Austin's words echoed in my mind as I walked back to my dorm that night. *Think about it, Val.* As if I were the problem. As if I were the one who needed to change.
But his dismissive tone brought back a memory I'd tried so hard to bury. Three months ago. My birthday.
I'd been so excited that morning, practically bouncing on my toes as I waited for Austin outside the campus coffee shop. We'd planned everything—dinner at that little Italian place I loved, then maybe a movie. Just the two of us, celebrating another year of my life and three years of us.
When he finally showed up, twenty minutes late, his expression was already apologetic in that practiced way I'd grown to recognize.
"Hey, babe," he'd said, not quite meeting my eyes. "So there's been a change of plans."
My stomach had dropped. "What kind of change?"
"Thea's having a rough day. Her parents are getting divorced, and she really needs some cheering up." He'd reached for my hand, his thumb tracing circles on my palm. "You understand, right? We can celebrate tomorrow instead."
I'd wanted to scream. It was my birthday. My one day. But the way he looked at me, like I'd be the worst person in the world for saying no, made the words die in my throat.
"Of course," I'd whispered. "Tomorrow's fine."
He'd kissed my forehead and disappeared, leaving me standing alone with a reservation for two and a heart full of disappointment.
I'd spent that evening in my dorm room, eating leftover pizza and trying not to cry while Jessica, my roommate, muttered increasingly creative curses about Austin under her breath. My ankle throbbed from where I'd twisted it falling down the library steps that morning, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the ache in my chest.
Then, around ten PM, my phone had buzzed with a news alert. Fire at Melody's Karaoke Bar. Multiple injuries. Evacuation in progress.
My blood had turned to ice. That was where Austin had taken Thea. Where my boyfriend was spending my birthday.
I'd grabbed my keys and run.
The scene outside Melody's was chaos. Fire trucks lined the street, their red lights painting everything in hellish hues. Smoke billowed from the building's windows while paramedics tended to people on stretchers. The acrid smell burned my nose and throat as I pushed through the crowd of onlookers and evacuees.
"Austin!" I'd called out, my voice hoarse. "Austin!"
Nobody turned. Nobody answered.
Panic clawed at my chest as I searched face after face in the crowd. Where was he? Was he hurt? Was he—
"Miss, you need to stay back," a firefighter had said, catching my arm as I tried to get closer to the building.
"My boyfriend's in there," I'd gasped. "Austin Rose. Is there a list of who got out?"
"We're still doing headcounts," he'd replied. "But most everyone's been evacuated. Check the parking lot—that's where we're gathering the uninjured."
I'd run toward the back of the building, my injured ankle screaming with each step. The parking lot was crowded with people wrapped in blankets, some crying, others just staring at the burning building in shock. I'd pushed through them all, calling Austin's name until my voice cracked.
That's when I'd seen them.
Austin sat on the hood of someone's car, his arms wrapped around Thea as she sobbed into his chest. Her face was streaked with tears and soot, her tomboyish confidence completely shattered. And Austin—Austin was stroking her hair with infinite tenderness, whispering something in her ear that made her cling to him tighter.
I'd stood there for a full minute, watching the man I loved comfort another woman while I bled from scrapes I'd gotten crawling through the crowd to find him. My palms were raw from where I'd fallen on the asphalt in my desperation, but he didn't even notice me approaching.
"Austin," I'd finally called out.
He'd looked up, and for a split second, relief had flashed across his face. But then his attention had immediately returned to Thea.
"Thank God you're okay," I'd said, my voice shaking. "I was so scared when I heard about the fire—"
"Shh," he'd interrupted, but not to me. To Thea. "It's okay. You're safe now."
I'd stared at my bleeding palms, then at him, then at the woman in his arms who was getting all the comfort I desperately needed.
"Austin," I'd tried again.
"Val, can you give us some space?" he'd said without looking at me. "Thea's really shaken up. I need to get her calmed down."
Give them space. On my birthday. While I stood there injured and terrified, having rushed through smoke and chaos to make sure he was alive.
I'd walked away that night with blood on my hands and ice in my heart, finally understanding exactly where I ranked in Austin Rose's priorities.
Now, three months later, sitting in my dorm room after his ultimatum, I realized nothing had changed. I was still the understanding girlfriend. Still the one expected to step aside. Still the one bleeding while he comforted someone else.
But maybe, just maybe, I was finally ready to stop.
