Page 144 of Never Not Friends

The refrigerator is full of Juliet’s favorite things: yogurt, fruit that was never going to last, leftover Chinese.

I close it, deciding to walk down the hall to the bedroom.

It’s worse back here.

One packed suitcase waiting for Hawaii with an empty space beside it. Juliet’s dad already came to retrieve hers. Apparently, Juliet’s planning on going on our honeymoon alone.

Another thing that cuts deep.

I look at the bed.

At the picture of the two of us in the frame on my nightstand.

And that’s the thing that finally does it. I sink to the floor, knees to my chest, head in my hands. I don’t know how long I stay like that. Long enough that my shoulders stop shaking and my breathing finally evens out.

Juliet was supposed to be here tonight.

We were supposed to fly to Maui together tomorrow morning.

She’s been a constant in my life for the last twelve years. Sometimes as my girlfriend. Sometimes not. But she’s always been there. Now I don’t know when I’ll even talk to her again.

I’ve loved her.

And now I’ve hurt her.

The pain of ending something good is raw and real, but underneath it, there’s also a strange sense of rightness I can’t ignore. Today, I didn’t stay because I thought I was supposed to.

I left.

For both of us.

And as awful as this feels, I know I would make the same choice again.

I lean back and stare at the ceiling.

My phone buzzes inside my suit jacket.

I pull it out.

Three missed calls.

None from Juliet.

None from Emma.

I open up the text thread between me and Emma. And I stare at the last text I sent her a week ago.

Vinny:

Was all that true about your mom making you break up with me?

Look how much happened in a week.

That text cracked open something I hadn’t been willing to look at for years.

I stare at Emma’s name in my messages.

My thumb hovers over the keypad.