All Chapters of When I Stopped Waiting for You: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

1

Three minutes after I left the group, Evan texted me."Add yourself back."No asking why I left. No asking if I was upset.A second message followed immediately."There are still a lot of people from the company watching. Don't throw a tantrum right now."I stood outside the hotel entrance.It was one in the morning. The wind drove the rain beneath the covered walkway, soaking the tops of my shoes.I had spent eight hours on that overnight bus to get here.I thought I'd at least get a "thanks for coming."My phone lit up again."Mia, Evan had a lot to drink. I'm taking him home first. Just find a hotel nearby. Don't make him go out of his way."The message was from Nicole.As if she were Evan's next of kin, and I, his girlfriend of five years, was just an outsider waiting for her to decide what to do with me.I called Evan.He picked up just before the call rolled to voicemail."What now?"I heard a car door close in the background.In the background, I heard Nicole remind him, "Put on

2

I arrived at Evan's apartment at eight thirty in the morning.The door code was still his birthday.A pair of women's ankle boots sat by the front door.The slippers I had mailed him last year were gone. In the shoe cabinet sat two matching pairs of house slippers, one black and one white.Oatmeal was warming on the stove. A sticky note was stuck to the fridge.The note read, "Don't forget breakfast. —N"Evan walked out of the bedroom with a button on his shirt done up wrong.When he saw me, the first thing he did was check his watch."Didn't I tell you to come to the office?""I wanted to drop off my bags first.""There are files everywhere. There's no room."The guest room door was half open. Nicole's skincare products lined the nightstand, and her clothes filled the rack."You said she was only staying temporarily.""She is.""How long has she been here?""Two months."Two months ago, I had asked him how the new place was coming along and if he could send a picture.He said he was b

3

Evan promised to go apartment hunting with me.At ten in the morning, I waited for him at the real estate office.At ten thirty, he said a meeting came up.At eleven, he said it was almost over.At noon, Nicole sent me a photo of a hospital hallway."Twisted my ankle carrying files. Evan insisted on taking me to get it X-rayed."In the corner of the photo, Evan was crouched in front of her, tying her loosened shoelace.I turned off my phone and signed the short-term lease on my own.When I went back to the apartment, a building manager was carrying out a cardboard box.My name was written on the side."Those are my things."He looked confused. "Ms. Pearce said these were old clothes nobody wanted and asked me to donate them."Inside the box were a sweater my mother, Janet Harper, had knitted by hand and the matching jackets Evan and I had bought during our first year together.Beneath the clothes sat a torn-open kraft paper envelope.Janet knew rent was expensive in Ashford and worried

4

I decided to give Evan one last day.Not because I was waiting for him to come around.I just wanted to see how much worse it could get.Janet took the early bus to Ashford to bring me my documents and a change of clothes.She didn't want to bother Evan, so she baked a beef pot pie that morning and planned to drop it off and leave.When she arrived at the company lobby, the security guard stopped her at the turnstile."Only visitors on the approved list can go beyond the lobby."Janet fumbled for words. "I'm Evan's..."She trailed off.We weren't married.She couldn't even call herself his future mother-in-law.Just then, Nicole's mother walked in.The guard opened the gate for her immediately. "Morning, Ms. Pearce. Go right up. You're family here."Nicole's mother took the insulated lunch container and looked Janet up and down, her gaze lingering on the jacket that had been washed so many times it had faded."Here to deliver lunch?""I'm Mia's mother.""Oh, so you're her."She smiled

5

Forty minutes later, Evan returned to the restaurant.The food on the table had long gone cold.A server handed him a key."The lady from earlier asked us to give you this."Beneath the key lay the transfer notice for the Ashford branch.The confirmation line was blank.Holding the key, Evan finally understood that I had ended our relationship.He called me.My phone was off.None of his messages went through.He rushed to the apartment I had rented.The landlord was changing the locks."Ms. Harper already terminated her lease.""Where did she go?""She didn't say. She only stayed two days. Didn't even ask for the deposit back."Evan went to the train station.The last train had long since departed.He stood in the empty waiting hall from the middle of the night until dawn.The next day, he rushed to Riverside.Janet didn't let him through the door."Mia isn't here.""Mrs. Harper, where did she go?""She doesn't want you to know."Evan's voice was hoarse."I just want to see her. Just

