Chapter 2
One of my friends had been overseas for years, and before moving away, she handed me the keys to her small apartment.
I grabbed a cab and headed over. On the way, Charles called me seven times.
Sophia sent me more than a dozen texts.
I swiped them all away without even looking.
The apartment had been empty for ages.
When I opened the door, it was pitch black inside.
I fumbled for the light switch on the wall, and the room lit up.
The living room was empty except for a couch and a dining table.
I sat down and realized my palms were slick with cold sweat.
Whenever I came home late from a business trip, Charles would always leave the light on for me.
He always said I was scared of the dark, and I should never have to come home to an empty place.
But tonight, I was the one who turned on the light.
My phone buzzed again.
Charles texted me.
[Just chill out. I'll come see you tomorrow.]
I turned my phone off.
When I opened my suitcase, a dark gray scarf fell out.
I spotted it in a shop while working a case out of state. The color was perfect for Charles, so I picked it up especially for him.
Under the scarf were a few bags of local snacks.
Sophia loved sweets, so I had waited in line for half an hour to get them for her.
I pulled everything out, one by one, and stuffed it all into a trash bag.
My chest felt tighter and tighter, and it was getting hard to breathe.
After I tied up the trash bag, I noticed a photo tucked away at the bottom of my suitcase.
That day, Sophia stood between Charles and me, smiling as she asked us both a question.
"You two better not break up, or who am I supposed to stay with?" she teased.
Back then, Charles pulled me close and said he'd never break up with me.
I flipped the photo over.
Someone had scribbled a line on the back.
It was Sophia's handwriting.
[Summer, I'm sorry. I've fallen for him.]
I kept staring at that line for a long time.
I couldn't even remember when she had put that photo in my suitcase.
Maybe it was before I left.
Maybe she'd been waiting for me to find it all along.
I put the photo in the drawer and took a shower.
Early the next morning, I got dressed and headed to the law firm to report back from my leave.
When the elevator doors slid open, I saw Charles standing at the end of the hallway.
Sophia was standing close to him, speaking softly.
He still had a smile on his lips.
When they saw me, both of them froze.
"Summer," Charles called out.
He walked toward me.
I walked right past them without stopping.
I overheard a colleague whisper behind me.
"Sophia's been here every day lately. Looks like Mr. Grant's got a thing for her, huh?"
"Come on, don't make stuff up. Isn't Ms. White his girlfriend?" another colleague replied.
Sophia rushed to explain herself.
"I'm here to handle some paperwork," she said.
No one pressed her any further.
I walked into my office and handed my leave slip to my assistant.
Ten minutes later, Charles opened the door and walked in.
"We need to talk," he said.
I looked up at him.
"Is this about work?" I asked.
He closed the door behind him.
"They're deciding on the deputy director next week. I'll recommend you for the spot," he said.
I frowned slightly.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"Think of it as me trying to make things right," he said.
"I don't need it," I said.
Charles frowned.
"Summer, don't be stubborn. You've been fighting for this spot for two years," he said.
"That's exactly why you don't get to act like you're doing me a favor," I shot back.
He froze for a second, and the guilt on his face quickly turned to impatience.
"You always do this," Charles said.
"Do what?" I shot back.
"You always take everything on yourself. You never let me in," he said.
He paused, his voice dropping.
"Sophia's not like you. She never pretends to be strong with me," he said.
I looked at him, and suddenly those seven years felt wasted.
I took care of his sick mom, stood by him through his hardest cases, and spent everything I had to help pay for our apartment.
It turned out, he never saw any of that as me needing him.
I didn't even try to explain myself.
Some things were better left unsaid, because saying them would only have made me look pathetic.
I grabbed the case file from my desk and walked out.
Charles called out from behind me.
"Think about the deputy director position again," he said.
I pulled the door open.
"Charles, maybe you should ask yourself why Sophia wrote that apology on the back of my photo before I even got back," I said.
His face drained of color.
"What photo?" Charles stammered.
I pulled the photo out of my bag and tossed it onto his desk.
He flipped it over, his eyes locked onto the words on the back, and he froze.