Ethan’s face tightened. “Chloe left this in my
car last time. I’ll toss it later.”
“Don’t bother,” I said quietly.
Silence returned. He looked at me, surprised.
<
“You’re not angry?”
I just pressed my lips together. I used to care
about Chloe. Now, I didn’t even care about
him, let alone his side piece. “Just drive. It’s
late.”
The hospital was a one–mile straight shot
after a U–turn. His phone rang. He answered,
a smile spreading across his face. It was
Chloe, her voice sugary sweet, asking him to
teach her how to drive the Mercedes one-
handed.
“Chloe has something urgent. I’ll drop you off here. The hospital’s right across the street,
just fifty yards.” He couldn’t even be bothered to make a U–turn. He was that eager to see
her.
I stared at him coldly. “I can’t walk.”
His expression turned icy. “Don’t be dramatic, Olivia. You have a leg injury, not a disability!” He yanked me out of the car, telling me to call him when I was done at the hospital. He
sped off, splashing dirty rainwater all over my
injured foot.
A light drizzle started. I stood there, soaked
and shivering, tears welling up. Fifty yards felt
like fifty miles. A sharp pain ripped through
my abdomen, and I collapsed on the
crosswalk. Cars whizzed by. If a security
guard from the hospital hadn’t helped me, I
could have been hit.
Hours later, I finally made it home, exhausted
and aching, only to find Ethan storming in. “I
told you to call me when you were done! I
waited at the hospital for an hour! Your
phone was off!”
I stared at him blankly. I’d been at the hospital for two hours, getting IV fluids. There was no sign of him when I left. I’d had to take a cab home. And my phone had died only two minutes ago. He hadn’t been there at all. He used to be so attentive…when did it all change?
“You blocked me,” I said. “I couldn’t call.”
<
He paused, the anger fading slightly. “I
brought you some oatmeal. Figured you’d be
hungry.”
I looked at the watery gruel. A few sad sprigs
of green onion floated on top. No egg, no
meat. It looked like leftovers. Thirty minutes
earlier, Chloe had posted a picture of Ethan
cooking, captioned: “Who says chivalry is
dead? Not only did he teach me to drive my
new Mercedes one–handed, but he’s making
me homemade oatmeal! So sweet!
