Leaving Yesterday Behind

Zachary Corington didn't respond to my words but instead turned his gaze to my roommate, Kelly Sandler.

Placing a hand on her shoulder, he uttered casually, "Melissa Sole, your temper is getting more and more ridiculous. All I did was call out your name! Why didn't you think of breaking up with me when I bought you presents all those times before, huh?"

He paused briefly, gaze drifting toward me before returning to Kelly. "Look at how she's behaving. You're way more understanding than she is. How about you be my girlfriend instead?"

My heart trembled in my chest.

However, not only did Kelly not shove his hand away, but she even leaned closer to him. With a smile, she tried to soothe things over.

"Mel is just throwing a tantrum, Zach, so don't be mad."

Zachary returned her smile and purposely raised his volume. "What's there to be mad about? Some people might not appreciate me, but there are plenty more who are willing."

Then, he turned to Kelly, fingers massaging her shoulder as he urged, "Be my girlfriend, and I'll buy you that new bag that will be released next week. What say you?"

Immediately, Kelly's eyes lit up, but before she could say a word, Zachary suddenly jerked his chin at me.

"Well? If you relent now, I can still treat this as though nothing had happened. Otherwise…"

He deliberately trailed off, sliding his hand down Kelly's arm to grab her wrist.

I sniffled, but as I stared at that hand that had held mine countless times before, I suddenly found that I had no tears to cry. My voice was a lot calmer and steadier than I had expected when I said, "No need. We're no longer an item, so I wish you two all the best."

With that, I turned to leave.

The smile on Zachary's face froze momentarily, but then he let out a scoff.

"What's with the tough and stubborn act? You'll definitely come crawling back to me within three days. Anyway, I guess I'll just have to enjoy myself with my new babe for today."

He deliberately drawled his words, his gaze remaining locked on me all the while.

He was waiting for me to turn back.

I continued putting one foot in front of the other, leaving behind Kelly's tittering and his rumbling replies to her.

It wasn't until I had returned to my shared room and plonked myself down on my chair that I failed to continue holding back my tears.

Thankfully, it was the weekend, so my other roommates weren't around.

I cried for a good long while before stopping, after which I gathered everything Zachary had ever gifted me—the necklaces, toy plushies, and other small items—and placed them by the door. I would return them a few days later.

By the time I finished packing them all up, it was already night.

When I checked my phone, I saw that he had posted a photo on his social media.

In it, Kelly was sitting in the passenger seat of his car, cradling a milkshake with a wide smile. He had captioned it with, "A new beginning."

There, on the dashboard in front of the passenger seat, was the same acrylic placard Zachary had put there previously in an attempt to please me. It read, "Reserved for Melissa Sole only."

I stared at the photo for a couple of seconds, feeling a faint pressure building in my heart. I called my best friend, Sandra Yangley, then shut off my phone and headed out.

Sandra was already waiting for me at the barbecue restaurant. When she saw how swollen my eyes were, she didn't ask any questions, merely piled meat onto my plate nonstop.

Halfway through the meal, I had finally calmed down enough that she dared to ask in a soft tone, "So, why did you break up with him? Is it really because he sought you out at school?"

My head was bowed as I stirred the bowl of stew in front of me, but at her question, I shook my head slightly.

"No."