Page 168 of What Comes Around

The rest of the time, their communication looked… questionable.

At least to me.

It was mostly the two of them sending each other social media reels back and forth.

Videos labeled “this is us,” “tell me this isn’t you,” or “I swear this is your child in ten years.”

Inside jokes. Parenting memes. Random clips that made no sense to me.

Sometimes they typed out actual conversations, but most of the time it was just a steady stream of reels, emojis, and chaotic commentary.

I didn’t pretend to understand half of it, but Ashley laughed, so I let it be.

Ashley told me Nick had finally found someone. They’d been together about a year now. I’d seen it for myself at Payton’s last birthday party.

He kept his distance. Didn’t seek Ashley out. Didn’t linger near her the way he used to.

Good.

There had been a time when he watched her like she was something just out of reach, something he was still hoping to get back. It had been obvious. Annoying.

Now that look was gone. Redirected somewhere else.

Good for him. One less problem.

Liam too. He had been with his girlfriend for two years.

Ashley said that meant he was over her. That if there had ever been anything to begin with, it was gone. She’d even told me, more than once, that Liam only pushed because I reacted. That if I stopped being so possessive, he’d stop playing with it.

I didn’t believe that.

Men don’t just move on from her. I would know.

He had always lingered too long, always found excuses to talk to her, always smiled a little too wide. And I had a feeling he knew exactly what he was doing half the time, dragging it out just enough to get under my skin.

Now he was occupied. Distracted.

Good.

I didn’t have to watch him hover around her as much anymore, pretending he wasn’t waiting for something that was never going to happen.

They had both finally backed off, and I slept easier because of it. Not careless. Just… less on edge.

I still paid attention. I wasn’t stupid. There was always someone looking at her.

That was the problem.

Ashley didn’t even try. She moved through the world like she had no idea what she did to people, like she didn’t see the way heads turned, the way attention followed her without effort.

People gravitated to her without even realizing it.

And I was always watching. Always a step ahead. Always making sure they understood, one way or another.

She wasn’t an option. And she was all mine.

Over the years Amy, Ashley’s friend, had surprised me the most.

She had always seemed harmless on the surface. Easygoing. Sharp, but in a way that didn’t draw attention. The kind of woman people underestimated without realizing it.