As she walked past me, she gave me this
look, like she was annoyed. “Wait here. I’ll be back in a minute.”
She didn’t even look at me again. She just
left.
Tess was so confused. She asked, “Luke,
what the heck was that all about? Why did
Winnie say she’s your girlfriend? What’s
going on?”
My foot was killing me. It was hard to think
straight.
I mumbled, “She’s just being weird. Don’t
take it seriously. Whoever does is an idiot.”
<
I thought she was head over heels in love with
me, so I ended up a laughingstock.
I didn’t say anything else. I just went back to
my room.
When I fell, I felt someone push me.
It had to have been Ethan.
But why would he do that?
Before I could figure it out, Winnie showed
- up.
I didn’t open the door. I just stood in front of
- it.
Winnie looked around the hallway. When she
was sure nobody was watching, she
<
whispered, “I need to talk to you. Can we go inside?”
“Nah, Winnie. Just say what you need to say out here. I don’t want people seeing you
come into my room. They’ll get the wrong idea.‘
She changed her mind right away.
She looked at me, all serious. “Luke, what’s
wrong with you today? Ethan’s being an idiot, but why are you playing along?”
“Playing along? I think it’s great. Ethan really loves you.”
I meant it.
Winnie looked like I’d slapped her. She stared
<
at me, trying to figure me out. “You weren’t
like this before. What’s going on?”
“What was I like before?”
She softened a little and smirked. “You used
to get so jealous! You didn’t want me talking
to any other guys. You always told me to stay
away from them.”
“Oh. And did you?”
Never. Not once.
She always thought I was being ridiculous.
Winnie’s face tightened, but she tried to act
cool. She said, “You’re mad because I didn’t
save you, right?”
<
“Think about it. Tess was there. She’s your sister. She would have helped you. But I had to help Ethan. If I didn’t, something bad might have happened. You wouldn’t want anyone getting hurt, would you?”
She made it sound so noble.
If I hadn’t seen her run straight to Ethan, I
might have believed her.
“I’m not mad. I really think you and Ethan are
perfect for each other.”
“Stop it…”
Before she could finish, Tess came around
the corner with an ice pack. “Hey, what are
you guys talking about?”
<
I looked away and smiled. “Winnie’s trying to
decide if she should say yes to Ethan. She wanted my opinion.”
Winnie’s face froze over. She was furious.
She grabbed my arm and hissed, “Luke, do you even know what you’re saying?”
I could feel my wrist throbbing. I still smiled. “Of course I do, Winnie. Don’t you like
Ethan?”
I looked her in the eye. I saw her hesitate.
I snorted.
Tess walked up with the ice pack.
This is Winnie and Ethan’s
<
“Alright, alright. This is Winnie and Ethan’s
business. We shouldn’t get involved. Luke, put this ice pack on your foot. It’s gonna hurt like hell tonight if you don’t.”
Winnie couldn’t yell with Tess around. She just let go of my arm.
But she had squeezed hard. There was a red
mark on my wrist.
Tess saw it right away. She gasped, “Whoa!
You really roughed him up! What did he do to
you?”
Winnie froze.
I rubbed my wrist and shook my head. “It’s
okay. She didn’t mean it. Let’s go back to my
room.”
<
There was no point in arguing.
I went back to my room, and my phone
started buzzing.
It was a text from Winnie.
She said, “I’m coming to see you tonight. We need to talk.”
I didn’t reply. I just put down my phone.
I’d been feeling sick all day.
Plus, my foot was killing me.
I skipped dinner and stayed in my room.
Later, I was half asleep when Ethan knocked
on my door.
く
I let him in, and he just started talking. “Your
sister told the kitchen to save you some
dinner. She asked me to bring it over.”
“You didn’t come here just to bring me dinner, did you?”
My throat was dry. My voice sounded weird.
He didn’t bother pretending anymore.
Ethan grinned. “Luke, you’re not stupid. You
can see how Winnie and I feel about each
other. I was worried she might actually like
you.”
“But after this afternoon, I know she still
loves me. She can’t let me go.”
L
So, he had pushed me.
He wanted to see if Winnie cared more about
him.
I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to yell at him, but I could barely talk. “Did Winnie tell you she likes me?”
“Nah, I just guessed.” He put down the food and sat on the couch. “Besides me, you’re
the only guy she spends time with. If there
wasn’t something going on, why would she be
so close to you?”
“Maybe it’s because of my sister? Winnie’s
like my other sister. Why would there be
anything between us?”
く
There shouldn’t be more than friends
between us.
Getting over her would just mean returning to the start.
Ethan looked skeptical. “Really? You don’t
like her?”
“No.”
Now that I knew how she really felt, I didn’t
love her anymore.
“Alright. If you say so, I believe you.”
“Luke, you’re a good guy. You’re smart,
you’re cool. If it weren’t for Winnie, I think we
could have been friends.”
く
After Ethan left, I couldn’t stop thinking about
what he’d said.
The day before my wedding, he came to see
- me.
He showed me pictures of him and Winnie, all their old memories. He told me, “Winnie’s just marrying you because she feels like she has
- to. She doesn’t love you. Call it off. It’s better
for everyone.
35
I didn’t believe him. I thought Winnie loved
- me.
I thought I’d finally be happy.
Dut then reality bit me bord
mo
<
But then reality hit me hard.
Maybe that’s why I had those crazy dreams. I kept seeing Winnie.
There were memories from this life, and from the last one.
When I finally woke up, I was sweating and
gross.
I got up and went to take a shower.
When I came back, I saw my phone was lit up.
I had ten missed calls.
All from Winnie.
I ignored them.
L
Then I texted Tess.
“Hey, I need to get home early. I’m not
feeling well. I’m gonna head out tomorrow morning, so I won’t be here.”
