Chapter 2

Backstage after the show, Diana Lawson hesitated before speaking.

"Ivy, didn't you say you were staying in Ridgehaven for Dexter?"

Diana had been my roommate back in college and was there for every stage of my relationship with Dexter.

"Did that little punk do something to you? Just say the word, and I'll march right over to his lab."

I managed a smile. "It's nothing that dramatic. I just got tired of it. We split on good terms."

I never thought I'd be the kind of person to say I got tired of someone. We spent all four years of college so wrapped up in each other that neither of us could stand to let go.

He won first place at the school track meet and kissed me in front of everyone. For my final recital, I wove his name into the melody I performed. Both schools' forums shipped us like crazy.

But barely a year after graduation, everything changed. I joined an orchestra and was either on the road or about to be.

Dexter and Brianna both got into the graduate program and stayed on at the university research institute. We hardly saw each other, and the few days a month we could actually sit down for a meal together, he'd bring Brianna along.

Whenever I asked why, it was always the same thing. "She's always saying she misses you. I can't just hog you all to myself."

So every date that was supposed to be just the two of us somehow turned into three. I reminded him over and over not to talk about biology, but they'd inevitably drift into bacterial reproduction or whatever conference was coming up.

I'd end up staring at my phone, quietly edging out of the conversation without even realizing it. After enough of that, I stopped trying to edge back in.

"Alright, if you've made up your mind," Diana said. "But once you go to Clearwater, it'll be hard to come back. You're really okay with leaving everything behind?"

Of course, it was hard. I'd spent five years in this city, and everywhere I looked, I saw traces of Dexter and me.

But I couldn't spend my whole life living inside those traces.

I picked up my violin and took a deep breath. I lifted my chin and walked out onto the stage. It was time I started walking toward something brighter.

The song was one I'd written myself, lyrics and melody, with the violin carrying straight through from beginning to end. But during the chorus, I froze for a split second.

The camera had landed on a man and a woman in the crowd. Every other couple the camera had panned to leaned in for a kiss on instinct, but they didn't.

After the song, the singer asked them, "Am I not romantic enough? How come you two didn't kiss?"

Dexter answered easily. "We're not a couple, just close colleagues. We're actually here with these two as well.

"So don't get the wrong idea. I do have a girlfriend. She just couldn't make it tonight because of work."

One of his coworkers muttered under his breath. "Your girlfriend throws a fit every other day. Honestly, you'd be better off just getting with Brianna."

"Seriously, a violin player? What do you two even have in common?"

The venue was loud, and the voices were low, but I still caught every word. Dexter didn't correct them. He just handed the microphone back to the staff with a polite smile.

Backstage, Diana was gripping her cup so hard it was about to crack.

"What is Dexter doing here? He brought Brianna to a concert?

"And as a group of four? Those other two are obviously a married couple."

I laughed bitterly. My chest felt like something was reaching in and squeezing.

He came to my show after all. He just brought Brianna. He just didn't recognize me on stage. He was just here to see the headliner with her.

I couldn't help myself. I texted him.

"Was the concert good?

"Too bad you two didn't kiss just now. That would've been something."