I came back to campus early to pick up shifts at the tea shop.
That's when I heard it—strange, breathy laughter drifting out from the bathroom.
"Stop it, you're so bad."
A man's voice, rough and low, half-laughing between heavy breaths.
"Oh, you haven't seen bad yet. Want me to open this door and show you?"
I shook my head, face burning. College kids. I was about to walk away when the woman's voice floated out again, teasing and smug.
"I heard your little girlfriend works here. Aren't you worried about getting caught?"
The man sounded almost proud. "You know she does whatever I tell her. I'll just text her to come back a day late. Wouldn't want her ruining the mood."
"Drew, you're such a scumbag. I love it."
I froze. Drew?
That was my boyfriend's name.
The same boyfriend who'd begged me just last night to marry him after graduation.
A second later, my phone buzzed.
"Babe, I picked up some extra shifts. Come back a day later and I'll pick you up. Miss you."
——
I don't remember walking back to the counter.
Everything went numb. There was a knife lodged somewhere behind my ribs, and every breath twisted it deeper. Three years. Three years of us, crumbling to dust in the space of a bathroom laugh.
I stood there for what felt like forever.
Then footsteps approached.
Our eyes met. Drew Harding's smile died on his face, and he dropped the arm he'd had looped around the girl beside him.
She noticed the shift immediately. Her gaze snapped to me, sharp and hostile.
"What are you staring at? Never seen a good-looking man before?"
Karen Pruitt looked me up and down, a slow, satisfied once-over.
"A waitress like you couldn't land a guy like Drew in a million years."
She lifted her wrist and shoved it in my face, practically glowing.
"See this? My man bought me this gold bracelet. Our names are engraved right here."
She traced the chain with one manicured finger.
"It means we'll never be apart."
Something cracked inside my chest.
That bracelet. I knew that bracelet.
Every time we walked past the jewelry store, Drew would pull me over to look at it. He'd press his forehead to mine and whisper, "I swear, babe. I'm picking up extra shifts. You'll be wearing this before we graduate."
Three years together.
Drew had never bought me a single gift. Not one. On my birthday, the most he'd ever done was cook me a bowl of noodles.
He always said the same thing: "Ina Fox, a girl shouldn't be so materialistic."
"We're young. A little hardship builds character. We need to save every penny for the wedding."
So I scrimped. I skipped meals. I went without medicine when I was sick because I couldn't justify the cost.
And the bracelet dangling from Karen's wrist was worth more than two years of my paychecks.
The color must have drained from my face, because panic flickered behind Drew's eyes.
"Ina—"
He opened his mouth, but Karen's laugh cut him off.
"Unlike some people, born to slave away like a pack mule."
She nestled into Drew's side, pouting prettily.
"I have my man to take care of me."
Drew glanced at me. Something complicated passed through his expression. Then he wrapped his arm around Karen and murmured, soft and indulgent:
"As long as I'm around, you won't suffer."
Acid burned up my throat.
So I'm the one who deserves to suffer?
I forced myself steady. Forced a smile onto my face.
"Can I take your order?"
Drew stepped forward before Karen could speak, pointing at the promotional board outside.
"Everything on the new menu. One of each."
I stared at him.
The seasonal lineup had over twenty items.
Last semester, I'd wanted a five-dollar cupcake. Just one. Drew had shaken his head and said, "Babe, I don't like girls who spend money. We need to save for the wedding, remember?"
And now—
"Hurry up and go make them! We have a movie to catch!" Karen snapped.
I couldn't speak. I just stood there, gripping a cup of iced tea so cold it burned my fingers.
Drew paused for a beat, then his voice turned flat and hard.
"Is this how your shop treats its customers?"
"Do you want me to file a complaint?"
