Page 458 of Call Me Baby 2: Side B

Just tell him you love him, and I’m like,

can you just shut the fuck up?

The numbers keep climbing,

keep taking.

Ten.

Eleven.

Twelve.

And…

He’s right.

Everything he’s become,

everything he did,

was for us.

Andrew’s saying no.

Andrew’s drawing lines.

With his family,

Mrs. Robinson, Ben, Gino,

any girl who approaches him,

any guy who tries touching me.

He’s building boundaries around us.

Andrew Harding, saint of pleasing everyone, was putting us first by putting himself first, fighting physically and emotionally to keep this safe, and I’m still keeping him at arm’s length.

And maybe if I really did care about him, I’d be letting him go to stop him from hurting anymore.

Ding.

I step out of the elevator first,

and the doors hiss shut behind us.

Andrew’s my shadow, his footfalls and mine aligning so perfectly, like a single, heavy pulse as we walk the foyer.

At first, it’s eerily quiet.

But as I pass through the living room,

the kitchen,

setting Andison on the counter,

there’s a sound coming from my hall.