4: 4
When Austin saw me, he looked a little caught off guard.
I looked at the two of them and said nothing.
In the end, it was Vivian who broke the quiet.
"Sis, what are you doing here?" She wasn't the least bit puzzled by my presence, but she asked anyway, all wide-eyed innocence.
"Oh, right, I forgot to mention it to you. I came back home to rest for a while. Austin's a friend of mine. We're just catching up this trip."
"You two are...? I forgot you were dating. He never told me either. I only heard it from another friend." Vivian smiled again.
The way she told it, I was the girlfriend he'd kept out of sight for three years, and she was the "friend" he'd rushed off to see the moment she was back in the country.
When Vivian said they were just friends, Austin's arm was draped loosely around her, and he gave her waist a pinch, drawing a little startled squeal out of her.
I ignored whatever was passing between them.
Austin noticed the suitcase in my hand and frowned. "What's this about?"
"Nothing. Just grabbing a few of my everyday clothes. I'm heading back now."
"All right. Travel safe." His tone was flat.
He didn't ask me to stay. He didn't offer to see me off. And he didn't explain a single thing about what was going on between them.
Back at school, there wasn't one message from him on my phone.
Scrolling before bed, I opened Vivian's secret account again out of habit.
She'd posted something new.
"Today he said in front of my sister that we're just friends, and he was so unhappy about it. This man is such a handful."
Vivian had attached a photo. There were several clear kiss marks on her neck and collarbone.
Austin had commented: "You really don't know why I'm unhappy? You of all people know exactly how I feel about you."
Nausea rolled through me. Three years of us, and to the two of them it had turned into nothing more than a prop for their flirting.
At least I didn't care anymore. Letting him go was simpler than I'd imagined.
I got in touch with my advisor at Ashford University and joined the lab early.
Early the next morning, I boarded the plane with my suitcase. Before takeoff, I sent Austin one message.
"Let's break up."
