Chapter 3

That did it.

Chloe' s face turned into a mask of pure rage.

My jealousy was her drug, and I had just cut off her supply. My indifference was worse than any fight I could have started.

She jumped to her feet.

"You son of a bitch!" she screamed.

She grabbed an empty beer bottle, marched to the kitchen sink, and smashed it. Shards of brown glass exploded everywhere.

The party died again.

"I'm done!" she shrieked, her voice shaking. "I'm staying at Blake's tonight!"

She grabbed her purse, and Blake, looking smug again, followed her out.

The door slammed shut.

Jessica was still staring at me, her lips slightly parted. The rest of the party guests looked at their phones, at the floor, anywhere but at me.

They started leaving in small, quiet groups.

Soon, it was just me and Jessica in the wrecked apartment.

"You okay, Liam?" she asked, her voice soft.

"I'm fine," I said. And the strangest part was, I was.

"She does this stuff all the time," Jessica said, starting to pick up the broken glass. "She needs the drama."

"I know," I said.

I didn't help her clean. I just went to my desk, opened my laptop, and started to code. I had a critical project deadline for the startup I worked for.

For the first time in a long time, the clean logic of my work felt more real than the messy chaos of my life.