Pride and Hate with Benefits [COMPLETED]

Chapter 25 - Broken things

Ellie

Saturday morning I'm tired and a bit out of it. I've spent a lot of time with Jenna this week and stayed up late last night plotting ways to get revenge on Julian. So far, my favorite is a Molotov cocktail through his window. I've also contemplated filling his car with bees and throwing him into a volcano.

The worst part is that Jenna doesn't hate him. She refuses to say a bad word about him, and I can't blame her. That's the type of person she is. But at the same time, I see how deeply this cut her and I wish she would get mad.

She insists on still going to her dad's for Christmas, so I've been texting with Charlie to set everything up for the holidays. She's gotten me a first-class ticket to fly out and meet them there and arranged for a car to pick me up from the airport.

She was thrilled when I told her I have all my finals early and can take almost a week off before Christmas. I wasn't sure her boyfriend would want me there so early, but she insisted. She sounds so happy, and I hope he's good for her.

Charlie gives her heart away much too easily and I remember overhearing my mom on the phone with her more than a few times after a bad breakup. Giving her heart to the wrong men has caused Charlie a lot of heartache.

Then again, Jenna has been guarding her heart all her life, and she's now suffering too. She's been so stingy, guarding her heart like it was her most valuable treasure, and still got it stomped on.

I want at least one of them to have some luck in the love department.

I'm a bit early to class and slow my steps as I walk up the stairs. D is going to be here. I've been avoiding him all week, and he seems to understand that I need to be there for Jenna. He must know about the break-up, but he hasn't asked. And I haven't mentioned it. It's an unspoken rule that we don't discuss anything serious.

When my phone rings, I almost sigh in relief.

"Hey, how are you?" I ask.

"Ok," Jenna says. "Are you busy?"

"I have a few minutes. Did something happen?"

"I saw Mia and Elsa yesterday."

"Oh?"

"I went to hand in an assignment and bumped into them near Dirty."

"Did you talk to them?"

"It seemed rude not to."

"What did they say?" I unbutton my coat and lean against the wall in the hallway.

"They said they were sad that it ended and that they liked me."

"So he had told them about it."

"I guess so."

"Are you ok?"

"I'm just in a bad mood. Everything reminds me of him, and it's hard."

"Look, I have to do a thing, but after that I'll be right over, ok?"

"You don't have to."

"But I will. Maybe you could take a nap or something. We can watch more romcoms. Or whatever you want. Legally Blonde?"

"I am tired."

"Right, so you nap and I'll be there soon."

"Ok."

I hang up and take a moment to close my eyes and curse all the Boone children. If I could teleport them far away from UNI, I would. How can anyone treat Jenna this way? Jenna, who's the sweetest person alive.