- 16.
My blood ran cold. My hand trembled as I
gripped my phone. Everything clicked into
place. Ethan frantically searching for me. Giving
me a better job, a raise. Everything he’d said,
everything he’d done. Including last night. It was
all to repay the debt. Nothing more. Ashley was
right. At the karaoke bar, she’d said Ethan
disliked me. That was probably the truth. Ethan
hated owing anyone anything. I was just a
burden, a debt he needed to clear. The
<
realization hit me with the force of a physical
blow. I didn’t even know how to blame him.
Eight years ago, I’d been the one to create this
imbalance between us. An imbalance impossible
to correct. He was too decent to simply accept
what I offered, too proud to let it go unpaid.
He’d politely kept track, all this time. It would
have been better if he’d just forgotten. Anger
flared in my chest. My fingers shaking, I texted
Ethan. “Who told you to pay off my debt?”
“Isn’t it good that it’s paid? You don’t have to
work so many jobs now.” “I didn’t need you to
do that.” “Don’t be stubborn, Maya. I should
have done this a long time ago. I’ve always
wanted to repay you for your grandfather’s
medical bills.” His words stung. “I’ll pay you
back every penny. Let’s not contact each other
again, except for work.” Ethan called
repeatedly. I ignored every call. I took another
day off, shutting myself in, sleeping like the
dead, as if trying to catch up on years of lost
sleep. The next morning, my mother told me
Ethan had stood outside my apartment all night.
<
I took the subway to work. Ethan, abandoning
his Porsche, rode the subway with me. That evening, I went to my shift at the karaoke bar. He rented a private room and sat by the door, watching me come and go. Like a living statue, he followed me everywhere. This went on for days. Finally, I snapped. “Stop following me.” “If I stop, you’ll disappear again.” He ticked off the instances on his fingers. “Disappeared to
another city. Disappeared to the stairwell. Disappeared and ignored my calls. You don’t
give me much reason to trust you.” “I said I’ll pay you back. Isn’t that enough? Don’t you
believe in trust?” Ethan frowned. “What are you
talking about? I don’t need you to pay me
back.” He continued to shadow me. Until Friday,
when he didn’t show up. Ashley called, furious.
“Ethan’s in a fight.”
