Which is sadly only a few weeks after. Ellie knows I’m second-guessing my entire life. She supports me one thousand percent, butshe’s also aware of how my mother operates. It isn’t as simple as changing my mind. Ellie could switch her major right now, and her parents wouldn’t bat an eye. Unlike mine, they want her to find her passion and be happy. My parents want me to makethemhappy.
“I don’t want to leave this place.” She gestures around the apartment, but I know what she means. She doesn’t want to leave the life we’ve built together. Neither do I.
Before I can agree, her phone pings with a text.
Her eyes twinkle as she reads the message. “It’s Travis.”
“Have you guys been talking a lot?”
It’s been a few days since we saw the band play, and she’s been giddy ever since. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her like this. Ellie could have any guy she wants, but she refuses to date anyone exclusively. She hasn’t had a single boyfriend the whole time I’ve known her. Many have tried, though. She’s the total package: fun, carefree, and beautiful.
“Kind of. He wants to know if we’re coming to the show,” she says, typing on her phone.
“Oh.”
“You don’t have to. I know it’s not your thing. Maybe I can ask my sister.”
I grab the remote and resume the dating show she was watching as I contemplate my answer. I’m nervous to be around Penn again. He makes me jittery, like I’ve had one too many espresso shots, and I can’t get the vision of him in that hallway out of my head. It creeps up on me when I close my eyes at night. The way he stared at me with his intense blue eyes, almost as if he could see right through me.
“It’s Saturday,” she adds.
I don’t say anything because I know if she asks, I won’t say no.
I never do.
When Ellie’s phone rings, she smiles and excuses herself to her room. I heat up some leftover Chinese food and settle back on the couch, prepared to watch my favorite comfort show,Gilmore Girls, in peace. My ringing phone interrupts my plans.
Chad’s face fills my screen. He’s been calling and texting for days, and I know he won’t stop until I talk to him. He’s as persistent as my mother when he wants to be.
“Hello.”
“Hey, babe.”
I cringe. I hate that he still calls me that, no matter how many times I remind him we’re broken up.
“What are you doing?” he asks.
“Watching TV.”
“Want some company?”
I roll my eyes even though he can’t see. “We’re not together anymore, remember? We can’t just hang out.”
Chad and I dated for over two years before he broke it off, saying he needed to get the full college experience before he was forced to grow up. He swore it wasn’t to sleep around, but I have a 4.2 GPA, I’m not stupid. After living the single life and probably screwing his way through every sorority on campus and the cheerleading squad, Chad came crawling back. Tail tucked between his legs, big brown puppy dog eyes, and a half-assed apology.
“Are you still mad about that? Babe, I said I was sorry. What more do you want?”
I hold in the sarcastic laugh threatening to bubble out of me and stuff a forkful of orange chicken in my mouth before I say something rude. Because yes,sorrydoes make it all better.
“I miss you. I want to see you,” he whines.
How did I ever think that was cute?
“I’m exhausted. I had a final this morning.”
Chad seemed perfect when I first met him. We had so much in common. His family runs their own chain of hotels. Mine has a string of country clubs. He’s expected to work for the family business after graduation, just like I am.
Our parents were thrilled with the union, even going as far as considering letting me work remotely for a while, as long as I was with him. It’s enticing, the thought of taking him back just so I don’t have to move, but I can’t forget what he did. I should cut the last dangling thread he’s trying to hang onto, but something keeps me from doing that. Maybe because of how much my parents loved him. I know they’ll be disappointed that it didn’t work out.
