Did We Break Up Today – On the seventh day of my boyfriend’s silent disappearance, I ran into him in the very neighborhood where I was tutoring. He was carrying two large grocery bags. One bulged with vegetables and fruit, the other with toilet paper, toothpaste—essentials. He looked surprised, too, but not nearly as flustered as I’d imagined. He led me upstairs, and for the first time, I came face to face with the girl from the rumors. “She had surgery. No one else was around to help. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to overthink it.” My eyes dropped to the two pairs of slippers side-by-side at the door—a matching set. Yeah, I wasn’t overthinking a thing. Lara looked stunned to see me.
She scrambled up so fast she nearly tumbled off the bed. Liam dropped the bags and rushed over, steadying her by the shoulders, his brow tight with worry. I stood in the doorway, unmoving. “I’m fine, really. Quick, invite our guest in.” Right. I was the guest. In the kitchen, Liam was washing vegetables, prepping for hotpot. What was meant to be a meal for two now had an uninvited third—me. They’d even laid out a separate set of disposable utensils at my place. “I’m so sorry,” Lara began, her voice fragile. “I don’t have any friends here, so I had to bother Liam. “I didn’t know he hadn’t told you. I already gave him an earful. Please don’t be upset with him—he’s just… socially obtuse. He doesn’t get it.” I offered a thin smile and said nothing. We finished the meal in stiff silence. Liam walked me out.
Under the dim streetlight, our shadows stretched close together on the pavement. We were not. “You’re angry?” I didn’t answer. “She just needs help for another couple of weeks. I was going to tell you once it was over. I was worried you’d… make a scene.” “What kind of surgery only takes two weeks to recover from?” My tone was flat, stripped of edge. “An abortion. It’s not mine, so don’t get the wrong idea.” “I know it’s not yours. It’s some married man’s, right?” The words had barely left my lips when his hand shot out. His fingers dug into my wrist, hard enough to make me gasp. “You’ve been looking into her?” “Didn’t need to. That website you blocked me from spelled it all out pretty clearly.” He held my gaze in a long, silent glare.
It was the first time I’d ever seen that look on his face. “You followed me, and I let it slide. But this? This is too far.” Followed him? Since he vanished, I hadn’t even tried to find him. Where did ‘following’ come into it? When I didn’t respond, he finally released my wrist and sighed. “There’s nothing between us. Don’t take it out on her. I’ll let this go, and you should drop it too.” With that, he flagged down a taxi and yanked the door open. I played my part and climbed in. As the car began to move, I rolled down the window. “We’re done, Liam. You and me.”