The moment was shattered by another ringing
phone. Jason reluctantly released me, his brow
furrowing as he saw his mother’s name on the
screen. “I should go,” he said, his voice
strained. “I’ll call you.”
<
I tried to sound magnanimous. “Okay. We’ll
talk.” But I didn’t want him to go. Seventeen-
year–old Lynn could walk away without a
second thought. Twenty–four–year–old Lynn
couldn’t. I was scared. Scared that once he left,
tonight would feel like a dream, and I’d wake up with nothing.
- 6.
He left. But we exchanged numbers. He called before I went to bed. Newly back together and completely smitten, I kept asking, “Am I dreaming?” He patiently replied, “No.” I drifted off to sleep to the sound of his low, soothing voice.
But everything changed when I woke up. My phone buzzed with notifications. Three new tweets from Jason. [@Lynn and I are long over. Please stop speculating.] [@There is no ‘continuing‘ our story. It ended six years ago.] [@I am getting married, but not to Lynn. She’s not in the entertainment industry.] My heart
<
clenched, a dull ache spreading through my
chest. I frantically dialed Jason’s number. It
went straight to voicemail. I texted him, but saw
the dreaded red exclamation mark. My high
school group chat was blowing up, tagging me
repeatedly. I hesitantly opened it. [@Knew it.
Who would want someone who dumped them
when they were down and out? Jason’s not
stupid.] [@No way, they left the reunion
together last night! I totally thought they were.
getting back together.] [@I think the reunion.
was revenge, not a reconciliation.]
Tears blurred my vision. Was it true? Was last
night all some elaborate revenge scheme? Was
I really that unforgivable? Maybe meeting him in
I
the first place had been a mistake. I turned off
my phone, shutting out the world. I didn’t want
to hear from any of my supposedly concerned classmates, fishing for information. I didn’t want to hear anyone say, “How could Jason be
so cold? She’s his ex!” because I knew I’d break
down. But last night’s embrace, the kiss, his
<
words they felt so real. Yet they existed only in our memories. Everyone else’s memories
stopped at our high school breakup. To them,
this was my karma. But what had I done wrong?
I’d only wanted to spare him the burden.
- 7.
I spent the day in a daze, sleeping. When I woke
up, I was starving, but the thought of how I’d
fallen asleep killed my appetite. I forced myself
to make instant noodles. As the water boiled,
the doorbell rang. Whoever it was kept pressing the button, like they’d break the door down if I
didn’t answer. I peeked through the peephole.
Jason. He had the nerve to show up.
I almost didn’t open the door. He slipped a note
under the door – a jumbled apology. I opened
the door a crack. “What?” I asked coldly. “Can I
come in?” he pleaded. I scoffed. “We’re over,
Jason. You’re a big movie star getting married.
We should avoid any… misunderstandings.” He
ignored my sarcasm. “Your eyes are swollen.
<
Have you been crying?” He reached out and
gently touched my cheek. “Are you…stupid?”
I’d spent half the day crying over him, and all I
got was “stupid“? I flung the door open.
“Stupid? Fine! Go find someone smart then!
