로그인(Ivy)I replied to Dom's message with one word.Ivy: No.He replied in four seconds.Dom: I'm not giving up.I blocked him. Then I unblocked him, because Juno said it's better to know what the enemy is doing, and then I muted him, because I'm a woman of mixed methods.By ten o'clock, the flowers started.First came a bouquet of red roses at my morning lecture. The delivery guy walked into a hall of two hundred students and yelled, "Delivery for Ivy Sinclair!" like he was announcing a royal birth. Everyone turned. My professor paused mid sentence.The card read: I was wrong. Give me a chance. — DI put the roses in the recycling bin.At lunch, a second bouquet. Lilies this time. White, expensive, smelling like a funeral for someone rich. The card: I miss you.I gave them to the janitor.At two p.m., a third bouquet arrived at the gala planning office. Peonies. Pink. Forty of them. I stared at the card for a very long time.Every day I think about how I treated you. — D"This is unhinge
(Ivy)I didn't ask him why.That's the thing I'm proudest of from that week. I got a mysterious text from an anonymous number telling me the man I loved had given up a professional career for me, and I put the phone face down and went to class.Okay, not proudest. I did stare at it for nine hours."You're doing the face," Juno said on Tuesday morning."I don't have a face.""Ivy.""I'm fine.""You've been staring at a bowl of cereal for twenty minutes. It's gone soggy. It looks like a crime.""I'm thinking.""About?""Whether it's possible to love someone and still need to walk away from them."Juno put down her coffee."Ah," she said. "That's the real question.""I know.""Did he hurt you?""Yes.""On purpose?""No.""Does he know he hurt you?""Yes.""Is he trying to fix it?""Yes.""Then why are you eating soggy cereal?""Because I'm scared.""Of what?""That if I forgive him, I'll end up like before. That I'll keep saying okay until there's nothing left of me."Juno slid onto the
(East)She read it three times.I know because I counted. I was standing on a wooden dock with my shirt half undone and my heart in my mouth, watching the most important person in my life read the sentence I'd typed at two in the morning, four months before I had the guts to say it to her face.I've loved her since the first time she cheered for the other team."Ivy," I said."Give me a second.""Okay.""Don't talk.""Okay."The lake lapped the pilings. A loon called somewhere across the water. The candles had burned down to little puddles of wax.She handed the phone back, slowly. Her fingers were cold."The other team," she said."Yeah.""Which game?""Freshman year. The Hawks versus Ridgeview. Dom was on the ice. I was on the bench with a broken wrist.""I remember that game.""You were in the stands in his jersey. And Ridgeview scored. And everybody groaned." I swallowed. "And you stood up and cheered. For the other team's goalie, because he'd made a ridiculous save two minutes ea
(Ivy)I told myself I was going to listen.That was the whole plan. Show up, sit down, hear the full truth with a straight face, and make a calm, adult decision.Then Juno looked at my outfit and said, "Absolutely not.""What's wrong with it?""You look like you're going to a funeral.""It's a serious date.""It's a lake. With a boy who's in love with you." She yanked open my closet. "Wear the green dress.""It's too much.""It's exactly enough." She pulled it out. Emerald, soft, with thin straps and a skirt that moved when I walked. "If you're going to hear a hard truth, you might as well look devastating.""That's a terrible reason.""It's the best reason."I wore the green dress.---East was waiting by his truck at seven sharp.He wore a navy button down with the sleeves rolled and dark pants, and his hair was combed back, still a little damp. He held something in one hand, small and wrapped in tissue paper.He saw me and stopped breathing. I watched it happen. His lips parted. Hi
(Ivy)"Not right away," I repeated.Sloane's fingers twisted in the hem of her sweater. "It was maybe two seconds.""Two seconds.""Maybe three. I don't know. I was drunk.""Say it plainly."She swallowed. "I kissed him. And for a second, he kissed me back. Then he stopped. He pulled away and said, 'No. I can't. I'm sorry.'""I'm sorry?""Yes.""To you?""I think to himself." She finally looked up. Her mascara had smudged. "Ivy. I'm not saying this to hurt you. I'm saying it because I think he's been lying to you about the details. And I'd want to know."I should have laughed. Called her a snake. Walked out.Instead, my stomach folded in on itself like paper."Why would he lie?""Because he's ashamed.""Of what?""That he almost did." Sloane's voice dropped. "And of what I said afterward.""What did you say?""That he'd been thinking about you the whole time. That he should be nicer to me, since I was the only one who knew." Her cheeks reddened. "It was cruel.""You think?""It's why
(Ivy)The file opened to a black screen.Then a chat window slid into view, white bubbles on grey, someone's phone screenshot blown up to fill the whole projector.I glanced at the technician. He was eating a granola bar and watching the ballroom ceiling like it was a very interesting sky."Can you give me a minute?" I asked."Sure. I'll get more tape." He wandered off. He was gone before I finished the sentence.I turned back to the screen.The first message was from Sloane. The date in the corner said July 9.Sloane: Hey. We need to talk. I saw you at the bar. You saw us.The second was from East. Sent one minute later.East: I don't know what you mean.Sloane: Don't do that. I know you saw.East: Whatever you and Dom do isn't my business.Sloane: It's Ivy's.My heart stopped.The next message was East's. It took him six minutes to answer. I know because the timestamps were right there.East: I know.I put a hand on the table to steady myself.The conversation kept going. More messa







