Better than Revenge – Chapter 1

Jason finally hit send on his project report at 11:59pm and let out a tired sigh of relief. The semester was officially over for him, but he felt as though his soul was sucked dry. He was smart, and usually was among the first to submit his assignments, but this was a group project and his teammates had begged for his help. His girlfriend Sally would probably say he needed to learn how to refuse.

He let out a yawn and rubbed his eyes, only to begin smiling as he thought of her. She was honestly the most beautiful and wonderful woman he knew. He’d been with her since junior high and was certain she was the one. He subconsciously clutched the pendant around his neck. It was a single piece of blue lego moulded inside clear resin. He had lost this piece in school many years ago and she’d foud it. He had asked her out when she came to return it and she said yes! It was a soft memory, that never failed to make him smile.

He shut down the laptop and stood up, the reality of the present hitting him a little hard.

Lately, things with Sally had been tense. He couldn’t quite put a finger to it, but she seemed to be a lot busier than usual.

Perhaps the stress of college was getting to her too. She had taken history as a major and she said her professors gave them plenty of homework each week. He believed her when she said she was studying later or going to spend the evening with friends. She was almost always too tired to do anything more than quickly kiss him on the cheek nowadays.

He told her loved her every day. Made sure to call at least once. He realized he hadn’t in the last couple of days because this recent school project had him racing against time (serves him right for taking three advanced courses this semester). Though Jason would not admit it he felt a little hurt she hadn’t bothered to check up on him, especially considering her exams had already got over a week ago.

Jason sighed, perhaps she was spending time with her friends. Just because he was so introverted, he barely had any, didn’t mean Sally couldn’t have fun.

Maybe, he could take her out on a date tonight. He brightened up at the prospect and walked out of the library with his bag pack, a little bounce and hope in his steps.

As he walked down the asphalt staircase, he noted that the dimly lit campus was almost empty by now. Spring break began the next day and most of the students had already left for home.

His stomach grumbled loudly, and Jason realized he was starving. Skipping meals had become somewhat of a bad habit for him in college, and he barely noticed how much weight he’d lost. In absolute contrast was his twin brother who had gained muscles and become even more athletic post joining the university basketball team. Sometimes he wished he was more like his brother.

Jason’s quiet life had become far too hectic ever since he got into the coveted Computer Science program at this university. He was keen about coding and was already an excellent programmer when he enrolled. In fact, he was so good, he’d already bagged a couple of job offers from top tech companies while still in high school. His parents had insisted he finish school first, and honestly, Jason was relieved. He wanted to build something of his own.

If Jason had to describe himself, he’d say he was quiet, shy and deeply introverted. All he ever wanted to do was spend time working on his hobbies, hang out with his girlfriend and family. His twin brother Gary was his polar opposite and could accurately be described as the life of any party. Jason sometimes felt exhausted just thinking about a potential invitation to a party. 

He walked down the paneled footpath, taking a shortcut through the garden to get to the Sally’s dormitory faster. He walked into the building and asked for her at the reception, just like he’d done several times before. The elderly lady at the counter gave him a sympathetic smile.

“Hi Jason, here to see Sally? She isn’t in, her keys were still at the register.” she said in a motherly way.

“Oh.” said Jason his brows furrowing with worry. Sally should have been in her room considering she told him she wanted to spend the day resting. “Okay. I’ll take a look around, maybe she’s by the tennis courts.”

He felt odd as he walked away, unable to find a reason for the emptiness that grew inside him. He reassured himself that Sally wouldn’t leave without saying something.

Jason spotted his brother kissing a pretty blonde girl by the court and waved. Gary broke the kiss to grin at him and wave back.

“How’s my favourite brother doing?” he yelled and Jason grimaced. The blonde girl in his arms giggled as though he’d cracked a very funny joke. Gary had always been loud.

“I’m your only brother.” Jason muttered before yelling back. “Have you seen Sally around?”

