He Said He Only Pretended to Love Me, So I Left Him Chapter 04
“I’m an adult! Can you stop meddling in my life?”
“Lena, Lena, Lena—it’s always Lena! Do you have any idea? The person I’ve hated most since I was a kid is her—Lena Fowler!”
He hung up and whipped around, furious. And then his eyes locked right onto mine as I stood there, clutching the box of peaches meant for him.
The air just… stopped.
So that wave of hostility I’d felt on the Amtrak that day—it hadn’t been in my head.
He truly, deeply hated me.
I don’t know why, but I actually exhaled in relief. The heart that had been tossed up and down for weeks finally hit solid ground.
He just hated me. He could’ve told me that a long time ago.
I don’t remember how I made it back to my dorm that day. All I remember is that the box of peaches my mom had made such a big deal about—I split it up and handed it out to several different rooms.
And that massive box of textbooks from him? I had someone return it later.
After that day, we silently stopped contacting each other. We didn’t plan to go home together anymore either.
Fall break came. My mom, still wanting to thank Jace for helping me get to school, made a big dinner and invited his family over.
When it was time to sit, I went to the restroom and came back to find only one open seat—right next to Jace.
He saw me and placed a freshly poured glass of juice next to my plate.
But I didn’t want to sit there. I walked around and planted myself behind my dad. “I’m sitting here.”
“There are other spots. Why are you fighting me for this one?” My dad held his plate, teasing like always. “What, you’re shy sitting next to the handsome Jace?”
The four adults burst out laughing. “Lena was so cute when she was little—she’d blush the second she saw Jace.”
While they were laughing, I pointed at a random dish on the table. “I don’t want the fish.”
“Ugh, so high-maintenance.” My dad grumbled but switched seats anyway.
From not too far away, Jace shot me a glance. A flicker of something—hurt, maybe—passed through his eyes and disappeared just as fast.
Midway through dinner, Jace’s mom, Diane Hayes, suddenly spoke up. “Lena, you’re in college now—you can date!”
“Find yourself a college boyfriend, and by the time you graduate, you’ll have your career and your love life both locked in. How great is that?” She went on, “Don’t be like Jace. He’s a junior heading into senior year and still completely single.”
My mom laughed and tried to smooth things over. “That just means Jace has his priorities straight. He’s focused on school—he’ll land a great job after graduation.”
“Dating can wait. It doesn’t have to happen in college.”
Diane clearly didn’t agree. She picked up some food, shook her head, and kept going. “Dating at school is different from dating out in the world. School relationships are purer.”
“Once you start working, you get too busy. Who has time to build something from scratch?” She paused, then added, “Especially two people like Lena and Jace, who’ve grown up together watching each other. That kind of thing is rare.”
Her eyes moved back and forth between me and Jace, and in that moment, I understood exactly what she meant.
Jace sat there not saying a word. You couldn’t read a thing on his face. But the words he’d spat out that day—that he hated me—were still seared into my memory.
I figured it was time to cut this clean.
I glimpsed Jace’s blank face, cleared my throat, and gave a small smile. “You’re right, Mrs. Hayes. I think dating in college is better too.” I added, “And actually, I already have a boyfriend.”
The second the words left my mouth, Jace’s head snapped up. Every trace of color drained from his face.
