The Au Pairs (The Au Pairs 1)

She dialed his number again. Straight to the answering machine.

"Jim, it's me, Mara. I know you don't want to hear it, but you have to. You have to give me a chance to explain. I'm really, really sorry about what happened...."

"Hey."

,, "Jim, you're there.

"Yeah."

"Look--"

"No," he interrupted. "I'm sorry I blew up at you on Saturday. It wasn't right and I'm sorry."

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Mara was stunned.

"I don't know what happened between you and that guy, and I don't really want to know."

"No th--"

But Jim kept talking. "The thing is, I kinda knew you wanted the job to get away from here. And I guess I was mad at you for deserting me. But the thing is... well ..." He sounded a little sheepish. "What?"

"I think I've met someone else," he admitted.

Mara exhaled. Now that, she hadn't seen coming. She had mixed feelings about his admission. On the one hand, she was in the clear. On the other, what the hell? She'd been so worried about his feelings all summer, but apparently he wasn't really thinking of her at all.

"Stephanie Fortuna."

The head of the cheerleading squad. Mara had a vague memory of how the little curly-haired minx seemed to jump extra high whenever Jim got a tackle.

"I'm... happy for you," she s

aid, almost actually meaning it. "Yeah, well. We had some good times, though, didn't we?" Jim asked.

"We did," Mara said softly. She and Jim had been dating for almost two years. It was the end of an era. It was the most anticlimactic end to an era that she could ever imagine. It was like the last sequel to The Matrix.

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"Good luck with your job and everything. And I didn't mean what I said ... about the Camry. It's yours if you still want it," Jim added.

"Thanks," Mara said simply. "You take care."

"You too."

"Bye."

Mara hung up the phone without saying "I love you" like they had every time they got off the phone for the last two years. It was weird, especially because she was pretty sure she really didn't love him anymore. She felt unanchored. Free. She wasn't Jim's girlfriend anymore. She was Just Mara, but she wasn't quite sure what Just Mara wanted to do next.

"Hey, Mar, can you lend me a twenty?" Eliza asked, coming over and holding up a cute black sweater. "Please?"

Mara stared at her blankly. Was she serious? Eliza sure had some nerve. They weren't even officially talking to each other just yet.

"Are you still mad at me?" Eliza bit her lip. She wasn't used to people staying mad at her. Being rude or out of line wasn't new to Eliza, but having to take some responsibility for the things she did, was.

"Listen, I'm ... I'm sorry about what I said the other day. It's just with everything... and I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." Eliza still wasn't very good at this apology thing.

Mara folded her arms. "Well, you did."