She wasthere. After everything I said—comparing her to Paige, throwing Miles in her face, accusing her of being broken—she still came.
Guilt roils through me.
When our eyes met during my presentation, when I talked about brutal honesty from a brilliant friend, I saw her tears.
That's when it hit me…This is not what someone does when they're done with you.
Paige never would have shown up to support me after a fight. She would have been posting photos with her new guy, making sure I knew how little I mattered. But Piper satthere, in that auditorium, watching me succeed with work she'd helped shape.
That's what someone does when they love you, even when you've hurt them.
Which is why I'm here now, ready to apologize properly. The presentation is over, the adrenaline has faded, and all I can think about is the girl who showed up when she had every reason to stay away.
I'd rather risk looking like an idiot than keep being one.
Piper's apartment building is one of those converted houses near campus, all mismatched mailboxes and crooked porch steps. I've only been here once before, but I remember the way up to the second floor, the door with the faded “2B” and a small rainbow sticker.
I knock on the door. The door opens to reveal Riya in an oversized Totoro hoodie, dark hair in a messy bun, holding a coffee mug like a weapon. I recognize her from our meeting on the quad. Her expression shifts from annoyed to surprised to something that might be pity.
“Ethan. Oh!. I'm Riya, but…we met so you know that, yes? Piper’s roommate.”
“Hey. Yeah, I remember. Is Piper here? I wanted to?—”
“She’s not.” Riya’s voice is careful, measured. “She went…out.”
“Oh.” My confidence wavers. “When will she be back?”
Riya hesitates, and that hesitation tells me everything I need to know. My stomach drops.
“She’s with him, isn’t she? Miles.”
“Ethan—”
“It’s fine.” The words come out too quick, too brittle. “I mean, it’s not fine, but I get it. I fucked up, she moved on. She got what she wanted. That’s... that’s fair.”
“That’s not what’s happening?—”
“Where’d they go?” I ask, hating how desperate I sound. “Coffee? That sushi place? For a hike?” I secretly hope it’s not the last one. I hope they’re not rekindling their love in the very place that Piper and I reclaimed, where we bonded.
“Jesus Christ.” Riya steps back, gesturing me inside. “Get in here before you spiral into a full meltdown on my doorstep.”
The apartment is small but warm, filled with anime posters and the kind of comfortable disorder that speaks to people who are too busy living to worry about perfect organization. Piper’s laptop sits open on the coffee table. Even when she’s not here, her presence fills the space.
“Sit,” Riya commands, pointing to the couch. “And stop catastrophizing.”
I sink into the cushions. “She chose him.”
“She didn’t choose anyone. He texted her asking to talk and she felt like she had to go. I can’t…It’s not my place to explain the details.” Riya settles across from me, studying my face with the intensity of someone conducting a psychological experiment. “Why are you here, Ethan?”
“To apologize. To grovel. To explain that I’m an idiot who can’t handle the idea that someone I care about might see my flaws and still think I’m worth improving.” The words tumble out faster than I can stop them. “But I’m too late, aren’t I? She’s probably telling him all about how I freaked out over game criticism like some kind of man-child.”
“Or,” Riya says patiently, “she’s having a difficult conversation with someone from her past so she can move forward with her future.”
I want to believe her. God, I want to believe her. But the voice in my head—the one that sounds suspiciously like my father—keeps whispering that, of course, she’d choose Miles.
Miles, who’s known her longer, who doesn’t have emotional baggage about sports injuries and parental disappointment.
Miles, who probably doesn’t need a houseplant for emotional support.
