My Imaginary Ex (COMPLETE)

Chapter 7

Coffee shop, present day

Marjorie was right. I did forget what I had done for her five years ago.

"But I didn't do it for you," I tried to protest. "I wanted what was best for Zack. He was such a loner at the time."

"Interesting you would say that," Lena said. "Didn't Zack have a lot of friends?"

"None that he really talked to. I mean, for a time there we didn't even know when his birthday was," Marjorie added.

They both looked at me like I had something to do with it.

"Jasmine," Lena said, pausing only to sip from her drink. "Why is this not obvious to you? Zack listens to you. He went out with Marjorie because you asked him to. He wasn't a loner if he had you."

"I don't have as much influence over him as you think! And besides, why should I even bother now? He hasn't talked to me in months. And new girlfriend. Fiancée. Why should I care?"

They looked at each other, and then Marjorie leaned forward. "I know that Kimmy is cheating on him," she whispered.

Kimmy Domingo was also part of Zack's Batch Four management trainee group. She and Marjorie were friends, or at least they used to be. This part of their history I wasn't so sure about. I only knew that he had been with Marjorie, they broke up, and then suddenly Kimmy was in the picture.

What really happened, Marjorie was quick to mention, was that Kimmy had started flirting with Zack in the last months of their relationship. It got to a point that Marjorie couldn't handle having to watch out for Kimmy and her antics.

"They'd get assigned to provincial site visits together," Marjorie complained. "Like, three times in a row! And the way we trainees were paired up was supposed to be random."

"Why didn't you just trust him?" I asked.

Marjorie rolled her eyes. "Well of course you would have no problem trusting Zack. You never had to share. Lena and I, we had to go through it feeling like we were competing with memories of you. So there was that, and then Kimmy being Kimmy... I couldn't take it anymore." She shrugged, like she was shaking the unwanted thoughts from her head. "But anyway, that's over. I have a new boyfriend now and I have nothing but positive energy for Zack."

She continued her story: Kimmy and Zack got together a few months after he and Marjorie had broken up. It pretty much divided their group of friends—people sort of unconsciously chose sides, but Kimmy had probably meant to do it that way, to make sure that Marjorie and Zack didn't talk anymore.

So despite being officemates, Marjorie and Zack only saw each other a few times in the past year or so. Kimmy had completely monopolized his time.

That explains a lot, I thought.

Then Marjorie—randomly—got assigned to attend a conference with Kimmy, but by then she was dating another guy and only felt slightly awkward about it.

It took three days and the company paid for both girls to share a hotel room. Marjorie wasn't going to use it because her mom lived close to the hotel. The plans changed on the second night, though, when Marjorie got a little tipsy at dinner and didn't trust herself to drive home.

She still had her key to the room and decided to crash there. Instead, she walked in on Kimmy and some guy from the conference, in a rather compromising position. She quickly apologized and ran out—suddenly sober enough to drive.

The conference was two months ago. After the wedding invitations were handed out, I noticed.

"She was picking up guys in office conferences three months before her wedding!" Marjorie looked at me meaningfully. "You two don't know her, but this is classic Kimmy. I didn't think she'd still be doing this. And to Zack, of all people."

"You're sure she wasn't with Zack?" I asked.

Marjorie burst into laughter. "Yes, I'm sure. It was a different guy."

"I mean, did you really look?"

"Yes. He's totally hot but not Zack. I think I'd know what Zack looks like naked."

Lena shrugged. "I wouldn't."

"Neither would I," I said, then regretted it.

"No? Really?" Marjorie looked at us as if we were kidding. I definitely wasn't. "Anyway, I've debated with myself a zillion times about what to do with this information. Should I confront Kimmy or tell Zack? But I can't. If I tell Kimmy, she won't change, and she'll think I'm jealous. If I tell Zack, he won't believe me—and he'll probably think I'm bitter."

"I can't tell him," Lena said. "Because I haven't seen him in years. So we think you're the best person to do this. He's smart, but when it comes to girls he's just so dense sometimes. He doesn't deserve to be treated like this."

They were absolutely right. My heart sank a little, wondering if Zack knew about this. He had never talked to me about her. He never complained about his girlfriends. Was he suffering quietly or just clueless?

Lena and Marjorie were also right about the other thing. Neither of them was in a good position to tell Zack. An ex was not exactly the most objective messenger for this kind of news.

And how awful of me to even think of deserting him at a time like this. Sure, we weren't speaking now, and for that I totally blamed him, but that didn't mean I was going to refuse to help him.

When Tim and I broke up, he was there for me.

"Are you in?" Lena asked.

"Yes." I said. "He's lucky to have you two looking out for him."

"Or cursed," Marjorie laughed.