Chapter 5
When I woke up again, the last rays of the setting sun were spilling into the room, painting everything with a lazy, golden glow.
Mittens was flopped out right next to me, using my arm as his personal pillow.
I gave my stomach a gentle poke. The pain was mostly gone—finally.
Outside, I could hear the sounds of people laughing and having a good time, the whole place buzzing with energy.
"Alex, it's the Fourth of July today! Why not call Lily out to join the fun?" someone called out.
Alex let out a cold laugh.
"Forget about her. She's just sulking," he said.
The guy sounded a bit hesitant.
"Aren't you worried she'll actually get mad?" he asked.
Alex just shrugged, not giving a damn.
"She's a pushover," he scoffed.
"Give her a little attention and she'll come running back, wagging her tail. Why else would she have chased after me all the way out here?" he added.
The guy clicked his tongue.
"Man, Alex, you've really got her wrapped around your finger," he said.
Emily's soft voice drifted over.
"Alex, come help me! I have no idea how to make these s'mores," she called out.
I lay in bed and closed my eyes. The bitterness had faded long ago; now, all that was left was exhaustion and a dull, lingering frustration.
My stomach growled, so I grabbed my phone and ordered some food.
As I stepped out to pick up my takeout, all eyes in the room turned to me at once.
Back in the day, whenever Alex had his buddies over, I was always super friendly—the perfect hostess, making sure everyone felt right at home.
I remembered last year's Fourth—another big get-together at my place.
They were all Alex's childhood friends, having a blast together, like they had their own bubble. I was just off to the side, bored out of my mind, and eventually drifted off to sleep, feeling totally left out.
By midnight, everyone was making a fuss about wanting BBQ ribs—specifically the ones I grilled. Reluctantly, I dragged myself out of bed and ended up prepping and grilling them all by myself.
By the time I finished cooking in the kitchen, the living room was already empty and quiet.
They'd all gone out for barbecue.
As I thought about the old days, I couldn't help but smirk at myself.
When I walked in, the living room fell silent for a moment.
I kept my eyes straight ahead, walked right through the living room, opened the front door, and grabbed my takeout.
Someone let out an awkward laugh.
"Lily, come have some s'mores. We just made them," one of them called out.
I ignored them.
Seeing the awkward vibe, his friends tried to smooth things over.
"Lily, did you find your cat? How about we go help you look for it now?" one of them offered.
I said coldly, "Found it."
At the same time, I shook off Alex when he tried to grab my hand and walked straight back to my room without looking back.
Behind me, everyone exchanged awkward glances.
Alex let out a cold laugh.
But none of that had anything to do with me anymore. I'd already handed in my resignation and was busy packing up my things.
Once the handover was done in a few days, I'd be going back home.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
I wasn't planning to answer him—Alex could knock all he wanted, I didn't care.
But the knocking just kept getting louder, and then I heard Alex's voice from outside.
"Seriously, what are you even throwing a tantrum about?" Alex called out.
Listening to that entitled tone of his, I realized it was finally time to lay all my cards on the table.
I opened the door, and there was Alex, standing in the doorway with an impatient look on his face.
"You're sulking in front of my friends? Is that any way to behave?" he snapped.
"Come on, let's go out and apologize," he said.
I just looked at him calmly.
My calmness only made him more pissed off.
"Lily, are you done yet? Always looking pissed off—don't you think you're ever wrong?" Alex snapped.
Hearing Alex say that again, his words didn't even stir a ripple in me anymore.
"Alex, let's break up," I said.