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However, Idoneed someone to confide in that might stand a chance at understanding what I’m going through, and so as soon as Dorian goes to bed for the evening, I pull up Fran’s number, hoping that I’m not bugging her.
“Hey, what’s up?” she answers on the second ring.
“Um, I was just...” My voice trails off as I try to keep my tone steady. “Are you busy? Would you wanna come over?”
“Are you okay?” Fran sounds concerned.
I sigh. “Not really.”
“I’m on my way.”
***
Thirty minutes later, Fran is pulling up to my house and jumping out of her car.
I swing the door open, and she wraps me in her arms, not evening knowing what’s going on. However, I lean into her, grateful that she’s become this kind of friend.
“Do you want some coffee or something?” I ask as we pull apart, and I gesture for her to come in.
“Oh god... Coffee at this time of night? Yeah, I don’t think so. I mean, I’m young and all that, but I swear caffeine hits me hard. I’d be up all night.”
“Okay, well, I’m going to have some.” I laugh, leading her to the kitchen. It’s got nothing on Aiden’s pristine home, and there are no doors separating the meager kitchen from the dining room. Not to mention, the whole place could really use an update. It hasn’t seen one in over fifteen years.
And it won’t see one for a long time to come, either.
“So...” Fran begins, taking a seat in one of the black kitchen chairs. “Why don’t you tell me what’s on your mind? If you want to. You don’t have to. We can talk about whatever you want.”
I take a deep breath, pour myself a cup of coffee, and take a seat across from her. “So... I went to Aiden’s tonight, and we were going to have dinner. But then his ex-wife showed up.” I can barely get the words out, and they don’t have near the impact that they have on me.
“And then what?”
“She recognized me from the bar. I had run into her a while back, but it was before Aiden and I were a thing. Anyway, she was able to put two and two together. She made the comment that I must be a student of his.”
“Oh boy... And how did that go over?”
“She threatened to tell the university if Aiden didn’t give up full custody.”
Fran’s eyes turn to saucers. “No way. You’re shitting me. Why the fuck would she do something like that?”
“I don’t think she’s a very nice person,” I say, choosing my words carefully. “I think she saw her opportunity and took it.”
“What do you think Aiden is going to do?”
“I don’t know. I won’t be around to know, either. He broke up with me immediately afterward. He didn’t even attempt for the two of us to talk it out. It was so...shocking.Like, I thought that he cared about us, but maybe I got it wrong.”
“Maybe he was just shell shocked by the whole thing,” Fran muses. “Because I mean, I do get it to some extent. He probably was just thinking about not losing his job...”
“Okay, but why just cut me off? And shealreadyknows about it. How will anything change just because he broke up with me? We still had a relationship, even if it was a short one.”
“Right, but maybe he’s thinking that he can just deny it?” Fran’s expression contorts, and I can tell she’s in deep thought over it. “It has to have been a knee-jerk reaction. Maybe out of anger? I don’t know. It just doesn’t really add up.”
“Either way, he made his choice.”
She nods solemnly. “Now withthatyou absolutely have a point. It’s not your job to worry about what happens from here. No one is going to judge you, no matter what. I mean, most of the time, the student isn’t the one who gets annihilated. It’s the professor. Besides, so many girls have a crush on Aiden.”
I frown. “You know, that’s the thing, though. I don’t care what people think about me, and I made that really clear to him today. But it’s like it didn’t matter. He just saw the need to end it. It’s... not fair.”
“Yeah, I agree,” Fran reaches out and grabs my hand. “It’s not fair. He’s a jerk for breaking up with you. He’s a jerk for not just coming out in the open with your relationship. It’s not like heneedsthe money from the job, right?”
