Chapter 2
On the other end, a girl's mocking voice came through.
Jessica said with a taunt, "He's in the shower, so don't expect him to come save you.
"Julia, I really underestimated you. You're not just annoyingly clingy; you can even cry and play the poor victim, huh?"
My heart was racing, and my fingers suddenly went numb.
I never saw this coming.
Ryan was actually with another girl.
I asked, "Who are you?
"Please, let Ryan talk to me. This has to be a joke, right?"
My last shred of hope was crushed.
Jessica said, "Are you crazy or what?
"Julia, do you seriously think acting all crazy and pathetic is gonna make Ryan even look at you? In your dreams."
On the other end of the line, I heard a faint male voice.
I couldn't be mistaken. That was my boyfriend.
I heard him say, "Jessica, come here and grab me a towel."
The cop told me this was already the third time I had gotten lost this month.
But I had no memory of any of it.
He let out a sigh and asked, "Do you have any family?"
My mom just died, and my dad was still messed up about it.
I really didn't want to give him anything else to worry about right now.
"I'm sorry, I can't remember anything," I replied.
The cop let out a sigh. He said, "Just sign here. If there's no problem, you can head home."
I walked out of the police station.
Ryan still hadn't called me back.
I opened up Ryan's social media profile.
Every day, there was something new.
They watched the sunrise by the beach, chased sunsets from the mountaintop, and even dived underwater to see the stars.
The person who was always by his side was Jessica.
The moment I saw their photo together, memories came flooding back like a tidal wave. I remembered all of this.
I thought I was 19, but I'm actually 27.
Not long after Mom passed away, Dad brought his new girlfriend home.
And along with her, he brought her daughter, my new stepsister.
At first, Ryan was totally on my side; we were in this together, fighting the same battle.
But as time went on, he started getting impatient, and before I knew it, he was actually siding with Jessica.
"Jessica's not as bad as you think. She's always wanted to make up with you. Maybe you should give her a chance," Ryan said.
Jessica?
"When did you two get so chummy?" I asked.
It was just a rhetorical question, but Ryan totally blew up, acting like I had accused him of something terrible.
"How could you even think that, Julia? Everything I've done is for you. After all this time together, you still don't trust me? I'm honestly disappointed in you," he said.
He stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
That was the first time we ever had such a huge fight.
That night, he ran into Jessica at a bar.
He claimed it was all because he was wasted and thought she was me.
While I was arguing with Jessica, she threw herself down the stairs on purpose, right as Ryan showed up and saw everything.
Ryan said, "Julia, are you freaking crazy? You really had to lay hands on her over something this trivial?
"If Jessica can never dance again because of you, I swear you'll regret it."
I was crying so hard my eyes were swollen.
"Ryan, you really think I pushed her?" I asked.
"What else?" Ryan said.
Ryan rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed. He asked, "You really think Jessica would just throw herself down the stairs for no reason?
"Do you even get how much dancing means to Jessica?"
I didn't know, but one thing was crystal clear.
Ryan and I finished for good.