Chapter 2

The next day, Jenny' s parents called. Her dad, a decent, hardworking man who had always treated me like a son, had thrown out his back doing yard work.

"I' m swamped with classwork, Ethan," Jenny said, not even looking up from her phone. "Can you go check on them? Maybe pick up some things for them at the hardware store?"

"Sure," I said. It was the perfect excuse.

Later that evening, as I was getting ready to leave, Jenny came up behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist. It was a rare show of affection.

"I had a bad dream last night," she murmured into my back. "It felt so real. You were... gone. And I was all alone."

I felt a flicker of something-a memory of her face, twisted not in grief, but in irritation. I gently removed her arms.

"It was just a dream, Jenny," I said, my voice flat. I turned and left before she could say another word.

I drove to the hardware store to get a back brace and some heating pads for her dad. As I was walking down an aisle, I saw them. Jenny, Mark, and Leo. They weren't at the library or in a classroom. They were in the electronics section, laughing as they picked out a brand-new, big-screen TV. They looked like a perfect, happy family.

She had lied. Again.

I didn' t confront them. I just paid for my items and walked out. There was no point.

I drove straight to Mr. Hughes' s house to thank him for the opportunity. He had the paperwork ready for me on his kitchen table.

"I saw her, you know," he said, not looking at me as he poured two glasses of iced tea. "Jenny. Saw her around town with that teacher, Mark. More than a few times."

He was trying to warn me, to be a friend.

I took a long sip of the tea. It was cold and refreshing.

"I know," I said. "An engagement isn' t a marriage."

He nodded, understanding. He knew I had made my decision. I was finally choosing myself.