Chapter 1
It was the sixth time my parents were supposed to meet Alex, and he still didn't show up.
My mom put her knife and fork down abruptly, her face darkening. "You've been dating him for three years, and he can't even show up for a meal, huh?"
I swallowed, but before I could say anything, my phone rang.
"Lily, Emily got knocked over at the supermarket. Her knee's scraped up," Alex said, his voice rushed.
Emily Brooks's gentle voice floated through the phone. "Alex, seriously, I don't need to go to the hospital. Relax."
"No way. You're a girl, you know. What if it leaves a scar?" Alex insisted.
That was when he finally remembered me, sounding totally casual. "I'll send you 700 dollars. Take your parents out for a nice meal."
I hung up the phone.
Oddly enough, I felt relieved.
I looked up and smiled at my mother. "He said he's stuck in traffic, but he'll be here soon."
Two minutes later, there was a knock at the door. A guy in a coat stepped inside.
"Sorry I'm late, Mr. and Mrs. Summers," he said.
*****
The fifth time we tried to meet was a month ago. My dad was about to have bypass surgery.
He wanted to see my boyfriend before going under.
Alex swore he'd be there right on time.
But when the operation began, his phone kept ringing, and he never answered.
Half an hour later, he finally messaged me: [Babe, I'm working overtime at the office and really can't get away. I'm so sorry, babe.]
I was crouched in the fire escape at the end of the hospital hallway, the glow of my phone screen lighting up my face.
Only my messages showed up on the screen, one after another.
[My dad's in surgery.
[Can you come?
[Please, Alex.]
My tears splashed onto the phone screen.
I had so much I wanted to tell him but tried to be understanding about his job.
After typing and deleting the text over and over, I ended up sending him something thoughtful: [I see. Work comes first.]
Back in the hospital room, my mom kept asking, "Where's your boyfriend? Didn't he promise he'd come?"
I lowered my head and mumbled, "His office called him in at the last minute."
My dad glanced at me without saying a word, but his hands wouldn't stop shaking.
It wasn't until my bestie Sophie shoved a video in my face that I realized he'd ditched me again for his childhood sweetheart, Emily.
In the video, Emily was holding a cat with a bandaged paw, and Alex was standing right next to her, carrying her bag.
The caption read, "When it counts, Alex is the one I can rely on. The cat got hurt, and he was even more anxious than I was."
She tagged Alex in the TikTok.
Alex even commented, "I'll always have your back."
Sophie shook my shoulders and yelled, "Lily, he's ditched you for Emily five times now. Maybe it's time to let them be happy together and finally let yourself go. What do you say?"
I kept replaying that video, my eyes stinging, but I couldn't stop watching.
Sophie was right. Maybe it was time to let them have each other and let myself move on.
But I still wanted to know why he had lied to me, so I called him.
He stayed totally calm, like getting caught in a lie didn't bother him at all.
Instead, he said confidently, "Lily, Emily's had that cat for eight years. It's basically family. She's a girl, and when the cat got hurt, she was freaking out. How could I not be there for her?
"Besides, your dad's been dealing with that for years. It's happened so many times, and he's still fine. It's nothing serious."
My lips parted, but nothing came out.
His voice got even more annoyed. "If you're gonna keep bringing up old stuff, then I've got nothing more to say to you."
That day, my dad got so worked up that he had to be rushed into emergency care.
We received three critical condition alerts one after another.
My mom and I were outside the ER, both of us a nervous wreck.
After thinking it over, I finally sent Alex a message.
I hoped he'd show up for me like he did two years ago, when I had a fever on a rainy night. He had stayed by my side all night, helping me cool down, never leaving my side.
But there was no reply.
Meanwhile, on Emily's TikTok, I saw a post, "Alex learned my power went out. I told him I wasn't scared, but he still showed up in the middle of the night to accompany me. He fusses over me like I were a kid."
She even posted a screenshot of their chat.
She messaged Alex about the power outage at 12:20 AM.
Meanwhile, my message was sent at 12:19 AM.
While I was worried about my dad, Alex was busy worrying if Emily was afraid of the dark.
I was crouched outside the ER, my legs so numb that I couldn't even feel them.
When I finally tried to stand, my knees gave out, and I crashed to the floor.
My mom helped me up. She asked me, "Are you hurt?"
I told her it didn't.
She didn't buy it. She rolled up my pant leg and saw my knee was badly bruised, with a cut right in the middle, blood seeping out in little beads.
Her eyes grew teary, but she didn't say a thing.
Compared to the ache in my heart, a bruised knee was nothing.
The next morning, Alex messaged me: [Sorry, Lily. But you kind of brought this on yourself. If you hadn't called me earlier, Emily wouldn't have overheard and gotten upset.
[If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have gone over to keep her company during the blackout. I was trying to smooth things over for you, so you won't hold it against me, right?]
I spent ages typing out a reply, but in the end, I deleted everything and sent back a single word: [Alright.]
From then on, I finally saw things clearly.
There was no point in holding on to someone who had never belonged to me.
Hence, I decided to walk away.