Chapter 2

Brian picked up his jacket, moving slowly, waiting for someone to stop him.

Sure enough, Emily reached out and grabbed his sleeve.

"Don't go. It's my birthday today," Emily pleaded.

I glanced at her hand holding his sleeve, then looked at my own hand left hanging.

Turns out she does know how to look out for someone, never for me.

I pushed my chair back to the table. "Then I'll go."

Emily stared at me. "Alex, if you leave today, don't come back to sweet-talk me."

I nodded. "Alright."

As I turned and walked toward the door, Brian's low voice came from behind me. "Emily, he really doesn't get you."

I stopped and turned back. "So, are you hoping someone finally understands her, or are you waiting for us to break up?" I asked.

Brian's face went pale.

No one was laughing anymore.

*****

As I stepped out of the restaurant, a light rain was falling, and the headlights of passing cars made the wet pavement glow.

My phone kept buzzing.

Emily had sent three messages.

Emily's first message read: [You went way too far today.]

Emily's second message read: [You really put Brian on the spot.]

Emily's final message read: [I give you half an hour to come back and apologize.]

I stood under the awning at the entrance, rain dripping from the edge and splashing onto my shoes, leaving a small wet spot.

I typed: [Who am I supposed to apologize to?]

Emily replied right away: [To me, and to Brian.]

I asked: [He took the shrimp I peeled, made me the butt of the joke, and kept hinting there's something between you two. Is he ever going to apologize to me?]

The typing indicator stayed on for ages before she finally replied.

Emily: [Are you seriously going to nitpick over this?]

I stared at those words, my fingers going stiff.

Nitpick, huh? So the one who gets walked all over is supposed to keep their mouth shut?

I didn't reply.

When I got home, the living room was dark. On the shoe cabinet were the matching mugs Emily and I bought together, one sitting upright, the other upside down.

The upside-down one was mine. This morning, Emily had told me I always forgot to cover my mug, so it would get dusty.

Back then, I thought she was being thoughtful.

Now, looking at that upside-down mug, I suddenly felt like laughing.

I had showered and sat down when the door lock clicked.

Emily walked in, still wearing that light-colored dress from the birthday party. The hem was damp with raindrops, and her eyeliner was slightly smeared.

She tossed her bag onto the couch.

"You actually came back? With all those people at dinner, how am I supposed to face everyone now?" she snapped.

I looked at her. "Did you even finish your cake?"

She paused, surprised. "You're seriously asking about the cake right now?"

"I bought it. I waited in line for forty minutes," I said.

She bit down on her lip, her tears spilling over. "Alex, you weren't like this before. You never made me feel this humiliated."

I set my phone down on the table. "I never asked before."

She took two steps closer and reached out to pull at my hand. "Brian runs his mouth, he doesn't mean anything by it. Why can't you cut him some slack?"

I looked down at her hand and didn't move away. "I gave in."

She froze.

I went on, "That night you had a fever, Brian called after his breakup. You told me not to come over because he was downstairs crying.

"I ordered medicine for you and took a cab to his place to pick you up. You promised you'd be home by ten, but you didn't show up until one-thirty in the morning."

Emily's face tightened.

I continued, "On our anniversary, he complained about a stomachache, so you ditched our movie plans to take him to the hospital. I waited outside the theater until everyone left, my popcorn went cold, and you told me I didn't have my priorities straight."

Her lips moved. "That's because he's all alone in this city, no family here."

I replied, "I was alone that day too."

The only sound in the room was the hum of the fridge.

She looked away. "You're different. You're my boyfriend."

I nodded. "So, does that mean I, as your boyfriend, should always come last?"

She was completely speechless, unable to say a word.

Her phone buzzed urgently in her bag.

Without thinking, she pulled it out and answered immediately when she saw who was calling.

"Brian, what's wrong?" she asked.

I watched her expression shift from tense to anxious.

Brian's voice was loud enough for me to hear. "Emily, my stomach hurts. I think I drank too much. Can you come by?"

Emily glanced at me and covered the phone. "He's drunk. I'm going to check on him."

"Now?" I asked.

She frowned. "You already upset him so much today, and now you want to stop me from going?"

I stood up and handed her the car keys. "I'm not stopping you."

She let out a sigh of relief and reached for the keys.

I held on, not letting go. "Just so we're clear, if you walk out that door tonight, we're done."

Her eyes went wide. "Are you threatening me?"

"It's not a threat. It's how things work," I said.

She was trembling with anger. "Alex, are you seriously this jealous because of a friend?"

I asked, "If a female coworker of mine got drunk and asked me to go to her place in the middle of the night, would you let me go?"

She shot back, "That's not the same thing."

"How is it different?" I pressed.

She was at a loss for words.

Brian's voice came through the phone.

"Emily, let it go. Don't argue because of me. I'll handle it myself," he said.

Emily's tears fell again as she grabbed the keys. "Look what you've done to him."

I let go.

The metal keys dropped into her palm with a crisp clink.

She turned and walked out. As the door clicked shut, the room felt emptier than ever.

I opened the drawer, took out the spare key she'd given me, and set it in the middle of the dining table.

Then I unlocked my phone and turned off location sharing.

Finally, I took off the matching ring from my ring finger and placed it beside the key.

The ring rolled halfway around and stopped.