Chapter 27 The breakup #2
He paused like he might say something else. I waited. I waited longer than I should’ve. Then the door clicked shut. The sound was so final.
I wanted to run after him, block him from going any farther, and beg him to stay.
We could fix things, couldn’t we? I wasn’t ready to let go.
The thought of starting over again at twenty-five made my stomach churn.
How do you even begin to piece yourself back together after loving someone for so long?
But I didn’t chase him. Instead I stood there alone, like I’d be for the foreseeable future.
I paced around my apartment as Winston lay by the door waiting for his dad to come back, trying to decide who I wanted to call. Who would be the most comforting voice to hear at this moment?
My fingers slid across the screen as I searched for his number. After a few rings, it went to voicemail.
“Hey, you’ve reached Lucas. Leave a message or shoot me a text, and I’ll get back to you.”
I ended the call without leaving a voicemail and threw myself onto the couch in dramatic fashion. Grace was my next best option, but knowing Tucker would probably hear our entire conversation kept me from dialing. Instead, a group text would do.
LOVERS ??
Ainsley: Cole broke up with me
Savannah: Shit, Ains, I’m sorry. What can we do?
Grace: OMG ?? Are you okay?!
Ainsley: Far from it. I feel so blindsided. I thought we were working through things and then he just drops a bomb on me in the middle of dinner (so embarrassing btw)
Savannah: Tell us what happened
Ainsley: Pretty much what I just said. He took me to Sushi Blues, was on his phone the entire time. When I called him out on it, he told me he met someone else
Ainsley: At his fucking pickleball club or whatever
Savannah: That stupid bitch
Ainsley: Wait do you know her??
*Incoming group FaceTime*
My stomach churned, threatening to spill the little I had eaten. Mascara streaked my cheeks as I stared at the screen, reluctant to let anyone see me like this. Still, I knew I had to face them. I clung to a shred of hope that I was wrong about what they might say.
“Do you know her?” I asked again, my voice trembling.
“Yes,” Grace admitted. “But I didn’t think anything of it until I saw some texts between Cole and Tucker.” Her anxious eyes darted away from the camera. Even through the tiny box on my screen, I could see it—the hesitation. The guilt. The choice she’d already made.
Savannah sat stiffly in the box below Grace, her lips pressed in a tight line. She hadn’t said a word, which told me everything. Grace had already told her. I was the last to know my own relationship was over.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I gasped, the words stinging.
“I wasn’t supposed to see them,” Grace stammered. “I was putting an address into his GPS, and there was a long message from Cole. I only scanned it, but it mentioned being confused and possibly having feelings for—”
I winced. “Please don’t say her name.”
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” she rushed out.
“I questioned him after that. I didn’t know what to do.
Part of me wanted to call you immediately, but I knew if I told you, Cole would get mad at Tucker, Tucker would get mad at me, and it’d turn into a whole thing.
We thought it was better to stay out of it. ”
She said it like she was trying to convince herself, but I could already see the divide. Grace was loyal to Tucker, and Tucker was loyal to Cole. That left me out of the equation entirely.
“So you told Sav?” I asked.
Grace hesitated, her hands fidgeting with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. Her knee bounced slightly, which was something she always did when she was nervous. She glanced off-screen, just for a second, like maybe Tucker was in the room. Maybe she was already weighing what she could and couldn’t say.
“She needed to tell someone,” Savannah offered, her voice flat.
“She should’ve told me,” I snapped. “I’m supposed to be your best friend, and instead, you’re both protecting him. He wasn’t even in the group until I started dating him.”
“He’s Tucker’s childhood friend, Ains,” Grace said quietly. “I was in a hard spot. I hope you can understand that.”
“I do understand,” I said. “That’s the problem.”
Grace’s face fell.
“I don’t know how to say this, but I don’t trust you guys anymore.” I exhaled slowly. “I know that sounds dramatic, but it’s the truth. And if I can’t trust you, I don’t know how I can keep showing up like nothing’s changed.”
The words landed heavy. No one jumped to argue. No one even blinked.
“I didn’t mean for this to—” Grace started.
“You knew. You knew, Grace. And you said nothing.”
Grace opened her mouth, then closed it again.
“Don’t you think you’re overreacting just a little bit?” Savannah asked me.
Before I could respond, Demi’s voice cut through the tension, her face appearing in Savannah’s frame. “Sav, let her feel how she feels.”
The silence that followed was thick, heavy, and final. I looked at their faces, frozen on my screen. Part of me—some stupid, hopeful part—thought maybe one of them would say something, anything, to change my mind, but no one did.
“I’m gonna hang up now,” I said softly.
My hand hovered over the screen, my thumb shaking slightly.
I didn’t want to be the one to end it, but I already had.
Then I pressed the button, and the call ended.
I let my head fall back onto the pillow behind me, only to realize it was pounding, trying to make sense of everything that happened tonight.