ght before had passed, leaving behind a quiet clarity. The decision was made. The path was

hen my phone buzzed on t

I let it ring. He was probably calling to tell me about his grand,

ter, it buzzed a

the diner for breakfast to celebra

table with him and his friends, pretendi

time, I answered, my v

ell

nd oblivious. "Did you see my text? We' re all headi

ted to go. He just assu

ot going

other end. "What? Why no

I said, keeping

Come on, Ava, don'

ard a soft, feminine voice i

at Ava,

as C

Liam told her, his tone shifting

one, closer this time, as if he' d put i

lebrate with everyone. Please don' t be upset with him. I know he changed his plans

rves. She was apologizing, but it wasn' t an apology. It was a subtle accusatio

I said, my voice col

s your problem? Chloe is just trying to be nice. She feels ba

had shattered a promise we' d held for over a decade and publi

em is," I said, my voice low an

o be in a mood, then just stay home

t my feelings, my dreams, or our history. All he cared about was h

e clear and steady now.

d say another

y a second before I pressed 'Block' . I did the same on every social media app. It

his side,

And for the first time

promises I had made over the years, always telling myself it wasn' t a big deal. The time he ditched our study session to help

s, who needed rescuing. I had never needed rescuing. I had been his p