His Heart Stayed Flat for Me, Raced for Her, I Stayed for Neither Chapter 04
Every comment was just a variation of “Perfect couple.”
Then, Caleb posted another one.
[What if I don’t want to break up after all… What do I do?]
He deleted it a second later.
I wasn’t surprised.
I had seen him fall for Olivia long before he did.
Tears dripped onto my phone screen.
I liked every single one of his posts.
The next morning, Caleb showed up at my door again.
He saw my likes and panicked. He brought a huge bag of snacks and a cup of homemade chicken noodle soup.
“Emily, you’re still sick. Drink some soup. I made it myself.”
“No, thanks.”
I pushed everything back into his arms and started to close the door.
Caleb wedged his foot against it and shouted, “Emily! What is your problem? How long are you going to keep this up?”
“We’re broken up. Go find Olivia.”
“Why do you have to be like this? I told you, Olivia and I aren’t real. You’re the one I like…”
I slapped him.
The sound cracked through the air.
“Caleb, don’t you have any shame? You say you like me, but you don’t want to break up with Olivia?”
His face went pale. “That post… you saw it?”
I looked at his face, and everything I had been holding in for years just exploded.
“Yes, I saw it! I saw you tilting the umbrella toward her. I saw you taking drinks for her at the karaoke bar. I saw you purposely skipping that last test question so she could be first. I saw all of it!”
“If you like her so much, why did you ever mess with me?”
Why did you give me hope just so you could crush it?
“Emily, I…”
Before he could explain, I slammed the door.
My phone screen lit up. A notification. My flight confirmation for studying abroad.
The sun was shining outside.
The rainy season that had trapped me for my entire youth was finally ending.
After that day, Caleb stopped coming by.
He and Olivia traveled everywhere. His feed was a constant stream of nine-photo grids.
I knew what he was doing. He was trying to make me give in.
But I was busy studying for the TOEFL. I didn’t have time for him.
When the SAT scores came out, Caleb was first in the class. Olivia was second. Both were guaranteed admission to Ashford.
I did better than I expected, too. I made it into the top ten.
My teachers called me over and over, trying to convince me to apply to a good university in the U.S.
Caleb stormed into my house, panicked, “Emily, stop messing around. We’re going to Millbrook together. I’ll fill out your application for you.”
I looked at him, so sure of himself. It was almost funny.
“Caleb, we’re done. My applications are none of your business.”
His face went dark, and he turned and walked out.
I thought that was the end of it.
Then, a few days later, I got two acceptance letters.
One was from the school abroad.
The other was from Westbrook University, a no-name school in Millbrook.
Caleb had changed my application.
I was shaking with rage. I called him.
He picked up on the first ring. “Emily, I didn’t want you to be too far away from me. It’s still a four-year degree…”
He knew that every school in Millbrook other than Ashford was mediocre. He knew my scores could get me into a good university.
He did it anyway.
Just to keep me close.
“Caleb, do you have any idea how much you just screwed up my future?”
His voice was still dripping with condescension.
“Emily, you just got lucky on the test. Your grades are usually nothing special. A school like Westbrook is fine for you.”
“Once we’re married, I’ll take care of you.”
He dismissed all my hard work with one sentence.
I had studied like crazy just to be good enough for him.
When he was at the library with Olivia, I was at home, doing practice problems until I passed out.
I had gone from the bottom of the class to the top fifteen.
But Caleb never noticed.
He only looked at the top ten. In his mind, I was still the same forgettable girl with the same forgettable grades.
He just wanted me to be good. He just wanted me to obey.
But I wasn’t the same Emily Carson anymore.
