ough the possessiveness had softened into something comforting. "They clea

ke vultures picking at a carcass. "Just a lovers' quarrel,"

r chimed in. "Jeannette made him work for it.

nvenient, agreeable partner. Edward had never bothered to defend me. Never

llroom, the hushed whispers, the emotional whiplash of

ered to Brody, leaning my

ugh the thinning crowd. "My car's

Brody didn't press me for conversation, just let me sit in silence, processing. It was a thoughtfulness Edward had never

he cut the engine. The sudden quiet was profo

singly gentle. "Edward. And Jean

gh school. She was always the 'one that got away' for him." I paused, remembering Edward's carefully constructed denial. "

e. His usual mischievous glint was gone, replaced by a thoughtful, a

he said abruptly, his voice a

e was probably rethinking his entire strategy. His grand plan to unsettled Edward by flaunting me, Edward's "girlfriend," was probably lookin

at "something" was. Brody' s pursuit, his playful charm, had filled a void in my life, a void Edward had carv

t was Edward. A text message.

Allyson. About

here was no "us" anymore. No

,' Edward. And there's nothing to talk about. I hesitated for a second, the

of my thumb, I turned off my phone, plunging it into darkness. I didn't wa

nd walk into my empty apartment. I was done w

ar door, the rain hit

lys

silhouette against the rain-slicked pavement. He looked disheveled, his

e sharper than I intended. "Don't you have a '

loser. "We need to clear this

ple, and pulled out a fake promise ring, claiming we were still together, after you spent three years pr

about Jeannette. This is about you. You're

who endured years of being an afterthought? The one who cleaned up your messes and celebrated your successes while you

blazing. "Explain yourself, A

visible, unheard, unloved. Three years of trying to be everything he needed, and still being nothing more than "agreeable."