There was a beat of silence before Dante exclaimed, “What?Now? Where are you?”
“At Weston’s Park downtown. I feel like he deserves to be told in person, and I really want to rip this bandaid off. The stress has been killing me all day at work.”
Dante grew quiet again. Eventually, he asked, “Are you going to be okay?”
I swallowed hard and looked up at the gray sky. “I—I’m not sure, yet. I hope so. I just don’t want this to be a huge mistake.”
“It’s not a mistake. You’re going to be better off without him. You’ll see.”
“I hope you’re right.”
My phone buzzed, and I pulled it away to glance at the notification. When I saw Bradley’s text, letting me know he was here, I nearly lost my lunch. I quickly put the phone back to my ear and rushed to say, “He’s here. Talk later.”
I hung up before Dante could say a word. A few moments later, Bradley appeared on the park pathway. He wore his khakis and company pullover, and a dark toboggan covered his fluffy red hair. I returned the smile he sported and stood to give him a hug.
“Hey,” I greeted. “Thanks for coming out here.”
“Sure,” he said as he sat with me. “I’m confused why we’re here, though. It’s cold.”
“Sorry,” I apologized, burrowing down deeper into my black coat. “This won’t take long.”
He raised a brow as his blue eyes scanned the distance I’d put between us on the bench.
When he met my eyes again, I ripped off the bandaid. “I don’t think this is working anymore, Bradley.”
His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. “W-What?”
I swallowed down the bile that wanted to rise up. All the years I’d spent with him, every sweet memory we shared, every bit of love I held for him fired through me like film rolling back. I wanted to avert my gaze and snatch the words back out of fear that I was ruining a good thing. But I stomped down that urge. I kept my eyes locked on his and my resolve strong.
“We’ve been struggling this past year,” I explained gently. “We aren’t the same people we used to be, and I … I just don’t see how we fit anymore as a couple.”
The shock seemed permanently etched onto his face. “We have problems, sure, but what couple doesn’t? Our issues aren’t big enough to throw away these past eight years, Serenity. Am I really worth that little to you?”
“Of course not,” I argued, reaching forward to grab his hand.
I stopped just shy of touching him, because I worried doing so would give him false hope that he could persuade me to stay while also weakening the barrier I’d constructed between us. With a hard swallow, I withdrew my hand back to my lap.
He noticed the retraction, because his eyes filled with a mix of rage and anguish. “Is this because of what happened that night? Youknowit was an accident. We agreed to start over, so I’ve been giving thissomuch effort. How can you end it like this? Do you know how much you’rehurtingme right now?”
“I’m sorry,” I apologized as tears threatened to burn the backs of my eyes.
Seeing the hurt fill Bradley’s own and hearing the cracks of pain in his voice made my heart constrict. Alarm bells sounded in my head, trying to convince me to turn back now before the damage was permanently done to our relationship. Unease urged me to stay in the safety of what I knew—misery with Bradley versus the uncharted territory of misery completely alone. That icy dread begged me not to forever change our life.
But a more desperate voice told me to hold my ground. While the unknown was terrifying, it could hold the promise of something even better than what I’d planned for myself.
“Are you on your period or something?” Bradley demanded. “Is this your extra crazy talking?”
The question had me gritting my teeth while simultaneously solidifying my decision. “I mean it. I want to break up.”
Bradley dropped his head into his hands while his arms bent on his knees. His fingers dug into the toboggan as he pleaded, “Please tell me you’re joking. I can be better. I really can. Just tell me what you need.”
I shook my head, even though he wasn’t looking up at me. “We can try being friends eventually.”
“Fuck being your friend,” he snapped, whipping his head up to glare at me. “You and I are forever, so take time to get over yourself or whatever the fuck this is. If you need space, fine. I can give you space. But know that wewillbe getting back together.”
I didn’t have a chance to say anything else, because he leapt to his feet and stormed off in a furious gait. I stared after him, and I couldn’t hold back the tears that lined my eyes.
My heart broke for the boy I’d given everything to.
