Everyone at school knew David only hung out
with me because his father owed my father a life debt. He was a good guy, they said, putting up with my awkwardness and social ineptitude.
Then Sarah arrived, and everything changed.
She became the one watching him play
basketball, the one eating lunch with him. I
hadn’t even realized it at first. It was David’s
sudden coldness, and a whispered conversation
in the restroom, that clued me in. “Chloe’s so clueless. David’s dating Sarah, and she’s still
tagging along like a third wheel.”
Third wheel. Dating.
The words stung, a harsh reality check. I started
avoiding David, making excuses to skip lunch
and walks home. I tried to disappear at home
too, staying out of his sight.
But then, one day, when I was having lunch with
a male classmate, David appeared, towering
over us, his eyes scrutinizing me like I was
some lowly peasant. “So, you’re not eating with
me because you’re dating someone else?”
I didn’t understand. I just didn’t want to be a
third wheel.
<
Later, through a cruel twist of fate, I became
the reason for Sarah and David’s breakup. Now,
it was time to give her back what I’d taken.
David stood up, the blows he’d received
seemingly having no effect on him. His eyes
searched mine, questioning. “Where are you
going? Why are you leaving?”
He didn’t understand. The greatest grief is the
death of hope.
I felt nothing for him anymore. I didn’t even
glance at him as I wrenched my wrist from his
grasp.
Three days after leaving the Baileys, I collapsed
at home. I’d known it was coming. Stomach
cancer. I’d received the diagnosis two months
earlier, when Liam was still alive. I’d been
undergoing treatment, clinging to the hope of recovery. I’d even hinted at my illness to David.
Dut hold only stored at mo with then cold
<
2:11
89
But he’d only stared at me with those cold,
indifferent eyes. I’d realized too late how much he truly resented me.
I’d planned to get better, to take Liam and start over somewhere new. Now… now I was going to join him.
I hadn’t told David that Liam had run out to find him because I’d collapsed in pain. He was only five; he didn’t know to call 911. His first thought had been to find his daddy.
In the hazy moments before losing
consciousness, I heard a knock on the door. If it
weren’t for the gnawing pain in my stomach, I would have thought it was the Grim Reaper calling.
It was Dr. Ethan Miller, my former classmate.
His presence only deepened my despair. He’d
never been this persistent before. Back in
school, I used to beg him for help with my
<
2:11
homework, and he’d barely acknowledge me.
What was he doing here now?
89
“Chloe, you’re in bad shape. You need to go to
the hospital.”
He was a doctor, a good one. He could see how
sick I was.
Ethan looked much the same as he had in school, only older, the arrogance in his eyes more pronounced. David had been right about him being aloof. Aloof people hated being imposed upon. I couldn’t bear to burden him
with my dying wish.
“Don’t you have other patients, Dr. Miller?” |
forced a harsh edge into my voice, trying to
sound like a difficult patient. “How much of a
kickback do you get for ordering extra tests?”
His jaw twitched. “Chloe…”
<
2:12
“I’ll pay you. Just leave me alone.”
89
I went inside and grabbed some cash, thrusting
it at him. “Is this enough?”
He left. Of course he did. Who would put up with a dying, unreasonable patient? To die
—
alone, forgotten that was the ending I
deserved.
I swallowed my pain medication, drew the
curtains, and was about to lie down when I saw
two figures downstairs. Ethan, and David.
What was he doing here? Shouldn’t he be with
Sarah?
They were arguing, on the verge of a physical
fight. Ignoring the gnawing pain in my stomach,
I rushed downstairs and stepped between them,
forcing down the rising bile. “What are you
doing here?” I croaked.
David stood there, his coat billowing in the
<
evening breeze, moonlight casting a cold,
distant glow on his sharp features. He glared at
Ethan, his eyes filled with the same hostility I’d
seen in high school, whenever he’d caught
Ethan using my things or fetching me water.
Back then, he’d always snap, “Chloe, don’t you
have hands? Do you need someone to do
everything for you?” He wouldn’t allow other
men to help me, yet he showered Sarah with
kindness.
I used to love him, pushing away others for his
sake. Now, I just wanted peace.
Shielding Ethan, I tugged at his sleeve, urging
him to leave. The tension between him and
David was palpable. Ethan wouldn’t have left if I
hadn’t asked.
David’s face hardened, his voice dripping with
sarcasm. “So, you leave a perfectly good life at
home to shack up with your lover?”
<
2:12
89
A good life? Being neglected by my husband,
ostracized by his family, losing my child – that
was his idea of a good life?
After the wedding, his resentment and cruelty
were understandable. I’d ruined his fairytale
with Sarah.
But now, I was dying. He shouldn’t have come.
“I don’t want that life. You can have it, with
Sarah. I wish you all the best,” I said, my voice
calm and steady, devoid of the hysteria I felt
inside. It was as simple as saying, “I won’t be
joining you for dinner.”
