To walk away before he does.
To stop pretending this isn’t doomed.
My fingers hover over the reply button.
Then I slam my laptop shut.
No.
I won’t play her game.
23
ALFIE
Islam my car door, already dreading another night of pretending I'm not thinking about her. But before I can spiral further, a familiar thud against my leg makes me pause.
“Not now, Baxter.”
The golden retriever looks up at me with those ridiculous brown eyes, tail sweeping the sidewalk hopefully. I try to step around him, but he follows, pressing against my leg like he knows I need the comfort.
“Fine.” I pull the treats from my pocket. “But only because you're persistent.”
As he happily munches his reward, I remember how Tara laughed when she first caught me sneaking him treats. “The mysterious Alfie Spencer has a soft spot for dogs,” she'd teased. “Who would've guessed?”
Baxter nudges my hand, demanding attention. At least someone still wants me around.
Making my way straight up to my room, I avoid the guys.
I stare at my phone, at the messages I’ve sent Tara:
Tink
Are you ok?
We need to talk
Come over?
Last night keeps replaying in my mind. The empty chair beside me.
I should’ve called her. Should’ve pushed. Instead, I let the night stretch out without her.
And now, sitting here staring at my phone, I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve already lost something I never really had to begin with.
Every time someone asked where my “charming girlfriend” that they’d heard all about was, I had to make excuses. Food poisoning, I’d said, the lie tasting bitter. Mother’s smug smile grew with each passing hour, like she’d won something.
But I couldn’t care less about Mother’s games. What keeps me up at night is how Tara just... didn’t show. No genuine explanation, no warning. One minute she was there, fierce and bright and standing up to my entire family.
The next - gone. Something changed, but I have no idea what. I have no idea if she’s ok, if there’s something more going on.
The doorbell rings, and my stomach twists. Through the window, I see her shifting from foot to foot like she’d rather be anywhere else.
I could say it right now. Three words. Simple, easy.
Except nothing about her has ever been simple.
And nothing about this could ever be easy.
