The Ring

After breakfast, Seth drops me home to get ready for Concord. He continues on with Jackson and Selena, promising to pick me up in a couple of hours. Without ceremony, I let them go, desperate for some alone time after the morning I've had. Lucky for me, the mechanic I called yesterday arrives at the same time and immediately gets to work fixing my car. While he does that, I climb the stairs and enter my apartment. In the silence, Blade's little red box burns a hole in the leg of my jeans. I pluck it from my pocket and sit on the edge of the couch. I hold it in my palm, cautious as if it's going to pop open, like a jack in a box. Or explode, like a grenade.

It creaks as I open it.

I stare at the ostentatious white and red diamonds nestled on top of a multi-layer white gold band, then slam the box shut and toss it onto the couch beside me. Rage laces around my midsection and squeezes, like a corset. How dare he spend money on this. How dare he give it to me. I stand up and storm to the b