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The sound of the front door wakes me up. I got home from work late, but Braxton wasn’t here, and I didn’t have any messages. I tried to call, but he didn’t answer, so I texted. He replied, saying he was working late. I curled up on the couch with the TV on, and must have dozed off.
He comes in and sets his keys down on the counter.
“Hey,” I say, rubbing my eyes. “What time is it?”
“I don’t know.”
I shift so I can see the clock. It’s after eleven.
“Wow, it’s late,” I say. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” He heads into the kitchen and opens the fridge.
My shoulders tense up. He is not okay. “Are you sure?” I ask. I sit up and pull a pillow into my lap. Something about his posture makes me nervous.
He grabs a beer and opens it, but doesn’t look at me. “Yeah.”
My heart beats faster and my hands tingle, like my body is getting ready to flee. “Where were you?”
“Nowhere. Just getting a drink.” He takes a long pull from the bottle.
“Okay,” I say. “Did something happen? You seem upset.”
“No,” he says. He still won’t look at me. “I just needed to do some thinking.”
“About what?”
He doesn’t answer, his eyes on the counter in front of him.
Something is very wrong.
My throat feels like it’s closing and I almost can’t speak. “Brax, what’s going on?”
He’s silent for a long moment. He takes another drink and sets the bottle down. “I think we made a mistake.”
“What did you say?”
“This,” he says. “It was a mistake. We were better off as friends.”
Oh, no. No, he can’t be saying this. “What are you talking about?”
He rubs his chin. “I don’t think I’m cut out for this serious relationship stuff. I thought I could be, but I was wrong.”
I feel sick to my stomach. I’m falling, spiraling down through nothing. Why is he doing this?
Oh, god. There’s only one reason he’d do this to me out of the blue. “Holy shit, did you—” I don’t know if I can say it. “Did you cheat on me?”
He finally looks up. “No. God, no.”
“Then what is this about?”
He takes a deep breath. “We were great as friends—you, me, and Selene. And I screwed that up. I shouldn’t have. We should have stayed the way we were. I’m no good at this stuff, Kylie. It was better before.”
I stand up and wrap my arms around myself. “You can’t be serious. Are you ending this? Are you breaking up with me?”
“I think it’s for the best,” he says.
I stare at him, my mouth open. Tears sting my eyes. My legs shake. I’m not sure if I can stay on my feet. My bottom lip trembles and I cover my mouth with my hand. I think I might vomit. “No,” I say. “No, Braxton. You can’t. I thought we—”
