Chapter Forty: Worthless

"Stop it Jake, are you trying to grow bold?" Cindy instructed with authority deepening her voice. She needed to be firm. "It is already done and it is what it is," she added.

Jake was stressing over the news she had just given him. How could it be?

"They did it to you didn't they?" he quizzed.

"Does it matter? Even of that is the case, it is what it is," she said. 

He leaned into the chair and began biting his fingernails. She reached for his hand and gently pulled it away. He could not turn to look at her.

"Will you at least look at me?" she begged him. Turning his head felt as if he was trying to swim against the current in a fast flowing river. Nevertheless, he achieved the particular feat.

"What you need to ask yourself is whether you can love me despite," she said.