Chapter 1: There's nothing here but lies

Her heartbeat throbbed in her ears as she rushed down the stairs, the sound of blood rushing through her system almost blinding. Once she made it through the street door she slammed it shut behind her, startling the two women having a smoke on the sidewalk. She was confused, betrayed, fuming, mortified, miserable, all at once. Burying her fists deep into her jacket pockets to protect them from the cold October weather she stomped on, so blinded by her current state she hardly saw where she was going. All she wanted was to get away, away from that place, away from her feelings, away from him. She could feel the tears forming in her eyes, trying to fight them back. Her brain had trouble forming a coherent thought after the sight she just witnessed, her legs carrying her simply onwards. One thought occupied the space from everything else. "How dare he?" was running over and over in her head.

A car honking startled her to reality and she stopped in her tracks, preventing her from being run over. Breathing a sigh of relief she looked up, noticing that her legs had carried her near the sports equipment shop where her brother worked. She made her way over, the bell next to the door chiming as she stepped in. She didn't see him anywhere, so she made her way to the register, locking eyes with a beautiful blonde.

"Can I help you?" the blonde girl enquired.

"Hi, is Jesse Adams around?" she replied, her hands still in the pockets of her leather jacket, her foot tapping the floor softly. Biting her bottom lip she had trouble maintaining eye contact with the blonde, still trying to stop herself from crying.

"He's on break right now, but he should be back any minute."

"Well can't I just go back there?" she replied nodding towards the back room, a single tear escaping her eye.

"Hey Jo, ignore that, she's new," she heard the familiar voice of her brother's co-worker Ethan, but couldn't bring herself to turn her head to greet him. "You can let her through, Cary Ann."

"Thanks, Ethan," she called out, stepping around the cash register and ignoring the timid apologies coming from the new girl. The door behind Cary Ann led her to a corridor. She saw the break-room door was open, and she could see her brother sitting at the table, sipping on something. He looked up as he heard her approaching, a surprised smile spreading on his face.

"Hey sis, didn't know you were back in town," he said as he stood up to give her a hug, and she walked into it gratefully, almost knocking him over. She took a deep breath, squeezing her arms around him.

"Yeah. Neither did Alex. I just walked in on him and… someone else," she said, her voice breaking at the end at which the tears started flowing. Jesse's jaw dropped as she pushed her slightly away to look into her eyes, grabbing her shoulders.

"What? Alex is… cheating on you?" he said, his brows furrowing as she looked down. "Can't be," he continued, shaking his head in disbelief. She shook his hands off her shoulders and looked up at him defiantly.

"Well if he isn't then he was doing something really interesting to that woman with his dick," she cried. She watched as the information sunk in, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand.

"I can't believe he'd do that," Jesse said, sinking back onto the chair, rubbing his hands over his short dark brown hair. "That son of a bitch," he suddenly exclaimed getting back on his feet, causing her to jump.

"I'm sorry," he said, motioning for her to hug him again and she obliged. "Stupid question, but how are you feeling?" he said, stroking her hair as she cried softly into his chest. She sighed.

"When I left there I was feeling a million things…" she replied, trying to get her breathing to normal. "Now I'm sort of numb. I can't fathom what's happened, I keep thinking this is a dream and I'll wake up any second."

"Oh, sis…" he replied, hugging her close. "You want me and Ethan to go beat him up for you?"

The corners of her mouth turned up and she let out a dry little chuckle between sobs.

"I'm not kidding," Jesse claimed, but she knew he was. She pulled back from him.

"Yeah that would be great, thanks," she said with a dry smile, wiping her eyes. "God, I can't believe this! How could he turn out to be just another asshole?" she exclaimed towards the roof spreading her arms, intending her words towards a higher power.

"Can I do anything for you? Can I kick him out for you? Badmouth him all over town? Tweak the bike he bought from us before he comes get it?" Jesse offered, and she managed a laugh.

They agreed she'd come by the store again when his shift was over so he'd accompany her back to the apartment. He returned to work and she quickly took advantage of the staff restroom, splashing her face with cold water and taking a couple of deep breaths to calm herself down.

Back on the street she wandered aimlessly, lost in her thoughts, eventually ending up in Allegheny Commons Park. She sat on a bench, wrapping her jacket and scarf tighter around her, when it really hit her.

Her boyfriend of two and a half years had cheated on her. Was cheating on her? She didn't know. She hadn't stopped to ask questions. She had stood there, her mouth falling open as he'd scrambled on his feet trying to wrap the sheet around him, leaving the woman to cover herself with a pillow. Jo's pillow. Honey, this isn't what it looks like, he'd managed to say before she'd reached to the side table, grabbed the first thing she could reach and hurled it at him, right before storming out.

She had been on a business trip in New York, and wasn't supposed to be back until the next day. Who knows how long this might have gone on if I had stayed in New York, she thought, sighing.

She never wanted to see him again, that was the one thing she was sure of. She had no idea if he'd be at her apartment once she got there, but for his own good, she hoped he wouldn't: her brother just might kill him. Jesse was two years older than her, and he had always been her best friend, and she his. He had always been extremely protective of her especially after their parents separated and their father moved out, but he also knew when to stand down, respecting her boundaries. She often thanked her lucky stars for having such an awesome brother. Now, more than ever, she would need his help, no doubt about that.

She didn't know long she'd been sitting lost in her thoughts, but as she noticed it was starting to get dark and Jesse's shift was nearing its end she stood up. Why did Alex cheat, that was the question on her mind as she started walking. She realized that she had for a while gotten the vibe that he wasn't feeling as masculine as he wanted to. She was the one who supported him financially, he lived under her roof, doing "research" for his thesis, which he was allegedly already doing when they met. She chuckled joylessly. Maybe this was his way of feeling masculine again. Whatever his reason might be, she thought, she refused to be broken down by this. Her life would go on, just without him in it.

She was surprised at her own reaction. The same thing had happened to her friend Clara a few years back, and she had been absolutely in pieces, unable to get out of bed for two weeks. Jo wondered whether the same thing would happen to her with time. At that moment she simply felt betrayed and melancholic, but not depressed or overwhelmed.

As she stopped in front of the sports store, the door opened and a customer stepped out, holding the door open for her. She thanked him and stepped inside, realizing that the customer had looked vaguely familiar, but the thought was soon forgotten when Jesse emerged from behind a rack of jerseys.

"Ethan told me to go once you got here," he said in greeting, placing a hanger on the rack.

"You told him?" she sighed in frustration. She hated having her business spread around.

"Not the specifics, of course. Just that we have some throwing out to do," he said, and her expression softened slightly. "I'll just get my things and I'm ready to go, okay?"

She nodded, and turned to gaze out of the store window while her brother disappeared into the back room.