His condescending tone, like some emperor granting me a favor, solidified my disgust. I’d been blind to ever like him.
“Ethan, I’d rather live in a cardboard box than be with you. I want nothing to do with you. You disgust me.”
He went crazy, waiting outside my building every day, claiming he was done with Tiffany, that I was the only one. He wouldn’t give up
until I took him back. He was delusional.
I moved.
My new neighbor was Jason, my old high
school classmate. Back then, I was on a
scholarship, working hard to fit in, but still
ostracized. Jason always defended me. His family had money, so the bullies backed off.
He’d moved abroad for college. We hadn’t
stayed in touch.
He helped me move in, offering to clean.
“Don’t worry, it’s no trouble. We’re
classmates,” he insisted. He’d become
independent living abroad, he explained.
Watching him, I thought of Ethan, who never
lifted a finger.
Over dinner, I asked, “Why are you renting here?” He said it was close to his work, then asked, “You and your boyfriend broke up?”
“Yeah,” I said, accepting the inevitable.
“Good riddance. A girl like you deserves better.” He passed me a dish.
I thought moving would deter Ethan. It didn’t. He got me fired. He told my company if they didn’t fire me, they could forget about doing business with Lawson Corp. They found an excuse that same day. He wanted to break me, force me to crawl back. Despicable.
I wasn’t giving up. I applied everywhere, but no one would hire me. Ethan’s doing, no doubt. He showed up, smug. “Just apologize, come back to me, and I’ll get you a new job.”
I wanted to slap him, but I wouldn’t dirty my hands. “Ethan, I’ll never go back to you.
You’re not even human.”
