I met George at the party. He was alone, sitting on a car trunk and staring helplessly into space. I wondered why a person would attend a party, and choose not to vibe with everyone else. I walked to him, and tapped his shoulder. He turned abruptly to see who had snapped him out of his reverie; our eyes met, and I smiled warmly at him.
"Do you mind if I sit here with you?" I asked him. He nodded, and moved a little, so I could sit on the car trunk. "This isn't your car, right?" I asked him, and he narrowed his eyes. I laughed. "It's a harmless question. By the way, why are you out here alone? Didn't you come with friends, a date perhaps?" I asked him.
"I'm alone." He replied.
"You are alone? Why did you come to the party if you weren't going to enjoy it?" I pressed on.
"I came because I wanted to leave the house. I'm enjoying the party though. The dance, the music; it's beautiful." He said.
"Okay. I'm Jane, by the way. I just wanted to know if you're good." I said to him, and jumped down from the trunk.
I wondered if he wasn't going to introduce himself too, but since he was quiet, I started to walk away, but he called out to me.
"I'm George, and you're beautiful. Do you mind if I have your contact?" I smiled when I heard that, and I walked back to him. He took my number, and saved it in his phone. I smiled again and turned to leave, but he said something that made me laugh. "You're right. The car's not mine, and I think I have to head inside, so I don't scratch it." We both joined my friends at the party, and I made sure that he had fun.
Some weeks later, I and George started dating, and the first few weeks was a memorable one, though all the memories were made at my place. I kept asking him when he would invite me to his place, but he never gave a positive response. All he was make promises upon promises that he'd never fulfill, and whenever I complained, he would snap, and nag and stop calling for days. Then whenever it suits him, he'll come visiting like nothing happened, and he wouldn't apologize for his strange behaviors.
My friends weren't happy with me. They complained that I had become too soft, and I was letting a man toil with my emotions, but all I did was defend him, and take the blame.
"Jane, what has come over you? What if this guy has another woman in his life, and probably that's why you've never been to his place? Why are you letting him walk over you like that?" Nancy scolded me, but I didn't reply to any of the things she said.
The truth is I had a feeling too, that George was seeing someone else, because it was strange that he never wanted me to visit. We never went on dates; he'd rather hang out at my place, and that was disturbing, though he attributed it to wanting to lead a private life. Though I didn't believe him, I still couldn't break up with him because I had fallen head over hills in love with him. I felt that the love I had for him was unhealthy because I couldn't even imagine life without him in it, until one day, Nancy and Sandra returned from a party, and showed me a picture of my man at the party with a girl, whom he stared at with loving eyes as they danced.
"Are you sure this is George?" I asked them. I could hear my heart beat in my head.
"Weren't you supposed to be home with him since he advised against attending the party?" Nancy asked me.
I was mute. I stared at the picture again, and tears rolled down my cheeks. I had wanted to attend that very party, but George had advised against it, saying he'd rather spend the night at my place, but later he called in sick, and by that time my friends had already gone for the party, so I couldn't go alone. Anger surged through me, and I stood to my feet. I threw on a shirt, and left the house. My friends followed suit, calling out to me.
"Where are you going?" Sandra asked.
"I'm going to confront him." I replied.
"Do you even know where he lives?" Nancy asked.
"We'll find out." I replied, and boarded a bike. My two friends boarded a bike as well and tagged along.
I had an idea of where George's apartment might be, because I had heard him give his address to a delivery man to deliver something he had ordered when he got home, and I never forgot it.
When I got there, I was confused, but from outside, my eyes caught one of his shirts hanging from a balcony, and I climbed the stairs, and came to the door. My friends were behind me, and Sandra tried to dissuade me.
"Jane, let's just go. This might be a bad idea." She said, but my mind was made up.
I knocked on the door, and I heard a female voice speaking to someone she referred to as 'Babe'. A few seconds later, the door opened, and I came face to face with George. He was shocked to see me.
"Won't you let me in? I thought I could surprise you." I said.
"Jane, you can't be here, please. I'll come and see you later, then I'll explain everything." He replied.
"So truly, you're seeing someone else?" I asked him, but he didn't reply.
The lady I had heard her voice came to the door, and greeted me.
"How long have you been dating him?" I asked her.
She seemed surprised by the question, but she responded. "Two years. We've been together for two years." I nodded my head, and turned away. I went back to my apartment and broke down. I had only known George for seven months, but he had a beautiful girl in his life, and he cheated on her with me. It all began to make sense. The lies, the excuses, the fights, everything made sense at once and I felt like a fool.
Source
"Jane, don't beat yourself too much. We warned you, but you chose to throw caution to the wind, now, you've been hurt in the end." Nancy said.