I’d planned to stay for three days, but I left after one.
It was super early. Nobody knew except Tess.
I took a five–hour bus ride home.
Before I could even sit down, my mom called.
“I heard you’re thinking about dating. I know
this girl who would be perfect for you. She’s
a few years younger, sweet, and beautiful.
Can you go out with her?”
L
I always said no.
They thought I wasn’t interested in dating.
They had no idea I was already with Winnie.
“Sure. Set it up. Let me know when.”
My mom was surprised. “You’re agreeing too easily. Are you sure everything’s okay?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? Just set it up. I trust
you. You’re my mom. You wouldn’t steer me wrong.”
“You bet I won’t! I’ll let you know.”
I hung up and started working.
L
Last time, I gave up a promotion so I could
focus on my family.
I sacrificed everything for love, and it ruined
my life.
This time, I wasn’t going to miss out.
I turned off my phone so I could focus.
When I finally finished, it was nine at night.
Time for bed.
I still didn’t turn my phone back on. I just
went to sleep.
The next morning, I was getting ready for
<
day before. Her hair was a mess, and she
looked exhausted, like she’d driven all night.
“Winnie, what are you doing here?”
“Why didn’t you answer your phone?”
We both said it at the same time.
I tried to sound casual. “My phone was off. What’s up?”
I was being cold, but polite.
“Luke, can you just talk to me? Why are we
being so formal?”
She didn’t get it. Why had I changed?
<
“What are you talking about? I’m always like
this.”
“Stop calling me Winnie! You hate that.‘
She was getting angry.
Ever since we started dating, I’d never called
her Winnie.
It felt weird. It reminded me that she was like
Tess.
“But you hate it when I call you by your
name.” I tried to smile, but it didn’t reach my
eyes. “You told me to stop bothering you. I
did. What’s wrong now?”
“Oh, and you said you’d find me a better
<
girlfriend. When are you gonna make good on
that?”
“Luke! Are you trying to make me mad?”
Winnie grabbed my arm. “I was joking when I
said that! How could you take me seriously?
We’re not even broken up yet! You can’t be
with anyone else!”
“I took you seriously.” I pulled away. “Ever
since you said that, we’ve been broken up. If
that wasn’t clear enough, let me spell it out
for you: We are over!”
“From now on, we’re just friends!”
“Friends? What the hell kind of friend says
things like that? Did you even think about how
<
I’d feel?”
She was yelling. She looked betrayed.
I took a deep breath. “Winnie, I regret it. I
regret ever dating you. That’s why I want to
break up. Is that clear enough for you?”
“I don’t agree to that! Why can you just decide to break up?”
Because I couldn’t rewrite the past.
“Winnie, have you forgotten Ethan? You still have feelings for him. He still loves you. I’m getting out of the way so you guys can be together. What’s so bad about that?”
“Ethan’s in the past. We’re never getting
back together.” She got all worked up
FLE
<
back together.” She got all worked up. “If
you’re worried about him, I’ll never talk to him
again. I swear, you’ll be the only one in my
life.”
She barely got the words out when her phone
started ringing.
Winnie hung up.
A second later, it rang again.
She did the same thing.
But I saw the name flash on the screen:
“Little Ethan.”
It had to be Ethan.
Her phone rang a third time. She went to
<
I said, “You should probably answer that.
What if it’s an emergency?”
She hesitated.
Then she answered.
Right away, I heard a bunch of yelling.
It sounded like Ethan had been in a car
accident.
Winnie looked terrified. She tried to sound
calm, but she was worried.
“It’s okay. Give me a few minutes. I’ll be right there.”
She hung up. She looked at me, trying to play
it down.
<
“Luke, I need to go take care of something.
I’ll come back later. We’re not broken up, and
I don’t want to hear about it again.”
She turned and ran.
I didn’t worry about it. I just went to work.
That afternoon, my mom called.
“I set up that date for you. I’ll text you the time and place. Don’t you dare stand her up!”
“Okay, okay. I’ll put it in my calendar.”
I started walking to the door.
When I got outside, I saw Tess and Winnie.
<
I hung up the phone and walked over to them.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“We just finished a deal. We were driving by
and thought we’d grab some dinner with you
to celebrate.”
Winnie kept staring at me, like she could burn
a hole through me with her eyes.
I looked away. I got in Tess’s car.
Winnie looked annoyed, but she didn’t say
anything.
