Chapter 3

“No.”

“Then let me see your phone.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because no.”

I moved forward, walked around the coffee table, and stopped in front of her.

She backed up to the entryway, her back hitting the shoe cabinet.

“Ethan.”

I reached for her pocket.

She grabbed my wrist. Her grip was so hard it hurt, and I hissed in pain.

“Let go.”

“Don’t do this.”

“Mia, let go of me.”

Her fingers clamped around my wrist, her knuckles turning white.

She was afraid I’d see what was in the phone.

The more she acted like this, the more I wanted to see it.

“Ethan!” she shouted, shoving me hard.

I staggered back two steps, my back slamming into the wall, and I sucked in a sharp breath from the pain.

She stood in the entryway, her chest rising and falling, the phone clenched tightly in her hand.

We just stared at each other like that, neither of us saying a word.

After a long time, she looked away.

“I’m leaving first.”

Her voice had gone low.

“Let’s both calm down.”

She opened the door and walked out.

The door slammed shut with a bang, and I leaned against the wall before slowly sliding down to the floor.

I sat there for a long time, so long that the sky outside turned completely dark.

I got up and went to find my phone.

I scrolled to Mom in my contacts and called her.

She picked up quickly.

“Ryan? Why are you calling at this hour?”

When I heard my mom’s voice, my eyes suddenly burned.

“Mom,” I said, my throat tightening, “the wedding’s canceled.”

“What?”

“Mia canceled it at the hotel and didn’t tell me. I only found out today.”

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end, then my mom’s voice shot up.

“What does she mean? What right does she have to cancel it? Did you two fight?”

“No.”

“Then why?”

“She said it was a waste of money.”

I leaned back on the sofa and looked at the ceiling.

“She said she already told her parents and told me to let you know too.”

“Bullshit!”

My mom cursed.

“A waste of money? The wedding money is coming from our family too, and we didn’t say a word. How dare she say that?”

I didn’t say anything.

“Ryan, tell Mom the truth. Did something happen?”

“I don’t know.”

“I wanted to see her phone, and she wouldn’t let me.”

“You wait. We’re coming over right now!”

“Mom, no need.”

“No need? You stay home and don’t go anywhere! We’re only a few miles from you. Wait there, we’ll be right over.”

The call ended.

I held my phone and listened to the sounds outside the window.

I threw the phone onto the sofa, stood up, and walked into the bedroom.

On the nightstand was still our photo, taken in San Diego last year.

I had my arm around her shoulders, and she leaned against my chest. Both of us were smiling so hard our eyes had narrowed.

Behind the photo, she had written: With Ethan, forever.

Forever.

How far is forever?

I opened the closet and took out her clothes, throwing them one by one onto the bed.

Her T-shirts, her blouses, her coat.

By the end, one side of the closet was empty, and the clothes on the bed had piled up like a little mountain.

I sat down beside that pile and stared blankly for a while.

Then I stood up and went to the study.

There was a tablet in the study. It was hers, and she usually left it at home for use here.

I knew the password. It was the same as our phones: the date we got together.

I opened the tablet.

The screen showed the interface I knew well, and her SnapChat was logged in.