"Sleeping on Couches" Previews

Chapter One

Jai awoke from her steady sleep, listening to the bass echo of Joe’s voice as he talked on his cell. Joe had been staying with her for about a week, and she had been trying to avoid the mess that she had left in a place that she once called home. Tired and emotionally bruised, she rolled on her side trying to hide from the memories of what once was. Jai had come home last week to find her girlfriend, Gina, gone. The only thing left was a strategically placed note revealing that Gina was no longer in love and was pursuing a new relationship with some woman that she had met online.
Jai was shocked and pissed all at once. The last year had been difficult enough to get through with Gina knit-picking everything that she did. She had gone across the world and back for that woman, hoping it would get better, praying that the last four years of her life weren’t wasted. Everyone deserved an equal chance, and though it went against her better judgment, Jai stood by that woman and gave her chance after chance for her to find herself.
It had eventually gotten to the point where Jai was doing everything that she could do just so Gina would notice her. They sat in the living room on the nights that Gina actually came home and watched television. The silence was no longer comfortable, more like a barrier. Jai could feel Gina’s irritation, but every time that she asked her what was wrong, her question was answered with “nothing”. They never touched anymore. Jai could feel Gina jump if they even got too close to each other in the hallway, and she just didn’t understand it. The worst part was trying to make plans. Gina expected Jai to be home at a certain time every night, and as time went on, Gina came home later and later until she didn’t come home at all. Jai was left, clutching a small glass of whiskey and watching the news.
Though the situation worsened, Jai didn’t have what it took to leave the relationship. She felt like Gina deserved a chance and made every excuse as to why she deserved these chances. Gina was a few years younger than her, so there were times that Jai thought that she might just be growing into her own skin. She had been rescued from a terrible relationship prior to dating Jai. Therefore, Jai thought that Gina probably didn’t get the learning lessons needed to maintain a proper relationship. The more give Jai allowed, the more Gina took until eventually, Jai realized that, that was all that she was doing. Jai tried to talk to Gina about this, her only reply the crashed of the front door and the squealing of Gina’s tires. Gina never wanted to address the difficult things, and her way of problem solving was limited to ignoring the situation.
After Gina left, Jai realized how unhappy she had been. Normally, there would be a long morning period. Jai would hit up the bars or just trudge around depressed. This time was different. Jai was angry. She was angry that she had been manipulated and upset that she had wasted time on a senseless relationship. She felt used and financially burdened. Gina left, taking no responsibility for anything that she had left behind. After years of taking care of her every need, Jai had finally hit her boiling point. She felt that it was rude and insensitive for anyone to do what Gina had, and the fact that she had lied and covered-up the fact that she was dating someone else really got to her. There were so many times that Jai had gotten the chance to get to know another woman, and because she was in a relationship at the time, she sacrificed every single one of those chances.
Jai wiped a stray tear from her eye, thinking about all of the wasted time where she could have been happy. She could have been using that time to work on the things that she wanted to do or her career. Instead, she had wasted every moment of the day thinking about Gina’s needs. Jai pulled the comforter to her face, carefully hiding it from Joe’s view. Joe was a good friend, but she didn’t just let anyone see her cry. She took a couple of deep breaths and began to focus on the day ahead of her. She had to keep busy. Slowing down would only make the pain worse. She needed her own time to work on herself, so she just had to take it one day at a time.
“Morning, Joe,” Jai faked a yawn, trying to cover her prior discomfort.
“Morning, Jai,” Joe responded, oblivious to her carefully covered pain. “What’s on the board for the day?”

Chapter Two

Jai climbed slowly off of the couch, wandering toward the coffee pot in the kitchen. She had heard Joe’s question, but she wasn’t sure of the answer right at the moment. She shook off the feelings of Gina that had haunted her dreams and moved toward making today a step in the right direction. The overwhelming smell of grounds filled the air as she opened up the coffee can. Coffee seemed to make everything a little more manageable.
“Well if you want, you can help me out at Grandma Potter’s today,” Joe continued, obviously picking up on her indecisiveness. “I’m sure that she would be excited to see you.”
“That would be fine,” Jai replied, pouring water in the back of the coffee pot, excited to feel the warm liquid run down her throat and into her veins, giving her the energy that her body couldn’t at the moment.
“We have to leave in an hour, but that should give you enough time to wake up and get dressed,” Joe said, stepping into the kitchen. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I’m just a little tired,” Jai answered, careful not to look him in the eye. Joe had known her long enough that he was able to pick-up on her mood swings, and she didn’t feel like having anyone pity her.
Jai looked around at her beautiful house, the one that she used to share with the ungrateful woman that had left her. There were a few memories that still lingered in the air, but she had tried to erase most of them with fresh coats of paint and decorative paintings. It was difficult to walk around the house everyday, knowing that this could have been her and Gina’s. It was almost like seeing the future that wasn’t meant to be. However, as much as she thought about the pain of Gina’s lies, she wondered what she had been thinking for the last couple of years. It felt like so much time was wasted on fallacy.
A subtle beep filled the air, and her coffee was done. Jai grabbed a cup out of the cupboard and gestured toward her new roommate. “Do you want a cup of Joe, Joe?” Jai giggled, holding up a spare mug.
“Sure,” Joe replied with a grin, evidently happy to see a smile on her face. “Make it black please.”
Jai poured him a cup and then, went about pouring herself a cup, adding a little milk to cool off the contents. “How did you sleep?”
“I slept well,” Joe said, leading them both back into the living room. “I still don’t understand why you don’t sleep in your bedroom. I heard you screaming in your sleep last night. Maybe, you would sleep better.”
“There’s too many memories in there,” Jai replied, feeling her face tighten. “I just don’t want to remember anything anymore.”
“I get it,” Joe sighed. “Gina was a bitch though, and you deserve a lot better than that. Just wait, Jai, one of these days you will find one that makes you go crazy in the good kind of way.”
“We’ll see,” Jai chuckled. “Right now, I’m enjoying my freedom, and after being trapped for so long, I need to figure out what I want to do with my life. It’s been a long time since I had the option to have any input on what I did with my life.”
“It’ll all come back,” Joe said, taking a sip from his brown mug. “If I remember right, you were quite the lady’s woman back in the day.”
“That was a long time ago,” Jai smiled, thinking about how she was four years ago.
“It’ll all come back,” Joe confirmed. Then, he set his mug on the table and turned on the television, ready to watch the morning news.