Gary frowned, his voice hardening at the mention of Sally. “I thought she was with you. Last I saw her she was going to the boy’s dormitory. Maybe she’s waiting in your room.”

Jason nodded, a happy feeling returning to his chest. It would be great if Sally decided to surprise him by being there in his room.

He walked faster, leaving behind Gary who was already back to sucking face with his date. Gary could never keep a steady girlfriend, always prefering to switch partners often. But he was always honest about his intentions, so every girl who chose to date him, knew it was for the short term. 

“Aw Jason, it’s my youth!” Gary would say. “I let the girls know early on that all I am looking for is a fling. Sometimes they want more and that’s okay. We break up and usually there aren’t any hard feelings.”

Jason turned the corner and walked into his hostel building. There was no one at the reception as usual and he smiled at the thought of why that was.

“Come on, who the hell wants to break into a college boy’s dormitory anyway. All they’d find are smelly clothes and a bunch of guys who’d beat up anyone suspicious.  Not to mention, none of us have any money.” The elected student president had said.

What he said was mostly true, except that Gary and Jason were very rich.

They didn’t show off their wealth much and they didn’t ask for special treatment so not many people knew or cared. Sally had known Jason for years and she was one of the few who knew.

His parents hadn’t restricted him from spending money, but always insisted he purchase meaningful things over frivolity. Jason always made sure to spoil Sally whenever he could.

She particularly liked jewellery and dinners at high end restuarants, so he did his best to make her happy.

Gary didn’t like Sally much, but he kept the peace for Jason’s sake.

“I know you’ve been with her a long time,” he had once told him. “But surely you must notice some of her flaws.”

If he had to be honest, Jason did notice, he just ignored them. He knew Sally was materialistic and a little selfish sometimes, he was aware she didn’t put as much effort to the relationship as he did, but he loved her and couldn’t imagine losing her.

She was a little mean sometimes, like when he’d painted her a portrait of herself, and she shouted at him for not buying her the diamond necklace she wanted. The portrait wasn’t that good anyway and he really should have listened to her. Gary called her a bitch and Jason had had a fight with him.

He climbed up the stairs slowly until he reached his room, his mind still clouded. He paused as he saw a glimmer of light through the closed door.

Smiling slightly, he quietly unlocked the door, recognizing Sally’s perfume in an instant.

He was so glad she was here to see him, so glad she was proving the nagging insecure voice in his head wrong. So glad he could look into her eyes and tell her he was ready to give this relationship a solid shot again and bring the spark back now that the semester was over —

He looked into the room and wished he could turn back.

He felt as though someone had punched him in the stomach. His throat dried up and tears prickled his eyes.

Sally was not alone in his dorm room.
She was half naked on his bed and sitting on a man’s lap. He couldn’t recognize him, but he had her lipstick all over his face and neck.

They hadn’t noticed him, and he didn’t know what to do. Confronting people had never been his strong suit, especially when his heart felt as though it was ripped to shreds. He remained in the thin corridor between the door and bedroom as he contemplated leaving without saying a word.

Just then, there was a light knock and the door behind him loudly burst open. Jason turned to look at who it was and was shocked to see his brother.

Gary was panting and looked like he’d run all the way here.

“Jase, Mom called, she said we need to come home tonight, Dad’s hurt.”

“What?” spluttered Jason, distracted by his anxiety hitting the roof. “What happened to Dad?”

“Mom won’t say — who the hell is that?” Said Gary loudly as he looked past Jason’s head and realized there were people clearly having sex on his bed. Jason shut his eyes but didn’t turn around to look. He’d already seen them and wished he could bleach his eyes.

“Gary?” said Sally, her voice faltering as she saw him and scrambled to wrap the bedsheet around herself. “What are you doing here? This is not what it looks like.”

“Like hell, it isn’t!” shouted Gary his protective sibling mode switching on. He barged into the room and grabbed the guy’s neck, yanking him off the bed before realizing he knew him.

