“But what about you? I’ll take you to your
errands first.”
“I’ll take a cab. Just pull over.”
He stopped the car, his brow furrowed. “I’ll be
I nodded.
“Are you sure?” he asked, his voice full of
concern. “This is a pretty busy street. Lots of
traffic. Maybe I should just tell Sarah-”
“Go, Ethan,” I said, pushing him gently. “Don’t
be late.”
He drove away watched his car disappear,
then called a cab.
I ran my errands, checking the date on my
phone. Five days.
At home, I was scrolling through TikTok when
I saw a video from the engagement party.
Tom and his fiancee were kissing. Everyone
was chanting for Ethan and Sarah.
く
Tom yelled, “Ethan, bro! She’s the one! Don’t
let her get away!” He winked at Sarah, who
was blushing. Ethan looked deeply
uncomfortable.
Ethan texted. “Don’t worry about that video.
Just my idiot friends. Don’t be mad.”
“Not mad,” I replied.
He didn’t answer. He didn’t come home early.
I ordered dinner, ate alone, and went to bed.
Ethan finally showed up around noon the next
day. I was on the couch. “Didn’t cook. Order
if you want something.”
He kicked off his shoes. “They kept us out
late. Crashed at a hotel.” He’d stayed out late
plenty of times, never explaining, never
“Okay,” I said, turning back to the TV.
He sat down, rubbing his temples. “So, when
are you actually leaving?”
“Monday. Flight’s booked.”
The air went still.
“Olivia,” he said, his voice strained. “We need
to talk. This… this isn’t working.”
I frowned. “What’s wrong?” He’d always told
me to be low–maintenance. Now I was, and
he was complaining?
“Is this… because of Sarah?”
I didn’t answer. He bit his lip. “If… if she’s
that big of a deal, I’ll… I’ll cut her off. Just…
3:12 PM Mon 30 Dec
<
don’t be like this, Olivia. This coldness… it’s killing me.” His eyes were desperate.
“It’s not Sarah,” I said slowly. “Honestly. I don’t care who you hang out with.” I hadn’t realized how little it took for him to offer to “cut her off.” I’d threatened to leave over this
before. He hadn’t budged.
He stared at me, disbelieving. “This is a huge
deal, Olivia! If you don’t believe me, I’ll call
her right now.” He grabbed his phone, dialed
Sarah, and put it on speaker.
“Ethan!” Sarah chirped. “Miss me already?”
Ethan flushed. “Shut up, Sarah.”
She sounded taken aback. “Sarah,” he said,
his voice tight. “We… we need to cool it. I
82%
<
“What?” she asked, incredulous.
He sighed. “We need some space. I’m in a
relationship.”
“Oh,” Sarah said, a knowing tone in her voice.
не
“So, the ice queen’s having a meltdown.
again? Don’t listen to her, Ethan. She’s just
jealous. She probably wishes she had friends
like us.”
Ethan’s face hardened. I couldn’t imagine the
things they’d said about me.
“That’s enough, Sarah,” Ethan snapped.
“Olivia is my girlfriend. You don’t get to talk
about her like that. We’re done. Don’t contact
me again.” He hung up, ignoring her repeated
calls. He turned to me, his eyes pleading.
