I picked at my food, suddenly nauseous. Ethan
noticed. “Something wrong with the food?”
I glanced at the dishes, loaded with chili
peppers. I couldn’t handle spicy food. “Oh,” he
said, his face falling. “I forgot you can’t eat
spicy.”
I opened my mouth to tell him it was over, when
a familiar, high–pitched voice chirped, “Ethan!”
Summer, in a pretty white dress, stood at the
booth, smiling brightly at him, then at me, her
smile noticeably less enthusiastic. “Olivia! Fancy
seeing you here.”
Before I could respond, Ethan said, “Summer!
You know you should knock.” It sounded more
<
12:12
like gentle chiding than a reprimand.
100
“Oops, I forgot! Next time, I promise,” she
giggled, sliding into the seat next to him.
“Olivia, mind if I join you guys? Starving after
class!” She looked at Ethan, though her words
were directed at me.
Ethan didn’t wait for my answer. “Of course!
Anything else you want? We can order more.”
“No, silly,” she beamed. “You already ordered
all my favorites!”
Ethan froze, glancing at me. I kept my
expression neutral. “Eat up, then,” I said
casually. He relaxed, but his eyes held a flicker
of uncertainty. “Olivia,” he said, handing me the
menu, “anything you want to add?”
“No, thanks,” I smiled. “Saw something really gross this morning. Kind of killed my appetite.”
<
He frowned. “What was it?”
“Oh, a friend’s boyfriend. Cheating on her.
Apparently he eats dinner with both of them.
Ended up with a stomach ulcer, had to have
surgery. My friend sent me a picture.
Disgusting. Guys like that…” I trailed off, my
voice dripping with fake sweetness. “They’re
the worst, don’t you think, Ethan?”
Ethan’s face turned pale. He stammered,
“Yeah… yeah, awful.” Summer didn’t look too
pleased either, her bright smile dimming considerably.
“Olivia,” she said tentatively, “maybe that guy just wasn’t in love with his girlfriend anymore? You can’t really blame him, can you?”
“Not in love? Then why not break up before finding someone new? Summer, honey, you’re young. You don’t understand men. If he really loved the other girl, he wouldn’t string his
<
girlfriend along, making the other woman a dirty
little secret.”
I laid it on thick, and Summer’s face fell. I could
almost see the guilt in her eyes. I smirked inwardly.
Ethan scowled. “This is none of our business, Olivia. Drop it.”
“You’re right,” I smiled sweetly. “I’m sure you’d never do anything like that.” He glared at me, speechless.
Summer barely looked at me for the rest of the
meal. Ethan offered to drive me home, but I declined. “Then I’ll take Summer back to
campus,” he said. “Be careful getting home.”
“No, Ethan,” Summer said quickly, “you should
take Olivia. I can get a cab.”
She was being awfully careful, probably terrified
<
I’d figure out their little arrangement. After all, if
I knew, I’d cut off her funding. She wanted to
have her cake and eat it too.
Before I could protest, Ethan said firmly, “Olivia
will be fine. Your campus is so isolated, it’s not
safe to take a cab. I’ll drive you.” Summer gave
me a weak smile and climbed into the
passenger seat. “Bye, Olivia! Drive safe!” she
called as they drove away.
I watched them go, my heart sinking. Despite my little performance, I felt sick. Twenty years. I
never thought Ethan would be that guy. Or maybe he was, and I’d been too blind to see.
Ethan came home late, reeking of alcohol. I was on the couch, flipping through channels. He stumbled towards me, tossing a fancy gift box onto my lap. “New handbag,” he slurred, trying to pull me close. “See if you like it.”
I moved smoothly to the other end of the couch,
avoiding his touch. He stared at me, confused.
“You smell like a brewery,” I said. “Go take a
shower.” He sniffed his shirt, then grabbed his
pajamas and headed to the bathroom.
I opened the box. A pastel green purse. Definitely Summer’s style, not mine. I put it
back, then picked up my phone. Scrolling
through social media, I stumbled across a
familiar–looking account. I clicked on it. The girl
never showed her face, but the background in
her videos… I’d helped Summer move into her
dorm. I recognized the layout. And in a few
videos, the background wasn’t her dorm. It was
my apartment. Our apartment. He’d brought her
here? I remembered his phone call. Buying her a
condo. My hands trembled as I scrolled through
more videos. The purses, the jewelry, the
skincare products… I had them all. And the
dates on the videos… He was buying her
identical gifts. Just like he used to, when I was
the only girl in his life. I felt a wave of nausea. I
started to laugh, then cry. All those years, all
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12:12
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that love, for nothing. Why? If he didn’t love me
anymore, he could have just broken up with me.
Why this cruel charade?
