His Heart Stayed Flat for Me, Raced for Her, I Stayed for Neither Chapter 03
Olivia had dropped several dozen spots in the rankings.
Caleb came in first in the class, but for once, he didn’t brag about it.
He canceled all our plans and spent all his time tutoring Olivia.
In the months leading up to the SATs, I barely saw him.
But I saw him and Olivia heading to the library together all the time.
I begged him to let me come along.
Caleb just ruffled my hair and said, “Emily, you’re not at that level. You wouldn’t understand what we’re working on.”
“Just stay home and study, okay? We’ll go public after the SATs.”
“You wouldn’t understand.” That was how he drove a wedge between us.
But the words “we’ll go public” were enough to keep me waiting for months.
I pretended not to notice him getting closer to Olivia. I pretended not to see the look in his eyes growing warmer.
I told myself that as long as he came back to me in the end, nothing else mattered.
But tonight, I finally understood.
The person who looked down on me wasn’t just my classmates. It was Caleb, too.
The rain kept falling.
I hugged my knees and cried on the couch until I couldn’t anymore, the sound of the rain mixing with my sobs.
I must have cried myself to sleep, because I woke up to a quiet house. The rain had stopped.
The doorbell rang. I opened the door, and Caleb was standing there.
“Emily, I had those comments deleted. That post was fake. Don’t worry about it.”
“My mom wants you to come over for dinner. Let’s go.”
He reached for my hand, but I stepped back and pulled away.
When I got to the Whitmores’ house, Olivia was there too.
She pushed the umbrella back into my hands with a bright smile. “Emily, thanks for the umbrella. Caleb forgot to return it yesterday.”
Mrs. Whitmore grabbed my arm enthusiastically. “Emily! You’re here! This boy didn’t even tell us his girlfriend was coming over until today!”
Caleb shot me a look.
I smiled stiffly and nodded.
At the table, when Mrs. Whitmore found out Olivia was class president and had grades just as good as Caleb’s, her eyes lit up.
“Olivia and Caleb are a perfect match! This is the kind of girl our Caleb should be with!”
Olivia quickly shook her head and said no, that wasn’t true.
My hand froze on my fork.
Caleb immediately changed the subject. “Unless something changes, I’m applying to Ashford. What about you, Olivia?”
“Ashford, obviously. I’m just as good as you.”
Mrs. Whitmore beamed, then turned to me. “Emily, where are you thinking of applying?”
Olivia answered for me. “Emily’s grades are pretty average, so Ashford is probably out. But she could go to a different school in the same city.”
Before we broke up, that had been the plan.
Not anymore.
“I’ll figure it out,” I said quietly.
The moment the words left my mouth, Caleb’s face fell.
He looked down and texted me: [Emily, what’s that supposed to mean? We agreed we’d both go to Millbrook city.]
[Come on. Stop being mad. We’ll get back together when school starts.]
I didn’t reply.
After dinner, Mrs. Whitmore transferred a large sum of money to Caleb and told him to take Olivia on a date. She said not to come home until he’d spent it all.
Caleb pretended to be annoyed and agreed.
Olivia called out to me, “Emily, you should come too. We’re all classmates. It’s fine.”
The way she looked at me, there was always that hint of superiority. Like she was doing me a favor.
Just like Caleb.
Caleb pressed his lips together, his voice cold. “You coming?”
I coughed a few times and shook my head.
“You guys go ahead. I think I’m getting sick.”
The tension left his face. He took Olivia’s hand and walked out.
I stared at their interlocked fingers. Their fingers.
Maybe I had lost this game from the very beginning.
When I got home, I crashed and slept hard.
When I woke up, my feed had exploded.
Caleb and Olivia had both posted photos from the amusement park at the exact same time.
Caleb: [Hold on tight.]
Olivia: [Never letting go.]