6

Evan stayed in Bayshore.Every morning at seven, he left a breakfast by the store entrance.I never took it.He gave it to the street-cleaning crew nearby instead and never pressured me.On rainy days, he left an umbrella at the register.I put it in the lost and found.He didn't ask about it.In the past, I had been the one chasing him, terrified of silence.Now he was the silent one.A week later, his stomach problems flared up.When I spotted him outside the stockroom, he was leaning against the wall, sweat beading on his forehead.My body moved before my mind could catch up.I got him stomach medicine from the first-aid kit and a cup of warm water."Take two."He took the medicine, and his eyes brightened slightly."You still remember.""I do the same for any employee who doesn't feel well."His eyes dimmed again."Thank you," he said quietly.After taking the pills, he didn't use the moment as an excuse to linger.He just washed the cup and put it back.At the door, he paused. "Wh

7

The next day, a long post appeared online.The headline read:"Founder of Newly Public Company Pushes Out Female Partner to Appease Ex-Girlfriend."Nicole portrayed herself as the victim who had built the company with Evan from the ground up.I was cast as the woman pulling strings behind the scenes, forcing him to punish the very person who had helped build his success.The article didn't use my name, but described my workplace in enough detail for anyone to find it.Soon, people showed up at the store to film.Others pointed and whispered about me.Some threw wadded-up paper at the register.Mr. Walsh called me into his office."Headquarters trusts you, but if the backlash keeps building, we might have to push back the grand opening."This was the first new store I had been put in charge of in Bayshore.Two months of preparation. Every employee was counting on opening day.Nicole knew the fastest way to hurt me wasn't by taking Evan.It was by destroying the new life I had fought so

8

On the day of the grand opening, a storm hit Bayshore.The event canopy shook in the wind, and the temporary wiring failed.Customers were jammed at the entrance, and the suppliers still hadn't shown.Someone at headquarters suggested postponing.I looked at the line of people waiting."We're not postponing."The staff split up and got to work.Some took down the outdoor displays, some directed foot traffic, and some arranged backup deliveries.I kicked off my heels and waded through the puddles carrying boxes.Half an hour later, the backup generator was up and running.The first shipment arrived just before the doors opened.When the glass doors rolled up, the crowd poured in.Applause broke out inside the store.Mr. Walsh clapped me on the shoulder."This store is in good hands."I didn't notice Evan was there until the afternoon.He was wearing a plain raincoat, unloading boxes alongside the delivery crew, his pants caked with mud.He hadn't come to find me.He hadn't mentioned our

9

After Evan went back to Ashford, six months passed without a word from him.No more breakfast at the door.No more umbrellas, either.He did exactly what he said he would and stepped out of my life.The store was running smoothly. I was promoted to district manager and began planning a second location.Janet moved to Bayshore, learned to take the subway, and made plenty of new friends.She asked about Evan sometimes."You're really not going back to him?"I rinsed the vegetables she was preparing for a salad and shook my head with a smile."Mom, missing someone and being right for each other are two different things."In the winter, Diane came to see me alone.She didn't bring a gift, and she didn't try to talk me into getting back together."Mia, I underestimated you.""I favored Nicole not because she was better than you, but because I thought she could do more for Evan's career."She kept her head down."It took me a while to learn that you can't choose the people in your life solel

10

A year later, I was transferred to Northbrook.Before I left, Janet went ahead to get the new place ready.I arrived at the train station alone, pulling my suitcase behind me.Twenty minutes before departure, someone called my name from behind.Evan stood among the crowd.He was thinner, his features calmer than before.In his arms was an old cardboard box."I came to return these."Inside was the sweater Janet had knitted.After the building manager had taken the clothes away, Evan spent a long time tracking them down.The cleaning lady had kept the sweater, but the cuffs were fraying.He had it repaired, then cleaned it until it was spotless.Underneath was the blue-gray scarf.The one I had knitted for him.Nicole's hair clip was gone."These always belonged to you."He held the box out.I took it."Thank you."The PA announced boarding.Evan walked with me toward the gate.He kept half a step behind."I heard you're taking over six stores in Northbrook.""Mm-hmm.""Congratulations.

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