Chapter Three

Jai flung back in her seat and let the cool air run across her face. The country was beautiful this time of year, and it wasn’t difficult to understand why so many people decided to retire to it’s quiet and peaceful nature. The flowers had just started to bloom, lining the roadways and making for excellent scenery. Jai looked at the cows and horses that the local ranchers kept, wondering what it would be like to have a life like that. She assumed that it would be somewhat peaceful, but being that far away from the city and people for such an extended period of time would definitely have some sort of impact on her.
Jai had grown-up in the country, cleaning out the barn, mowing, and doing the needed tasks to help her parents maintain their three acres. In between maintaining the land, Jai had met Joe. Joe’s father was a farmer, and his grandmother, who took over caring for Joe after his father passed away, owned over 200 acres. Grandma Potter was a self-sufficient woman, and she loved Jai like one of her own. Her and her partner, Rita, hired workers to help them maintain their crops and keep up with the land. Most of the time, Grandma Potter would be outside in overalls and a t-shirt supervising her workers while Rita cooked and kept up the house. They were a cute couple and completely balanced each other out. Jai had always envied their relationship, and she wanted badly to have someone that loved her the way that they cared about each other. Sometimes, when Grandma Potter had a long day in the fields, Rita would make her a cup of tea, and the two would just sit in their chairs, enjoying each others’ company. They needed nothing more. This was one of the most beautiful things that Jai had ever seen, and it gave her hope that someone would be there for her like that one day.
“You doing alright there, Jai?” Joe asked, eyeing her suspiciously. Joe was very attentive to her behavior, and she was the same way to him. They had known each other for so long that they were nearly family, and one always knew when something wasn’t quite right with the other one.
“Yeah, I’m doing alright,” Jai replied. “I was just thinking about how much I missed seeing Grandma Potter and Rita.”
“I feel you,” Joe chuckled. “I can’t wait to get my hands on a home-cooked meal. Rita is such a good cook.”
Jai laughed. “I almost forgot about how good of a cook she was.”
The two rode in silence for the next few minutes, watching the gravel kick up off of the road and the long grass sway in the breeze. The air even smelt cleaner out here. It was almost like everything was the way it was supposed to be, natural. Jai looked up to see the white-washed fence posts, marking Grandma Potter’s property line. Her handcrafted mailbox sat out front, and her Ford F150 was parked right next to the house. Rita had been telling her for years not to park in the grass, but Grandma Potter had always been rebellious by nature and still did it. Joe parked his truck nicely in the driveway, obviously trying to avoid the fuss that Rita would make if he didn’t cooperate with her rules.
Jai hopped out of the truck, excited to get inside and see the people that meant so much to her. She was really close to Grandma Potter and Rita, and since she rarely got the chance to see her own parents, she considered them family. Her parents had moved to Florida years ago, leaving her up here on her own, and it was nice to be somewhere familiar. Jai raced into the kitchen, excited to see what Rita had cooked up today. The older woman turned away from the stove just as she came into the kitchen.
“How are you, dear?” Rita asked, a smile on her face. Rita had aged well, and the wrinkles that she did have enhanced her signature features. The older woman was about a foot shorter than Jai with short brown hair and dark, green eyes. Rita was very compassionate and motherly and had always been a good person to talk too when things didn’t go exactly as planned. She was a good listener and seemed to always know the right words to say to set a person back on course.
“I’m good,” Jai lied, forcing an honest smile to her face.
“No, you’re not,” Rita said, putting her hand on Jai’s shoulder. “I’ve known you since you were little, and you have that look about you. What’s really going on?”
“Gina left,” Jai sighed. “But I’m okay, Rita. I promise.”