The Rain Was Our Goodbye

Synopsis

While we were touring an ancient water town, my best friend, Chelsea Gill, unexpectedly got her period. My boyfriend, Toby James, who was obsessively germaphobic, didn't hesitate. He slipped off the jacket I'd bought him and tied it around Chelsea's waist. Then, without so much as a glance at me, he said, "Go buy some hot chocolate. Hurry." By the time I returned, soaked from the rain with a bag of chocolate powder in hand, the lobby was empty. "The young couple already went back to their room," the innkeeper said with a smile. I pushed open the door. Chelsea was laughing as she playfully punched Toby on the chest. "The bracket system in this inn follows the official style from colonial time," she teased. "You were wrong." Sean gently rubbed her stomach and admitted it with a smile. "You're right. I was wrong." Then, he saw me. Instead of asking why I was drenched, he frowned. "What took you so long? You didn't even think to bring back a cup of hot water." With that, he got up to make her a cup of hot chocolate. He barely spared me a glance. He never even noticed that I was shivering in rain-soaked clothes. In that moment, something inside me quietly gave way. That very night, I booked the earliest train out and cut short a trip that had made me feel like an outsider every step of the way. The rain that was falling over Tarad finally awakened me from the illusion I had been clinging to all along.