He Took Her Side Every Time, So I Stopped Caring

Synopsis

We were almost at the register when my best friend, Nina Thompson, said she'd forgotten something. My boyfriend, Charles Foster, turned around and went with her without a second of hesitation. "Hold our place in line. We'll check out together when we get back." My turn came, and they still weren't back. I waved person after person ahead of me until I was the last one in line, and they still hadn't shown up. Every message I sent went nowhere. When I finally got home, hauling three full bags of Nina's favorite snacks, the two of them were in the living room laughing at the TV. The bags hit the floor with a heavy thud, and Charles finally noticed me. "You're back. What took you so long?" My throat closed up. "I was waiting for you at the store the whole time." "Nina got her period out of nowhere, so I had to get her home." Charles said it like it was nothing and pointed at the dining table. "I saved you some takeout." I opened the container and found a few picked-over chicken nuggets and a cold burger. My stomach turned over on itself. I couldn't hold it in. "Then why didn't you tell me? You couldn't spare ten seconds to answer a message?" Charles gave me a strange look. He unlocked his phone. Something moved across his face, and it wasn't guilt. It was impatience. "It was on Do Not Disturb, so I didn't see it. Who stands in a checkout line for an hour? And I have to say it, when did you get this stubborn about everything?" Fine. I was stubborn. So I'd stop waiting for the person who was never going to come.