“I need air,” she said. “I can’t breathe in here.”
“Hannah, wait—”
But she was already opening the door, already stepping out into the December cold.
And then I was alone.
I looked around the empty apartment. An hour ago, everything had been perfect.
I moved toward the kitchen—maybe if I cleaned up, loaded the dishwasher—
Then stopped, turned back, stared at the door. Everyone had left: Teresa and Eddie, then Hannah’s parents, then Hannah.
Leaving me alone on Christmas. Again.
Sit with me. Feel this.
I’d been so focused on staying three steps ahead. And now she was gone, hurting, and I couldn’t help. Why hadn’t I just stopped? Why hadn’t I relaxed and slowed down like she needed?
I pressed my palms into my forehead, trying to fend off a headache. When I released the hold, my gaze landed on Hannah’s jacket by the door. She was outside without a coat.
She’d told me she needed space. Told me not to follow, not to manage.
But she was outside in fifteen-degree weather in just a sweater.
I grabbed both our coats and my notebook, then followed her into the cold.
Hannah
Igaspedatthecold, breath burning in my throat. My body coiled instinctively, trying to protect against the brutal air. But I’d take the vicious, honest cold over the suffocating warmth of his concern.
I fumbled for my phone, needing to move, needing to get away from that apartment.
“Did you survive?” Teresa answered on the first ring.
I tried to answer but what came out was a sob.
“Oh shit. What happened? Did Mom insult his pie?”
“We didn’t even get to the pie.” I kept walking, my breath coming in gasps. “Connor kicked them out. Dad called me a whore and Connor threw them out.”
“Good. I knew I liked him,” she said. “So why are you crying?”
“Because then he tried to fix everything.” The words tumbled out as I walked faster. “Checking my pulse, planning my interview strategy, making lists… Teresa, I can’t breathe when he gets like that.”
“Oh, Han.”
“We broke up.” I stopped to sit on the bench outside the apartment building, the cold metal biting through my jeans. “I told him I needed air and I just… left.”
“Turn around, Eddie,” Teresa said immediately. “We’re coming to get you.”
Behind me, I heard the apartment foyer door open. “Hannah?”
I turned. Connor stood shivering in the doorway, holding both our winter coats.
Of course. When I’d wanted him to fight for me and ask me to stay, he’d given me space. But now that I wanted space, here he was, making sure he didn’t freeze. He hadn’t even put on his own coat before coming after me.
“He’s here,” I said into the phone. “I have to go.”
