Chapter Eleven
Jonah
Day three, and she still wasn't answering.
I'd called. Texted. Showed up at her apartment—she wasn't there. Tried her work—she'd called in sick. Asked Freddy—he told me to fuck off.
She'd blocked me on everything. Social media, messaging apps, even my fucking number apparently because now my calls went straight to voicemail.
Chelsea kept asking if I was okay. Kept trying to comfort me. Kept being there, and all I wanted was for her to disappear.
"Maybe you should give Lindor some space," she suggested on day four, curled up on my couch like she belonged there.
"I don't remember asking for your opinion."
She flinched. "I'm just trying to help."
"You want to help? Leave."
"Jonah—"
"I said leave, Chelsea. Go home. I need to be alone."
She gathered her things, tears in her eyes, and I felt nothing. No guilt. No remorse. Just emptiness.
The door closed behind her, and I pulled out my laptop. If Lindor wouldn't talk to me, fine. I'd find another way.
I logged into her social media—I still had her password from when she'd let me post something for her months ago—and started scrolling.
Nothing. No posts. No updates. No pictures of her with Axel, thank fuck.
But Rennedy's page was a different story.
There, posted two days ago: a picture of Lindor and Axel at some restaurant, her laughing at something he'd said, his arm around her shoulders. The caption: When your best friend finally gets with your brother and you get to say I TOLD YOU SO. #MatchmakerGoals #SoHappy
I stared at the picture, rage building in my chest. She looked happy. Really, genuinely happy. Happier than she'd ever looked with me.
The comments were full of people congratulating them, saying they made a cute couple, asking how long they'd been together.
Rennedy had responded to that one: Officially? A few days. Unofficially? He's been in love with her for years. Finally got his shot and he's not wasting it.
Years. Axel had wanted her for years, and I'd noticed. Never saw him as a threat because I was so sure Lindor was mine.
I scrolled further, found more pictures. Lindor and Axel at a coffee shop. At a park. At his apartment building, her looking up at him like he hung the fucking moon.
My phone rang. Freddy.
"Hello?"
"Jonah, it's Freddy."
"Freddy—"
"Shut up and listen. I'm calling because Lindor asked me to. She wants you to stop. Stop calling, stop texting, stop showing up places. It's over. Accept it and move on."
"I can't just—"
"You can and you will. She's happy, Jonah. Happier than I've seen her in months. And you know why? Because Axel treats her like she matters. He's not ashamed of her. He doesn't hide her. He's proud to be with her, and she deserves that."
"I was going to go public—"
"When? After another six months? A year? Never?" Freddy's voice was hard. "You had your chance. You fucked it up. Now leave her alone."
"She's making a mistake—"
"The only mistake she made was wasting six months on you. Don't make this harder than it needs to be. Let her go."
He hung up.
I sat there, staring at my phone, feeling everything inside me crack.
She was really done. Really choosing him over me.
And there was nothing I could do about it.