Pieces- Third Bonus Chapter

This scene takes place after Jenny finds out Alex was in a serious car accident while on his mission trip in Tajikistan and before the scene where Corey blows up at her over dinner at Red Lobster.

Jenny had tossed and turned all night, never really falling asleep. Corey had fallen asleep almost instantly, holding her body close to his the way they’d become used to. Once he was asleep, Jenny moved his arm off of her and pulled herself away.

She studied his sleeping face while she continued to weigh her options. Her feelings for Corey were undeniable; there was no doubt about that. Still, she felt she owed Alex what she promised him. But would that be fair to anyone? To be with Alex when she loved Corey? Everyone would be miserable.

Or time would pass and she would forget how she felt about Corey and renew her love for Alex. When she talked to Alex on the phone the other day, she thought it would spark something inside her. A memory, a feeling, anything. But she felt no different. There hadn’t even been a stirring in her stomach at the sound of his voice. She could have just as easily been talking to someone she barely knew, like her brother maybe.

“Jenny? Hey, you didn’t have to call,” Alex said when he got on the phone. Bella had already told Jenny that both his legs were broken and he was on a lot of medicine for the pain.

“I know. I just thought I should.”

“How are you? How’s Angel?”

“Fine,” she lied. “We’re both fine.”

“You never told me what happened when you went to court. Is she living with you again?”

Jenny hesitated. “Um, no. It’s…it’s a long story.”

“Oh.” He sounded disappointed.

“So, when will you be home?”

“Um, I’m not sure of the exact date yet. I’ll let you know as soon as I do.” There was some hesitation, then a sigh. “I’ll email you I guess.”

Every time Jenny replayed the strained conversation in her head, she felt the same way. They had grown apart. Time and distance did that, even to couples that had been together for decades. It was ridiculous to think they could still be in love after two years apart when they’d only had eight months together.

She pulled at the memories of their times together that she had tucked away so neatly. The first time she saw him and could barely breathe with him sitting next to her, the first time he kissed her on Valentine’s Day, and the first time he said he loved her on Angel’s first birthday. She remembered when they went camping and he made her a ring from fishing line, and then replaced it a few weeks later with a ring of hearts that signified a love that would never end.

But it did end, didn’t it? She could honestly say that she didn’t feel love for him anymore. It had dissolved like snow in the spring. Knowing this didn’t make it any easier. She’d made a promise to Alex, and Jenny knew what is was like to have a promise broken to her. Tyler had made promises he never intended to keep, and she had trusted him blindly, in the end breaking her apart. There was no way she could do something like that to Alex.

God had a plan for her, and she had been praying about this decision that she needed to make. It used to be that she would hear a still whisper reminding her of a verse from scripture, but now she heard nothing. There was a reason for this, and she was pretty sure she knew what it was.

The way she was living now was wrong. She had made a commitment to Alex, whether he was here or across the world. Instead of keeping her promises and believing in the plan laid out for her, she rebelled against it, returning to Tyler and putting her daughter at risk. Then she crossed the line with Ryan, adding weight to her misery. And now Corey. This relationship with Corey was way out of line.

They lived like a married couple when they weren’t. She should have never breached into this world of emotions and inseparability with him. They should have stayed friends. It all got complicated when she gave in to her desires and asked him to kiss her on New Year’s Eve.

Now they were in love when she promised her future to Alex. Although it should be noted that Alex didn’t say he loved her when they got off the phone, and it hadn’t been in any emails for a while. Jenny had stopped including it when she noticed he didn’t. At first, she thought it was an oversight, but as the weeks passed, she determined it had been knowingly left out.

Maybe he fell out of love, too.

Whatever it was, whatever it would be, she knew one thing. She needed time to think about all of this.

Alone.