I turned to leave, but Sarah blocked my path.
“Don’t think I don’t know about your little
crush, Quinn. I saw those love letters you
wrote to Ethan, hidden under your desk. Don’t
play innocent.”
So, she’d known all along. She’d snatched
him away, knowing I liked him. This time,
though, I wasn’t seventeen anymore.
“Having a crush isn’t a crime, Sarah. Unlike
you, I didn’t sabotage anyone’s life, including
my own. I’ve got nothing to be ashamed of.” I
<
record, not everyone thinks Ethan’s such a
catch.”
Ethan was watching me, a strange expression
on his face.
I walked out, leaving them to their drama.
Outside, waiting for a cab, the cool night air cleared my head. I heard footsteps behind
- me. It was Ethan.
“Don’t listen to Sarah,” he said. “She…she
doesn’t mean what she says. She’s just…
blunt.”
I looked down at the pavement, the
streetlights casting long shadows. “Are you
happy, Ethan?”
“Are you happy with Sarah?”
His eyes narrowed. He exhaled slowly.
“You’re back too, aren’t you?”
I’d known he was back since the night he’d
cut his hand. Now, both of us carried the weight of our past lives. Before, I was the only one. I could bury my resentment, move
- on. But now…
“Don’t worry, Ethan,” I said. “I won’t interfere
this time. I wouldn’t have done what I did if I’d
known how much you’d hate me for it. But
what’s done is done.”
I looked at him, his silver hair, the lines
around his eyes, so different from the boy I
remembered. and even from the hardened.
cynical man he’d become in my past life.
“I’m…sorry about what I did to you, Quinn.” he mumbled, “But please…don’t blame Sarah
for any of this. It wasn’t her fault…”
“It’s over, Ethan,” I cut him off. “I don’t want
to rehash the past. You and Sarah have nothing to do with me anymore.”
“Goodbye, Ethan. Or, perhaps, good
riddance.”
