Chapter 2
It was the first time Jason had ever gotten angry with me.
He snapped, "Susan, I never realized you could be so heartless.
"She's a scholarship student, and it's her first time behind the wheel. She crashes the car, gets humiliated by the instructor, and gets laughed at by everyone. Don't you think she's been through enough?
"All she wants is a decent learning environment, just like us. Is that so wrong?"
I sneered and shook off his hand.
"Wanting a better environment isn't wrong," I shot back. "But you work for it. You don't get it by acting like a pathetic stray dog, begging for sympathy!"
Jason yelled, "You're being completely unreasonable, Susan."
And with that, right in front of me, he paid for Vera's entire course.
From that day on, she was a permanent fixture in our lives.
"Jason, do I hit the clutch first or shift gears?"
"Jason, I get so nervous during tests. What do I do?"
"Jason, Susan is so smart. She gets it in one go. I'm not like her. I guess I'll just wait till you teach me."
Just like that, the time Jason spent with me dwindled to almost nothing. He became Vera's "personal instructor."
He even skipped my birthday party just so they could get their licenses on the same day.
Snapping back to reality, I stared at the picture on my phone. The car he had sworn was for me had another girl in the passenger seat now.
Tears blurred my vision. Without a second thought, I found his contact and hit "Block."
After a hot shower, I was just climbing into bed when my phone buzzed. It was a new friend request.
A simple message popped up. Nathan: [Hello. I'm Nathan Cole.]
This must be Linda's son, the one Mona mentioned.
Out of politeness, I typed back a simple reply.
Susan: [Hi, I'm Susan Reed.]
I clicked on his profile picture. It was a cool-toned photo of a city street on a rainy night.
His social media feed was eerily empty.
The only post, pinned to the top, was a single sentence.
[From the moment an umbrella tilted over me, my life has never had another dark and rainy night.]
So he probably had a girlfriend, which meant when I got to Harbor City, I wouldn't be leaning on him.
Having made up my mind, I turned off my phone and fell into a heavy sleep.
It wasn't a peaceful night. My dreams were haunted by Jason's face, which made my skin crawl.
The next morning, a call from Jason's mom, Grace White, woke me up.
Grace said, "Sue, Jason didn't come home last night. Did he take you out again?
"You have to watch him for me, sweetie. Don't let him be reckless."
I froze for a second and decided to just tell the truth.
"Grace, I was at home last night. I wasn't with him. You'll have to ask him where he was."
There was a beat of silence. Realizing her mistake, she quickly backpedaled.
"Oh, silly me! That's right! He told me he was going to a friend's house to watch the game. I completely forgot."
I managed a polite reply, letting her off the hook for the clumsy lie before hanging up.
I flopped back onto my bed, hoping to catch a few more hours of sleep, when a car horn blared from downstairs.
I dragged myself to the window and looked out.
Jason, who had been M.I.A. all night, was leaning against the hood of the pink sports car. With sunglasses on, he waved up at me.
I almost laughed out loud.
He spent the entire night with Vera in his shiny new toy, and now he decided to show up here?
I shut the window in his face.
But of course, he didn't take the hint. Like always, he strolled into my bedroom a few minutes later.
"Sue, watch this. Magic."
He held up a closed fist, and in the second I blinked, he snapped it open. Dangling from his fingers were the keys to the sports car.
He had even tied a tacky pink ribbon around them.
"So?" he asked. "Do you like it?"
Looking at that hopeful expression, I sneered.
"If I remember correctly, we broke up.
"And secondly, after you and that car spent the night out, what on earth makes you think I would want leftovers?"
His smile faltered, his brow furrowing slightly.
"Sue, why do you have to be so nasty?
"Vera said she'd never been in a sports car, so I took her for a drive. That's it.
"She got a little carried away and had too much to drink. By the time we were done, the dorms were locked for the night. I didn't want to leave her alone, so I got us two separate rooms at a hotel.
"I swear, Susan. Nothing happened between us."
I'd known Jason for twenty years. He wasn't the type to cheat. But his words still made me feel sick.
In the next second, I knew what I had to do.
To make him finally understand, I snatched the keys from his hand, marched to the open window, and hurled them down at the car parked below.
"Jason," I yelled. "What do I have to do to make you believe that we are over?"
There was a sharp crack.
The pristine windshield, which had been flawless just a moment ago, was now a web of splintering glass, just like my twenty-year history with Jason.
"Susan, are you insane?" he shouted. "Do you have any idea what I went through to get this car for you?"
He scrubbed a hand through his hair before turning on his heel and slamming the door behind him.