Chapter 4

But when I got home, I found all of my things in ruins.

My clothes had been cut to shreds.

My makeup and skincare, smashed.

The books I loved, torn apart.

The collectible figures I'd treasured for years, every one of them broken.

...

The tears fell the second I saw it.

I turned on Dean.

"What happened here?"

He met my eyes, his voice a little uneasy.

"Because you cut up the scarf Brittany knitted for me. She's been crying about it, and she kept insisting she wanted to quit, so I told her she could break some of your things too, to get it out of her system. Just to make it fair."

I spun around, grabbed the glass off the table, and hurled it to the floor, my voice raw.

"Dean, I'll say it one more time. I didn't cut up that scarf."

"We're done."

I turned and headed for the door.

He grabbed my wrist hard, staring at me like he couldn't believe it.

"You're breaking up with me over something this small?"

"Everything of yours that got wrecked, I'll buy it all back exactly the same. I'll make it up to you."

I didn't want that.

Broken was broken.

Buy new ones and they still wouldn't be the originals.

I looked at him, cold.

"Dean, I never want to see you again for the rest of my life."

His face went hard, and he watched me in silence.

He looked like he wanted to say something.

But the next second, the doorbell rang.

Brittany stood outside, her tone playful.

"Mr. Gilbert, I came to bring back your pajamas, and I was hoping I could take you out to dinner. Would that be okay?"

He agreed almost before she'd finished, like he couldn't wait.

"Of course."

"Whatever you want to eat, I'm in."

With that, he grabbed his car keys and was already heading out.

Before he left, he turned to me.

"Crystal, wait at home for me. I keep my promises, I'll do everything I said. But stop throwing around this breakup thing whenever you feel like it."

"You know I hate being threatened. That trick doesn't work on me."

The door shut, and the apartment went quiet again.

I took one last look at my things, then left for the hospital.

By the time Dean came home, the apartment was pitch dark.

The floor was still a wreck.

He walked through every room and found no sign of Crystal anywhere.

He yanked his tie loose, irritated, then called me.

Only the call wouldn't go through.

He tried sending a message.

"Where did you go?"

The next second, a bright red exclamation mark popped up.

"This user has friend verification enabled. You are not yet on her contact list."