He Left Me on the Mountain for Her

I tried to cover myself, but Sean stopped me.

"Eve, Serena's thesis is at a critical stage. If you cover up, all the work she's done so far will go to waste."

I was stunned.

"So that means she gets to watch me naked and use me as her lab rat?"

Sean's expression darkened.

"Don't make it sound so awful. Serena's advisor is really strict, and she's scared she won't graduate on time. That's the only reason she's doing this.

"Besides, haven't you ever heard of making sacrifices in the name of science?"

His twisted logic left me speechless. It took me a while to find my voice.

"I have rights. If she wants to experiment on me, shouldn't she at least get my consent?

"And before this vacation, you promised me this trip would be just the two of us, that you'd never let anyone else butt in!"

I pointed at Serena, who was doing her best to look innocent, and asked hoarsely, "So what is she doing here?"

Sean knew he was in the wrong and avoided my accusing gaze.

"This came up suddenly. It's my fault. I'll make it up to you later."

There it was again.

All at once, I felt powerless. I'd lost count of how many promises Sean had broken to me because of Serena.

Before Serena barged into our lives, Sean always put me first. He never brushed me off.

But ever since she showed up, everything had changed.

Whenever we went to the mall, they'd leave me behind and take a cab home if I stopped for so much as a moment to tie my shoe.

We could wait in line forever at a sushi place, only to give up our spot the moment Serena said she wanted Sichuan food.

Sean did it even though I couldn't eat spicy food at all. A severe reaction could make my throat swell enough to send me to the hospital.

I got jealous. I complained.

Sean would only say Serena had no friends here and it was sad for her to be alone, so he always brought her along.

When he saw I was still upset, he ruffled my hair and smiled fondly.

"Okay, okay. Our vacation's coming up, right? I already bought the plane tickets. Just the two of us.

"No one's going to bother us. I promise."

I believed him.

But once again, Sean had let me down.

I bit my lip.

I watched him carefully put a Band-Aid on Serena's scraped shin and tell her not to get it wet.

All I could think about was last week, when I cut my finger while cooking and blood dripped all over the floor.

I panicked and ran to find Sean.

He barely glanced at me. He told me the first aid kit was upstairs, as if it were no big deal, then went back to gaming with Serena.

My heart ached, but a crack of thunder cut the memory short.

I'd been scared of thunder since I was little. On stormy nights, I used to hide in the closet and shake. After I met Sean, I no longer had to face those nights alone.

Sean had told me that as long as he was there, I had nothing to fear.

He'd always be there with open arms.

"...A textbook case of emotional dependency.

"Acting weak, playing the victim, pretending to be hurt, all to crowd your partner and leave them no personal space."

Serena twirled her pen and looked at me. The thunder had drained all the color from my face.

"Clinging to your partner like this will only wear down the relationship. Even the closest couples need to give each other space.

"You can handle something this minor on your own. Why do you always have to cling to Sean?"

I kept my head down and gripped Sean's arm without saying a word.

Serena sighed and turned to Sean with a sympathetic look.

"Sean, how many times over the years has she used this to make you give in?"