my voice. I dropped the box to the floor with a thud and kicked it towards him. “Take this with you. I don’t fucking want it.”

Jay’s shoulders dropped in annoyance, but he picked it up on his way out. He mumbled to himself as he left. “Waste of time.”

“Byeeeee,” Alex called after him. When the door shut, he put an arm around my shoulder, giving it a little squeeze. “You good?”

“I’ll be fine.” I wasn’t sure I would be, but I’d have to fake it anyway.

“You sure? You want to talk about it?”

“Not right now, no.” I shook my head. I didn’t want to talk about it ever, preferably. The miscarriage had been a year ago, and aside from Jay, no one else knew about it. It had happened so early on that I’d barely had any time to get excited about being pregnant, let alone tell anyone the news. When it happened, I didn’t have time to process the loss either; the guys were about to be back on tour, and they needed me. So I did what I was good at, and shoved it to the side so I could do my job. But it didn’t mean it hurt any less. “I guess you and I are even now, though. With Jay and Isabel, I mean.”

“I’ll make you a deal,” Alex said. “Anytime we need to, we’ll just pretend to be in a relationship, unless one of us actually does have a boyfriend or girlfriend. Just to be petty and rub their stupid faces in it.”

We shook on it, and then I helped Alex carry the keg while Jack finished cleaning up and getting ready upstairs. Once he finished, I took my turn, placing an awful lot of trust in those two idiots to make sure the food didn’t get ruined. The majority of it wasn’t time sensitive, but Jack had insisted that we needed to make a plethora of chicken fries in the oven, so there were dozens of them being rotated into the double ovens and then out into the warmer.

It took me longer than usual to get ready, mainly because I kept replaying that stupid conversation with Jay in my mind. I just couldn’t shake it, and the words buzzed around like an annoying fly. By the time I finished and came downstairs, the house was already crawling with people. I recognized most of them from touring over the years, other bands and crew members, but it was funny to see them in my house, of all places.

Almost immediately, I spotted Skye sitting on the couch with Zack, the two of them laughing and sitting a little too close.

“Like a dog to its own vomit.”

I fought off a laugh. “Excuse me?” I turned to see Chris Motionless standing next to me, though it took me a second to place him without the makeup. This time, I did chuckle, putting my arms out to hug him. “Jeez, they’re just letting anyone into this place, huh?”

“The standards are wildly low,” he confirmed, hugging me back. “It’s good to see you, though. It’s been a minute.”

“You too.” I smiled at him. “I guess Jack wasn’t kidding when he said he invited everyone.” When he’d first said everyone I thought he meant the guys and everyone else on the ATL crew, past and present. I certainly didn’t think he meant every single person we’d ever crossed paths with on the road. “Also, what the hell was that supposed to mean? ‘Like a dog to its own vomit.’”

This time, Chris laughed. “Hey, you’re the one that said it first.”

“About Skye and Zack? I don’t remember that.”

“Well, I’m not surprised. You had a few when you did.” Since Chris didn’t drink and I’d been known to have a couple at the end of the night while on tour, he’d know better than I would.

“Fair enough. I was a dick for saying it, though.” I watched as Skye laughed at something else Zack said to her and she rested her forehead against his shoulder. “However, it was entirely accurate, unfortunately.” I frowned. Jack would definitely not be happy if he saw what I was seeing. “Hey, have you seen my brother anywhere?”

“No, I haven’t. I pretty much just got here, so I – well, actually, he’s up there.” Chris gestured towards the top of the steps, where Jack stood, wearing a long stupid cape and fancy masquerade mask.

“Oh, please, no.” I closed my eyes, and turned away. I couldn’t bear to watch whatever stupid, embarrassing shit that Jack was about to do, but I also couldn’t stand not to. I peeked over my shoulder in time to see Jack swing his leg over the bannister.

He was yelling, and he was coming down.