The phone rang. “Hello?” Narissa answered.
“Hi Narissa. This is Jake.” Came the familiar voice that had haunted her dreams for the past year. Her heart sped up.
“Jake! What do you want?” She blurted out. She thought that when she walked out of his house, it was over and she wouldn’t see him again.
“I wanted to talk to you, to see what you were up to.” He said casually as if they were old friends and nothing traumatic had passed between them.
“I’m fine Jake. How did you get my number?” She demanded. After the initial shock of hearing his voice she felt anger as she remember how they parted.
“Tim, gave it to me. Please don’t be mad at him. I practically begged him for it.” Jake explained.
“I can’t imagine you begging for anything Jake.” Narissa sardonically. “Anyway, Tim had no right to give you my number, and I thought I made it clear to you the last time we talked how much I loath you.” She spat through the phone.
There was a long sigh on the other end of the line. “Narissa, I know you’re upset with me, and you have every right to be, but I am asking you to please meet me for dinner. I would like to see you.” He wasn’t exactly begging but she could sense a humbleness in his tone that hadn’t been there a year ago, but still after what he put her through he had a lot of nerve to ask her for anything.
“I don’t think so Jake. I’m not going to meet you somewhere only to be led into some kind of trap. Just because you’ve changed your mind about wanting to see me again doesn’t mean that I will automatically go along with your plans.” Narissa snapped.
“It’s not a trap. I just want to have dinner with you. That’s all. I want to explain things.”
“I want this and I want that. It’s still always about what you want Jake. Well, that’s just too damn bad. This past year I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve learned that I matter. I’ve learned that I deserve to be treated with respect, and I’ve learned to love myself, so frankly Jake, I don’t give a shit about what you want.” She hissed before hanging up the phone with a decisive click.
Narissa stood there by the phone for several minutes before she realized that she was shaking. She couldn’t believe she had just said they things she did. As she finally started to move away from the phone, it rang again. Jake again, she was sure.
“I don’t want to talk to you so stop calling.” She said about to hang up again.
“Narissa? Did I say something to upset you?” Tim asked on the other end of the line.
“Tim? Oh my God! I’m so sorry. I thought you were someone else.” She apologized, but then she realized that perhaps she didn’t owe him an apology at all. “How could you Tim?” She accused before he could get a word out.
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line. “You just spoke to Jake?” He asked already knowing the answer.
“Gee, how did you guess?” Narissa asked sarcastically. “I repeat, how could you, especially knowing what he did to me?”
“I know honey. Look, that’s actually why I was calling. I wanted to give you a heads up that Jake was going to call. I guess he beat me to the punch.” He said apologetically.
“Why?” Narissa asked again.
“Because I think you two need to talk this thing out so that you can find closure.”
“Tim, I thought you were my friend. I should have known better though. You were Jake’s friend first. Have you been reporting my every movement to him?”
“No. Well, I did tell him that you were doing well, and that you’re happy, but I haven’t been giving him a blow-by-blow account of your comings and goings if that’s what you mean. I wouldn’t so that to you. Look Narissa, you’re not the only one who’s changed. He may not seem like it, but Jake has changed too, for the better I think.” Tim explained.
“Oh yea? And that should impress me why?” She asked not willing be give an inch.
“He really has Narissa. I can’t really say that he’s completely given up his lifestyle but one big difference is that Olga and Sergei is gone and he hasn’t had another party since you left. All he really does actually is work. He’s been working like a demon which I don’t necessarily think is good for him. He’s still an arrogant son of a bitch, but he’s still not as bad as he use to be. You did that to him. You were the one to make him realize that he was on a path of self-destruction.” Narissa remained mutinously silent. “You know Narissa, I’ve never asked you for much, but as a favor to me, please hear Jake out. If you still feel the same way after you’ve talked to him, then I will do everything in my power to make sure he stays out of your life.” Tim promised.
“Tim why do you want me to see him so badly? What’s in this for you?” Narissa asked cautiously.
“Jake has been my friend for a very long time and I care about him. Although I’ve only known you for a year, I’ve grown to care about you very much as well. I’ve seen so much growth in you but I don’t think you will truly be happy until you find the closure that I know you feel you didn’t get when things ended between you and Jake. Hear Jake out. He needs to get a lot of things off his chest and may be able to answer some of the questions you haven’t had answered yet. In no way shape of form do I condone what he did to you, but right now, he’s hurting too. I hate to see my two friends suffer like that.”
Narissa was silent for a moment. “What does he have to be hurting about? He was the one who kidnapped me for God sake. He beat me, did all kinds of deviant things to me, and then just when he had me convinced that I liked what was happening to me, he told me that I bore him! Now really Tim, why should I care?” She asked. Tears coursed down her cheeks as memories of her last confrontation with Jake resurfaced. Out of all the things he had done to her, those last harsh words that he had spoken had inflicted the most pain by far.
“Narissa honey, please don’t cry. If you don’t want to do it then don’t but I’ll tell you what, if you change your mind, I’m meeting Jake tomorrow night for drinks at the Starlight Grille around seven-ish. I’ll be there the whole time so you don’t have to be alone with him if you don’t want to.” Silence. “Narissa? Honey are you still there?” Tim asked concerned by the long pause.
