“Yeah, actually, I can. You told me how you really felt about me. We can’t change that. I can’t be with someone who lies or keeps things from me. And why would you want to be with someone you despise so much?”
As he walks out the door, I run to the restroom, needing to get away from the scene we just caused in the middle of this bar.
David
I get back home to see Katie is still awake. She doesn’t say a word, but when I plop down on the couch with a thud, my head leaning back, she reaches up to turn off the TV and turns to face me.
“Want to tell me why you ran out of here all of a sudden?” she asks nonchalantly.
“I figured out who Jenelle was from the app,” I reply like I didn’t just drop a bombshell.
“No!” She jumps in her seat, bringing her legs underneath her, as if she were settling in for an exciting show with her popcorn.
I nod slowly and stare at the turned-off screen, wishing this all were a movie and not my real life.
Thankfully, she gives me the time to work through everything that was said in my head.
I inhale and let it out slowly before saying, “Yep, sure did.”
She grabs the armrest of the chair, dying to know what happened. “Then who was she? Why did she ghost you?”
I keep my body slouched on the couch and just turn my head toward her. “It was Zoe.”
Her eyes widen. “Zoe? Zoe, who I hung out with all day today?”
I purse my lips and nod. “Yep. That’s the one.”
“But, um … like, how?”
I shrug my shoulders overdramatically, raising my arms to look like the emoji with its hands out to the sides, then plop them back on the couch. “I guess she figured out who I was on day seven. That’s why she didn’t respond.”
“But why? You two were obviously falling for each other. It should have been a good thing that you already knew each other.”
I tilt my head, raise my eyebrows, and let out another breath. “You would think so, but, and I quote, ‘Lord knows how much I absolutely despised you.’”
“She actually said that?”
“Yep. That’s why she didn’t come out and tell me. She said, ‘How could I go from feeling that way about you to falling for you as hard as I did?’”
“Well, she’s got a point.” Katie tries to smooth things over, but it’s too late; damage is done.
“Katie, I can’t be with someone whodespisedme.”
“But that was past tense. Obviously, she realized who you really were and got over that.”
“And what happens when all the newness wears off? Huh? I want to find someone to spend the rest of my life with. If she hated me that much, then there is no reason to think she won’t feel the same way again. Marriage is a hard thing. There will be days you hate Aiden. I don’t want to be with someone who already hated me at some point. It will be too easy to go back to those emotions. Did I argue with her? Yeah. Did I think it was hate that caused that? No.” I stare up at the ceiling. “I guess I never really thought about why we acted that way. I kind of liked pushing her buttons, if I’m being totally honest. Now, I just don’t know.”
She sighs, nodding her head, obviously understanding why I feel this way and not trying to convince me otherwise—thank God because I couldn’t handle that right now.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Zoe
Monday morning comes around, and I’m an absolute mess. I wanted to contact David all Sunday but decided against it. I knew he needed space, and I needed to figure out what to do next.
Now I understand why most jobs don’t allow dating within the workforce. Knowing he’s going to be at work does not help my anxiety or emotional state one bit. I just pray I can make it through the day without losing it right in front of him.
I walk into work, having no clue how the day will go, but what I wasn’t expecting was to not see him sitting at his desk. He’s always here on time, and when I glance down at my phone, I notice I’m actually fifteen minutes late, making me even more confused.
