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Home / My Time to Leave When Love Runs Out / Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

All Chapters of My Time to Leave When Love Runs Out: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

7 Chapters

Chapter 1

I think I really did love Nicole McKenna.Before my trip, I'd told myself that if she didn't see me off at the airport, I'd break up with her the moment I got back.But when she actually begged off, citing work, I found myself giving her one more chance anyway. If she didn't come pick me up when I landed, that would be it. She agreed, promising she'd be there the day I got back.That made me happy enough that I spent the whole trip thinking I'd never bring up breaking up again. Nicole and I would just keep going, the two of us, for good. I noticed the faint unease sitting in the back of my mind, and I chose to ignore it.Then, the first night I was away, I saw the post from one of Nicole's friends: photos from a karaoke bar, everyone drinking and singing, with Freddy right in the middle of it all like the guest of honor. Nicole had her hand out, shielding him from a round of drinks, and Freddy was gazing back at her, soft and doting.If I was honest, none of Nicole's friends eve

Chapter 2

If this had happened before, I'd have already called Nicole, screaming questions down the line.Now, I just tapped the "like" button happily and moved on.By the time I reached the complex, the downpour had eased into a light drizzle. The rideshare couldn't drive in, and I couldn't be bothered with an umbrella, so I hauled my suitcase and jogged the rest of the way through the rain.I ran into Nicole in the elevator, right as she was heading down.She frowned. "Why so late? Are you sulking because I couldn't pick you up?""It's hard to get a car in the rain," I said evenly. "I waited an hour just for someone to accept the request."Her expression stiffened.A father and son stepped into the elevator with us. As it climbed, the father said to his son, "So when are you finally going to find yourself a girlfriend? You come home late all the time and nobody's there to pick you up. And you seriously think you can handle living by yourself?"The young man made a face. "I can handle s

Chapter 3

Time is a strange thing. It could take someone like Nicole McKenna, who once had eyes for no one but me, and slowly nudge me right out of her mind.And it turned out I could change too. I used to get anxious and jealous over the smallest thing; now I could scroll past her photos of some cheerful getaway with another man without feeling a thing.It was for the best, really. With her gone more, I could get on with moving out that much easier.We'd lived in that apartment together for a few years, and I had more belongings than I realized, so packing took some doing. My own place needed a good cleaning before I could move back in, too.The day after I moved back home, I got a message from Nicole.Nicole: [Dinner at Sterling House tonight. I'll pick you up after work.]I typed back: [Let's break up. I won't be coming.] Then, I turned off my screen.Except when I got off work, there she was, waiting by the curb downstairs.Nicole came over and took my bag from me. "I had a get-tog

Chapter 4

Nicole had always claimed she loved to paint, and that her hands, which had never made it past amateur-hour sketching, were too precious to waste on peeling shells and cracking crab.Turns out that had nothing to do with her hands and everything to do with who was asking. It wasn't that she couldn't do it. It was that I wasn't worth the trouble.Satisfaction gleamed in Freddy's eyes, and he couldn't resist pushing further. "But the crab here is so good, Nicole. Are you sure you don't want..."I cut him off. "It's fine. I had this with a client on my trip and overdid it. I probably won't want to touch crab again for a while."Nicole smiled. "Didn't you always say you'd rather skip it than peel it? Unless..." Her expression shifted, just slightly. "Someone peeled it for you?"I nodded. "The client was insistent. Hard to say no."Her hands went still. "Was it a man or a woman? How old?""A woman, early twenties or so. Why does it matter?"Freddy put on a show of hesitation. "I jus

Chapter 5

"Just a few days ago. Weren't you back from Alaska just yesterday? Didn't you notice I hadn't been home?"Nicole had probably spent that whole trip fawning over Freddy. Otherwise, she'd have noticed all my things missing from the apartment by now.The mention of Alaska caught her off guard for a second before her embarrassment curdled into anger. "You moved out over something like that?""Of course not. I moved out because I'm planning to break up with you."Actually, before you even came to get me for dinner tonight, I'd already replied to break up with you. It just never sent because of a connection issue."And now that we've had our last dinner together, consider this official. We're done."Freddy couldn't quite hide the delight on his face, though no one else seemed to catch it.Her friends finally realized I meant it and traded uneasy glances.My phone buzzed with a message from the driver just then. I looked at Nicole, her lips trembling, her eyes rimmed red, and gave her

Chapter 6

Nicole hadn't held back on Freddy either: jewelry, designer clothes, the works. In the photos, their fingers were laced together, captioned: [Round and round, and somehow it's still you.] It looked, this time, like Nicole had finally found her true love.I wrote back to whoever had sent it: [We're already broken up. I'm not interested in my ex's personal life. Please stop sending me this.]Honestly, I didn't have the bandwidth to care about Nicole and Freddy anyway. My buddy Drew Willis, who worked abroad, was back in town visiting family.We met up at a café, and Drew was not happy about it. "Come on, man, I'm home once in a blue moon and you take me out for coffee? Shouldn't we be getting barbecue and fondue?""I haven't forgotten your taste, buddy, but that barbecue place you like is running a promotion, double the ribeye at dinner. It's barely even noon right now."That satisfied him. He nodded, then asked, "So how are things with you and Nicole lately? Haven't seen her on y

Chapter 7

"I saw Nicole standing outside the building when I came up just now," Drew said.I was baffled. "No way. I already gave the doorman a heads-up. She should've been stopped at the entrance.""Maybe she slipped in behind a delivery guy or something."I shrugged. "Whatever. Let her stand out there if she wants."After we finished eating, I went to clean up in the kitchen while Drew called out from the living room, "Hey, she's still down there."The rain was still coming down hard. If Nicole had really been standing out there this whole time, she'd have been soaked through by now.I thought it over, and to avoid the hassle, I unblocked Freddy and sent him a message telling him to come get her. After that, it wasn't my problem anymore.Drew and I stayed up that night on our second round of drinks, trading old stories. When I walked him down the next morning, Nicole was, unsurprisingly, nowhere to be seen.Good. One less thing to worry about, at least, than having her collapse on my d

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