17

hovering over neelam's shoulder, jack anxiously chews on his finger nails. the lack of flights landing before 6pm tomorrow make him sweat in the slightest. "find anything?"

neelam shakes her head but keeps scrolling. "unless you want to land at 7, then no," she sighs. jack nods and runs a hand through his curls, tugging at the roots. "and i called the jet company—they're out of planes."

"how the fuck are they out of planes?" jack asks, standing up straight. he presses his hands to his face and drags them down roughly, causing his face to turn red.

it's been one month since jack called and flipped sierras world upside down, which means tomorrow is valentine's day and jack is across the country, in new jersey of all places. he had some quick business to handle, and then did a show. technically, he is supposed to be in atlanta right now, but those plans were cancelled this morning due to a snow storm that has since passed.

he's dreading calling sierra to tell her that he won't be there for valentine's day, but he cant not say anything when she's expecting him. if he misses tomorrow, it would be a lie when he told her he changed and is going to try.

"i don't know, jack. ive called airlines, too," neelam says with a shrug.

"i can't miss tomorrow," he says, staring blankly across the room at nothing. he chews on his bottom lip and shakes his head. "she's going to beat my ass."

"tell her it's my fault," neelam says. jack scoffs and lets out a light laugh.

"i love that energy from you, neelam, but she won't give a fuck. trust me," he says. neelam shrugs in agreement and jack takes a seat on the chair in the hotel room. "fuck!" he groans, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. thoughts of what sierra is going to do or say to him when he tells her he's not going to be able to see her float through his mind and make him sigh heavily.

"well, if you're going to tell her, do it now before it's too late. don't ruin her day tomorrow morning," neelam says. her answer is so practical and obvious, but the thought is too much for jack to handle. "cmon. she'll appreciate the honesty."

neelam doesn't know sierra deep down like jack, but he pulls himself out of the chair and goes into the bathroom for some privacy as he dials sierras number. it's 6pm, so she should be off of work and available.

"hey, babe," sierra says brightly when she picks up the phone. his heart swells and he feels guilty for it because he knows he's about to crush her, and possibly ruin a good thing. ever since that trip to kentucky, and after his grandmother pointed out that they should just solidify their relationship, sierra has been acting more like a girlfriend, like she used to. and even though jack hasn't asked her again, he plans to soon. unless he ruins everything.

"hey, sierra. how was your day?" he asks, keeping the conversation light and the panick out of his voice. it comes out smooth like he had intended, but he hopes she ignores the fact that he didn't greet her as excitedly as she did him.

"it was good; i'm just excited to see you tomorrow," he can practically hear the smile in her voice, and he hangs his head. he has never purposefully intended to be the cause of her pain and suffering, but it always seems to work that way.

there's a lull in the conversation, and jacks hesitance to answer gives him away. "you're playing," she says, like she's trying to convince herself that this is all a joke or a game.

"sierra..."

"are you fucking serious, jack?" she shrieks, her voice getting almost unnaturally high. jack sighs and she scoffs. "how long have you known you weren't going to be in atlanta tomorrow? and don't lie, because i swear i'll jump through this damn phone." she barks.

"i swear i just found out, sierra," he says.

"bullshit!"

"theres no flights for tomorrow, sierra! and we've called the jet company, and there's nothing either—how the fuck are they out of planes?" she yells, cutting him off.

"i said the same thing! i don't know, baby. i'm really going to try, i swear, but i might not get back soon enough. i'm sorry," he says.

"don't even bother, jack. you said you changed, but you're the same little ass boy. save this shit for some other bitch," sierra says, managing to keep the wobble out of her voice at the end. a lump forms in her throat, but she's not going to cry on the phone to him.

"sierra, dont do that. i'm really trying to get over there, i swear. tomorrow hasn't even come yet, just wait on it. please," he begs, starting to sweat.

all the fight leaves sierra's voice as she says, "i have to go." jack sighs, but she doesn't hang up immediately.