“Calvin? Why the fuck are you in bed with my brother’s girl?” He asked, clearly torn between wanting to punch him and hoping this was all a bad dream.

But Calvin was looking very apologetic. “She said they had broken up! Told me he cheated on her and she wanted to get him back by doing it on his bed with another guy. She’s hot so I agreed. Sorry man, I should have checked with him first.”

Gary turned to Sally, not doubting Calvin for a second considering his history of doing stupid things. Calvin was a front quarterback for the college football team, and he often played without a helmet. He got hit on the head a lot and he wasn’t the brightest, but he was straightforward and had a good heart. That sadly made it easy for him to get manipulated.

Jason knew this too and he’d heard enough.

He turned and walked into the room, stopping only to look Sally in the eye.

“How long has this been going on?” He asked. His voice hoarse and he fought with himself not to break down.

Calvin answered before Sally could. ” Oh, we’ve been screwing for about a month.”

Sally looked like she wanted to hit Calvin on the head again but decided against it.

“It doesn’t mean anything Jason, I still love you. I was just so sexually dissatisfied in our relationship—“

“So, you thought cheating on me is the answer?” said Jason, cutting her off. His words felt hollow against his own ears. “I was crazy about you Sally. There is nothing I wouldn’t have done for you if you just talked to me about it.”

“We can work through this Jason,” said Sally getting up and cupping his face. “It’s just a one-time thing, it won’t happen again.”

Jason felt sick to his stomach when she touched him. As much as it hurt to say goodbye, he knew there was nothing she could ever do to make him love her the same way again.

“We can’t work through this Sally.” He said gently removing her hands from his face. “I loved you and you broke my trust. We are done.”

Gary respectfully waited a few seconds before grabbing Sally’s stuff and Calvin’s clothes and telling them to get the fuck out. There was a lot more he wanted to say but thought he should save it for when his brother wasn’t around.

“Sorry man,” said Calvin sincerely to Jason, his big brown eyes looking guilty. “If it helps, she was screwing Regan before me. She told him you guys are poly.”

Gary let out a loud groan as he shoved Calvin and Sally out the door and shut it.

Jason collapsed on the side chair and covered his face with his hands. This was the woman he had pictured himself getting married to. Someone to come home to, to have a family with. Hell, he’d even named their future children and pet.

“Hey Jason, it’s okay.” Gary said as he started stripping the bedding off the bed. “After we burn these, you and I are going to get our revenge.”

Jason let out a wry laugh. For someone as devastated as him, he quickly sobered up. “Forget that, Gary. “I can’t believe I need to get tested for STDs despite being with one person all my life. You said Dad’s hurt. Let’s go.”

Gary nodded and booked a cab on his phone. He glanced at Jason and realized just how terrible he looked. In a span of a few minutes, his brother had gone from smiling to utterly devastated.

Yes, Sally wasn’t great, but Gary never thought she’d cheat on Jason. His brother had to be the most devoted boyfriend on campus. He always put her first, not just when they first started dating, but consistently throughout the years. Jason was a quiet guy, an introvert, but he loved very deeply. He had given the relationship everything he had. Gave up after school math Olympiads to be with Sally, snuck out to extroverted parties just because she needed a ride back after getting drunk, worked his ass off to help Sally get her grades good enough so she could get the college of her choice. He always gave her the best of everything he had – the longer cheerio, the taller ice cream, the softer seat at the table, the majority of anything valuable he owned was hers. To have that gone so swiftly over a quick fuck with a stranger was just a slap in the face.

He loved her, and she didn’t have the grace to break up with him before sleeping around.

Gary watched Jason despair and vowed that there would be hell to pay for hurting his little brother (by only 5 minutes but you get the idea).

Author’s note:

Hi everyone, thank you for reading. Head over to my website ( thejovialwriter.com ) for faster updates and trivia! (I always post chapters there first)

Do let me know your thoughts in the comments 🙂

Lots of love,
Andrea

Click here to read the preface.