Chapter Text
The breakup had been quieter than Janine expected. No yelling, no thrown objects just two people who loved each other realizing love wasn’t enough when the small things kept tripping them up.
They stood in Gregory’s living room, the takeout containers from dinner still on the coffee table. Janine’s eyes burned, but she refused to cry yet.
Gregory rubbed the back of his neck. “Look… I think we both said things we didn’t mean earlier.”
Janine nodded, arms wrapped around herself.
“I love you,” he said softly.
“I love you too.” Her voice cracked. “Alright… so what are we gonna do?”
“I still think we can make the drive to Atlantic City work.”
Janine threw her hands up. “Gregory, I don’t want to do that.”
“Okay, well… I guess we’re driving to the Outer Banks then.”
“You’re not hearing me.”
“I am hearing you, but it doesn’t change the way I feel about spending money on flights. It’s irresponsible.”
“You understand you’re calling me irresponsible when you say that, right?”
“No, I’m not calling you irresponsible—”
“You are. That’s been the implication this whole time.”
“Janine, I really don’t want to fight about this.”
“You think I want to? I don’t either.”
“Maybe we just shouldn’t go on vacation.”
“So what, we’re never gonna go on vacation?”
“I would love to, but if we can’t figure out how to travel without pointlessly spending money then”
“That’s not okay. That’s not a good sign for our relationship.”
“Then I’m at a loss.”
Janine swallowed hard. “That’s not a good sign either… This shouldn’t be this hard. I mean, if we can’t figure out something like this, then how are we gonna even make it together?”
“We won’t,” he said quietly, “if we can’t get on the same page.”
Janine’s heart cracked right down the middle. “Then maybe we should break up.”
They stared at each other. She looked up at him, waiting for him to fight for them. Gregory just shrugged, helpless.
Janine turned and walked out before the tears could fall.
An hour later, she sat in her car in the school parking lot, thumb hovering over her phone. Barbara would offer wisdom and a pull-out couch, but Janine didn’t want to burden her with this tonight. Melissa already had Jacob and Caleb crashing at her place.
Ava was… well, Ava. They weren’t exactly besties, but they were close enough. And Janine had nowhere else.
She typed quickly before she could overthink it.
Janine: Hey… I know it’s late and this is random but Gregory and I just broke up and I don’t really have anywhere to go tonight. Can I crash at your place? Just for one night. I can get a hotel if it’s too much.
She didn’t expect a fast reply. She was already googling the cheapest hotel near her when her phone buzzed.
Ava: Come through. I’ll send the address.
At Ava’s apartment, the only light came from the TV playing some reality show on low volume. Ava lay tangled in O’Shon’s arms, his hand resting possessively on her waist under the covers. She’d been staring at the ceiling for twenty minutes, thinking about how tired she was of feeling… managed. The little comments. The way he always needed to know where she was. The way he sulked when she wanted a night to herself.
Her phone lit up on the nightstand. She reached for it, careful not to wake him too fast.
When she read Janine’s text, something in her chest shifted. Not pity something warmer. Protective.
She gently but firmly peeled O’Shon’s arm off her.
“Yo, what’s up?” he mumbled, voice thick with sleep.
“I need you to head out tonight,” Ava said, already sitting up and reaching for her robe.
He blinked. “What? It’s damn near midnight.”
“ Janine just went through a breakup. She needs a place to crash. I told her she could come here.”
O’Shon’s face tightened. “So you kicking me out for her? Just like that?”
Ava raised an eyebrow, the sass already dripping. “It’s not just like that. She’s upset. And you got your own place. You’ll survive one night without me babysitting your ego.”
He sat up, jaw working. “You been distant lately anyway. This got something to do with that?”
Ava didn’t answer right away. She had been thinking about ending things. This just felt like the universe speeding up the process.
“It’s not about you right now,” she said simply. “Go home, O’Shon.”
He dressed with sharp, annoyed movements, muttering under his breath about “always putting everybody else first.” When he leaned in for a kiss goodbye, Ava turned her cheek. He noticed. The door shut harder than necessary behind him.
Alone, Ava exhaled, then sent Janine the address with a little heart emoji she immediately regretted but didn’t delete.
Twenty minutes later, there was a soft knock.
Janine looked small standing in the hallway, duffel bag over her shoulder, eyes red and puffy. “Hey… thank you. Seriously. I didn’t know who else—”
“Stop,” Ava cut her off gently, pulling her inside. “You don’t gotta explain. Come in.”
The apartment smelled like Ava’s signature vanilla and sandalwood candle. It was messy in a stylish way—clothes draped over chairs, stacks of unopened Amazon packages, a massive TV on the wall.
Ava grabbed an extra blanket from the hall closet. “You can take the bed. I’ll crash on the couch.”
“No, Ava, I can—”
“Girl, sit down before I fight you.” Ava’s tone was playful, but her eyes were soft. “You look like you’ve been through it.”
Janine sank onto the edge of the couch, bag at her feet. “We just… couldn’t get on the same page about anything. Vacations. Money. Future stuff. It felt like every little decision was a test we kept failing.”
Ava sat beside her, close enough that their knees brushed. “Sounds exhausting.”
“It was.” Janine’s voice wavered. “I thought we were solid. But maybe we weren’t.”
Ava studied her for a second really looked. The way Janine’s curls fell messily around her face, the exhaustion mixed with that stubborn optimism that never quite left her eyes. Something tugged low in Ava’s stomach. She pushed it down immediately.
Not the time, Ava.
“You wanna talk about it?” Ava asked instead. “Or you wanna watch trash TV and pretend the world doesn’t exist for a few hours?”
Janine gave a watery laugh. “Trash TV sounds perfect.”
They ended up side by side on the couch under the same blanket, passing a pint of ice cream Ava had dug out of the freezer. Janine’s shoulder leaned lightly against Ava’s. Every time Janine shifted, Ava noticed the warmth, the faint scent of Janine’s coconut shampoo.
Later, when Janine finally fell asleep with her head tipped toward Ava, Ava stayed awake a little longer, staring at the ceiling again.
This time she wasn’t thinking about O’Shon.
She was thinking about how nice it felt to have Janine here. How safe. How right.And that was enough to scared the hell out of her.
Ava closed her eyes and told herself it was just because she was a good friend.
Nothing more.