"baby, i promise i'm trying," he says softly. it's quiet on her end, except for the sound of her breathing. jacks grips onto the bathroom counter with one hand as he waits for her to say something, anything.

and then it's silent.

he pulls his phone away from his ear to be met with his call log. jack curses under his breath and shoves his phone in pocket. he knows he shouldn't have even brought it up because there's a chance that he'll be there, but even though the snow storm stopped, the news said it was supposed to be a blizzard tomorrow.

jack has no idea how he is going make it to atlanta before 5pm tomorrow, but he'll take a boat if necessary, if that means that sierra won't give up on him for good.

she doesn't even know why she's crying. it's not the first time he has called her and told her that he can't make it to their prearranged plans, and she should have known that he'd never change. she should have taken his words lightly when he told her that he'd make it up to her if she just gave him another chance, laughed even.

she should not have acted so shocked and surprised when he called at told her. they have been down this road before. and sierra is aware it's not even valentine's day yet, but she doesn't have faith that he'll make it tomorrow.

sierra sniffles and skips session 32 after it replays for the tenth time. she doesn't feel better when 'anna mae' comes on next, but its better than bawling to session 32.

wiping underneath her eyes, she sighs and blows her nose in a tissue before pausing her music on her computer and picking up her phone. she scrolls through her contacts until she finds who she's looking for.

it's not smart of her to click facetime, but she does anyway. she doesn't necessarily want anything with him, and knows it's unfair to lead him on like that, but she's lonely and upset, and wants someone to talk to who could maybe satisfy her in some way.

the phone rings and rings, and she gets the weird feeling that he's not going to answer. she takes it as a sign from God, but at the last second, the call connects and his face takes up the screen. "what it do?"

"hey," she says. he holds the camera facing up at the sky, but she can see his head in the bottom corner. it's obvious he's busy.

he looks at the screen for a split second before looking away and doubling back. "what's up? are you crying?" he asks.

sierra lets out a shaky breath as she fails to mask a laugh. "yeah, but it's not important. what are you doing tomorrow?" she asks coolly.

he gives her a skeptical smile. "it's valentine's day tomorrow, sierra," he says, his voice easy.

"i know."

he chuckles. "how is jack going to take this?" he asks. sierra rolls her eyes, but she feels guilty at the mention of jack even if she is mad at him.

"this isn't about him."

he fully looks at the camera and gives her a really? look. "i'm not stupid, sierra. you curve me, and then leave my party that i invited you to, with him. be straight up."

sierra guilty looks off to the wide. "sorry, cole," she mumbles.

"i'm not mad at you, but you dont need to lie. if you need to talk, though, i'm here," cole offers. she feels even guiltier, but she can't hold it in any longer.

"he's not going to be back in time for valentine's day, and i already bought a dress and i plan to wear it somewhere," she rants, her eyes getting watery as she retells the story.

cole makes a face. "then why are you with him?" he asks after a beat of silence.

the question catches sierra off guard, the tears immediately leaving her eyes. "w-what?" she stutters.

"why are you with him, if he treats you like that? i mean, isnt that why you broke up with him the first time?" cole asks, but it comes off as more of a statement, rather than an inquiry. sierra frowns at his choice of words, and the fact that he's the slightest bit right.

"slow down, for real," she starts, getting defensive. "and the whole point of us getting back together is to work on us."

"and how is that going for you?"

sierra goes quiet and chews on the inside of her cheek. "i mean, i dont get it, sierra. ive been trying to fuck with you, but you're so caught up with him, and he doesn't even treat you right," cole rambles, taking off his hat and running a hand through his hair.

she's too stunned to say anything of substance, so she says, "cole..."

"don't give me that. if you want to spend valentine's day alone, go ahead. i cant save someone who doesn't want to be saved."

"i dont need to be saved, let's get that straightened out. and besides, we have too many friends in common—i cant do taylor like that, either," sierra says. cole waves her off and she scoffs. "and you know that i cant do jack like that. even if he isn't shit sometimes." she sighs. as bad as she wants to he that girl right now, she doesn't have it in her. her and jack aren't dating, but itd still feel like she's cheating.

"i gotta go. but think about it," cole says abruptly. sierra doesn't get the chance to say goodbye, and the facetime is over before she gets a chance to let his words sink in. think about it?

•

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iamsierra all i need in this life of sin. @yagirljas & @dejavu

comments have been limited

yagirljas leave your man for me         iamsierra been did that 😙

dejavu down to ride til the very end ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

urbanwyatt 😳 @dejavu        iamsierra stay away from her yagirljas not urban down for the swirl

_colebennett_ would like to be between this ngl iamsierra ...just smile and wave yall

user20 she weird down entertaining cole when her and tay money are friends & she's supposedly with jack who is also friends with cole... but i digress            iamsierra u in my business? dont do               that. ——

something a little short and sweet... shortest chapter i've ever written for this book lol

hope u like it! i gotta stir the pot a lil

also i know that in a previous chapter i said his managers name was nina but that was because i forgot neelams name lol and i'm not going back to change it.. a lot of ppl get on my ass about stuff like that but i literally just forget what i said at first 90% of the time and i just feel like it's not that serious (sometimes) so yeah context clues atp!! i still love yall tho fr