She Made Me Hide Our Love, Then Wore His Ring

By the time the ambulance arrived, I had lost so much blood that I was shaking all over.

The police helped the paramedics lift me onto a stretcher.

"Captain Bennett, the other car's empty. No blood in it either."

That made Captain Bennett curious.

The ambulance had only just arrived, so the other driver could not have been taken away in one.

And yet there was nobody at the scene.

The crowd on the sidewalk buzzed with theories.

"I saw it. Some woman showed up and took the guy from the other car away."

"Probably his girlfriend."

A little kid in the crowd suddenly pointed at me and shouted, "No, that's wrong. I heard it, I really did. That guy over there is the one who's her boyfriend."

Captain Bennett turned and looked at me, puzzled.

I thought of Vanessa's back as she walked away for good, and I closed my eyes.

A shiver went through me before I could stop it.

The blood loss had left me cold all over.

But my heart felt colder still.

"No other injured parties. Get him to the hospital, now."

The police didn't ask me anything else. They let the paramedics take me in.

Still, those few minutes of being stared at were enough to make me want to disappear.

I woke up two hours later.

A thick IV catheter was taped into my left arm, fluid running into me in a steady drip.

My left leg was in a cast, aching dully.

My phone screen lit up.

The caller ID said: Wifey.

Right then the word looked like a joke.

I laughed at myself.

Four years together, and part of me still expected her to ask how badly I was hurt.

I hesitated, then pressed answer.

Vanessa's voice came through, impatient. "Ethan, the party's about to start. Everyone's here. Why aren't you?"

I could barely believe what I was hearing. Then I shot back with the truth, "I was in a car crash. You saw it with your own eyes.

"You took Marcus and left me lying there."

There was a beat of silence on the other end.

Then Marcus's voice came through. "It's not even that bad. Quit putting on a show.

"Nothing I hate more than a guy who milks it."

I was about ready to explode.

There were other patients in the room, so I kept my voice down. "My leg is broken. Marcus broke it. It's in a cast right now.

"So tell me, Vanessa. You want me to get up and come to the graduation party. If I say no, am I the one milking it?"

Vanessa didn't answer that. "Marcus insisted on coming, and he's hurt too. But fine, don't come.

"It was an accident. Don't take it out on Marcus."

Beep, beep, beep...

Not one word of concern, not even for show. She just hung up.

Don't take it out on Marcus...

It felt like a wad of wet cotton had lodged in my throat.

I was the one who got hurt.

She never asked how I was.

All she cared about was whether I was blaming the guy she grew up with.

There were three beds in the room, and I was the only one lying there staring at an IV bag.

The other patients had flowers and fruit and people who loved them.

But my own girlfriend had abandoned me when I needed her most to rescue the guy she grew up with. Then she'd come after me and even blamed me for missing the graduation party.

I opened my contacts and changed the pinned name from Wifey to Vanessa Moore.

Just as I was settling down to rest and recover, a video in the class group chat slapped me across the face all over again.