“Nice to see you too,” I reply, sinking into the couch cushions.
Evelyn snorts, but her smile eases. “I’ve been texting for days, and you haven’t even opened them. What’s going on?”
“Nothing. Just…” I begin to explain as I rub my temple, already dreading the conversation, “school’s been a lot.”
“And you expect me to believe that?” she replies with narrowed eyes.
I hesitate, then give up. “Fine. Jared and I broke up.”
Her jaw nearly drops, but she contains it. “Wait, what? For real? When?”
“A few days ago,” I mumble. “It wasn’t working.”
She tips her head, studying me like I’m her latest research project. “Not working how?”
I shrug, the words sticking in my throat. “It just wasn’t. It’s for the best.”
“Honestly, you guys felt different.” She hums, her gaze thoughtful.
My defenses snap into place. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Evelyn hesitates, tucking her hair behind her ear.
“What, Evelyn?”
“Between you two… Jared seems cool, but he has baggage, Alli. My mom told me about his family stuff. It sounds like a lot, maybe too much for a relationship right now.”
A sharp pressure settles in my chest, and a faint buzz hums in my ears. My grip on the phone tightens. “Everyone has baggage, Evelyn. That doesn’t make him a bad person. I can’t believe you let your mom brainwash you.”
“Hey, I’m not saying it does,” she contends quickly. “But it might mean he’s not therightperson for you. You deserve someone who can meet you where you are.”
Her words sting, like a pebble lodged in my shoe. Minuscule but annoying as hell. “You don’t know him like I do,” I snap before I can stop myself.
“I wasn’t attacking him,” she says carefully. “I’m just saying… it’s okay if it didn’t work out. Sometimes people aren’t ready for a relationship, no matter how much you want them to be. Look, I know my mom can be a pain in the ass, but I kind of agree with her on this. His mom isn’t in the picture, and we’re all about family. It’s… hard to make that work.”
Heaviness takes residence in my chest. “Yeah, well, maybe you don’t get it.”
Evelyn’s big cousin mode fully kicks in. “I’m not trying to upset you, Alli. I just can’t stand seeing you like this.”
Her words hit like a punch to the gut, my chest tightening as I force a smile.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Alli—”
“I have to go.” My voice cracks, and I hang up before she can respond.
The silence afterward feels deafening. I stare at the puzzle pieces scattered on the table, sharp-edged and incomplete. Jared always teased me about my puzzles, calling them boring, except for that night when he stayed until the last piece clicked into place.
I press a piece between my fingers, its edges digging into my skin. Maybe that’s why it hurts so much. I thought he’d fight for me. But he didn’t.
Or maybe… maybe I didn’t give him the chance.
The thought twists in my gut as I set the puzzle piece down. I wrap my arms around myself, trying to hold everything together.
I don’t know if Jared’s thinking about me. But I do know this: I miss him.
And it’s killing me.
