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“You there?”
“Yeah.”
“Things haven’t been right with us for a while, and… God, I hate to do this over the phone.”
“So don’t.”
Silence.
Every part of me stiffened like a startled skunk.
“I think it’s the perfect time for a clean break, a fresh start, a—”
“Buttload of clichés?” I interrupted.
“Come on, Maeve. You know things have been off.”
Yeah, since I got promoted and you didn’t. “Look, I know the holidays are a stressful time.”
“That’s not it,” he said.
“So what’s the problem?”
“You’re a stressful time.”
My jaw hinged forward. “What?”
“This isn’t going to work out.”
“Why not?”
“Because I can’t handle you.”
“I don’t need you to handle me,” I said. “I can handle myself.”
“Yeah,” he said. “You’ve made that quite clear. And as romantic as that is, it’s not enough for me.”
My forehead furrowed. “Are you saying I’m not needy enough?”
“I’m saying your standards are ridiculous, and you don’t know how to be in a relationship.”
“So teach me! I’m not incapable of learning.”
“No,” he said. “You’re very capable. Maybe too capable.”
Too capable? What the fuck?! “I don’t know what that means.”
“It means I don’t love you, and I want to go back to being friends.”
“We were never friends.”
“Whatever we were, I want to go back to that.”
My heart grew heavy from the weight of his rejection.
“Okay?”
“I don’t love you either,” I blurted. It wasn’t the right response, but it felt important that I say it.