A flicker of surprise crossed David’s face. He’d
probably thought my divorce threat was just a grief–stricken impulse. I’d threatened to leave
before, but I’d always stayed.
“Chloe, are you sure?” he asked, his voice laced
with disbelief
This was my final decision. I wouldn’t change
my mind.
“Isn’t this what you’ve wanted all these years?”
He nodded slowly, a mocking smile playing on
his lips. “Don’t come crawling back when you
regret this.”
As I watched him walk away, I wondered if I’d
even have a future to regret.
That night, I saw Sarah’s latest Facebook post:
“Happily ever after.” The accompanying photo
showed a sparkling new diamond ring on her
finger.
- 6.
The cancer spread through me, silently,
relentlessly. I faced it with a strange sense of
calm, almost welcoming the inevitable. At least
I’d see Liam again. I hadn’t seen him in over
<
—– ཕཕ་”
two weeks. I missed him terribly. But I hadn’t
thought about David once.
89
I used to cater to his every whim, packing his bags for business trips, managing the
household, dealing with his family and friends. I’d wait up for him, no matter how late, tending to him when he stumbled home drunk, even though I knew his heart belonged to another woman. He’d call Sarah late at night,
whispering sweet nothings while I lay beside him, pretending to be asleep. I’d given him everything, yet he’d always chosen Sarah, ignoring my calls when he was away.
The few times he’d answered, it had been Sarah on the other end. “David’s sleeping,” she’d purr. “It’s no wonder he can’t stand you.
All you do is bother him.”
“Take care of him,” I’d reply, my voice hollow.
“You don’t need to tell me that. Don’t tell me
<
2:12
tricked him, you’d never have gotten him to
marry you.”
I’d had no response.
Without him, life was strangely peaceful.
89
I still went to the hospital, not for treatment, but
for pain medication, enough to make it to Christmas. Liam loved Christmas. He’d be
happy to see me then.
Walking through the crowded hospital, I must have looked like a ghost, my thin frame
swallowed by layers of clothing. As I left with my prescription, Dr. Miller caught up to me. He frowned, his gaze lingering on my face. I pulled my scarf higher, hoping to hide the stark reality of my illness. No one lost weight this rapidly
unless they were seriously ill.
“…Chloe.” He seemed about to say something,
then sighed. “Where are you going?”
<
2:12
“Bus station,” I mumbled.
“I’ll drive you.”
Tears welled in my eyes. I wanted to refuse, but he was already walking towards his car. This street, filled with people coming and going, held countless stories of illness and loneliness. Mine
was just one of many.
“After I left the other day, did David
misunderstand anything?” he asked as we
drove. “He always used to get the wrong idea
about us.”
I shook my head. “No. We’re divorced.”
“I was surprised to hear you got married. He came to see me before I left for med school,
threatened me, said you…” He trailed off, glancing at our two shadows merging on the pavement. He chuckled dryly. “Never mind.
David’s always been a contradiction. He told
me to stay away from you, then insisted you were just like a sister.”
I stopped walking. “When… when did he say
“After Sarah showed up.”
89
I remembered. Before Serah. Devid would steal sics of my sode, then lean in to kiss me.
grinning. “Don’t drink so much cold stuff. This
one’s mine now.”
That felt like a lifetime ago, a distant, fading
memory.
Everyone had noticed the unspoken connection
between us. At first. Devid hadn’t bothered to
correct them. I’d confronted him, trailing after
him as he walked under the oak trees, the
setting sun stretching his shadow long and thin.
く
“Why don’t you say something?” I’d asked.
“Say what?”
He’d blinked, about to answer, when the family
driver pulled up to take us home. That night,
David had spent hours alone in his father’s
study. After that, he’d become distant, no
longer joining me for lunch, no longer walking
me home. When I’d sought him out, he’d
snapped, “Leave me alone.”
I hadn’t understood. All my efforts to please him
had been futile. Then Sarah arrived, and he
stopped stealing my sodas, stopped kissing me,
and gradually pushed me away.
When friends asked, “Aren’t you with Chloe?
What’s going on with Sarah?”
He’d scowl. “Chloe’s like a sister. If it weren’t
for her father, she wouldn’t even be that.”
<
2:12
89
That’s why, when I called him on my birthday, he’d turned cold, his voice sharp with warning. “Chloe, you live here because of your father. Don’t get any ideas. And don’t tell anyone we’re anything more than we are. Before you open your mouth, ask yourself if you’re worthy.” His words had shattered me.
A few days later, my mother had echoed his
sentiment, warning me not to reach for
something beyond my grasp. We were living in
the Baileys‘ house out of charity, she’d
reminded me. We had to be careful.
After that, I’d buried my feelings for David, until
my mother, in her desperation, pushed me into
his bed.
I’d spent the rest of my life regretting that
night.
“David and I… we were never anything,” I said
to Ethan finally admitting the truth
to Ethan, finally admitting the truth.
It took only a few hours for those words to
reach David’s ears.
