Chapter 4 - THE NIGHT HE FINALLY SAID NO
Natalie was crying because her car had been towed.
Not stolen.
Not wrecked.
Towed.
She had parked in a loading zone outside a downtown restaurant.
The towing company was closed until morning.
She wanted Ethan to drive her home.
I watched his face as she explained.
His expression changed from concern to confusion.
Then embarrassment.
“Natalie,” he said carefully, “you can call a ride.”
She went silent.
Then laughed.
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“Ethan, I'm standing outside in the rain.”
“Go back into the restaurant while you book one.”
Another pause.
“Are you with Claire?”
He looked at me.
“Yes.”
Natalie's voice sharpened.
“So this is because of her.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“No. This is because you don't need me to solve every inconvenience.”
I felt my breath catch.
She began crying again.
“Wow. I guess eighteen years of friendship means nothing.”
Ethan's jaw tightened.
“That's not what I said.”
“Then come get me.”
“No.”
Silence.
Then she hung up.
Ethan stared at his phone.
He looked shaken.
I almost reached for his hand.
Almost.
Instead, I asked:
“How do you feel?”
He laughed bitterly.
“Like I just kicked a puppy.”
I nodded.
“That's probably why you've never said no.”
He looked at me.
And for the first time, I saw genuine understanding.
The next morning, Natalie posted a photograph on social media.
It showed Ethan and her at graduation.
Her caption read:
Some people enter your life and try to rewrite your history. But real bonds survive.
The comments were predictable.
True friendship never dies.
Some people are just insecure.
You two have always been soulmates.
I stared at the screen.
Then closed the app.
I was tired of competing with a relationship nobody would admit was a competition.
Ethan called that afternoon.
“I saw Natalie's post.”
I waited.
“I asked her to take it down.”
“Did she?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
He hesitated.
“I told her I needed distance.”
I sat down.
“How much distance?”
“I told her not to contact me unless there's a genuine emergency.”
I closed my eyes.
That was something.
But I still didn't know whether it would last.
Two days later, Mark called me.
The birthday boy.
The man whose celebration had become the beginning of my separation.
“Claire, can we talk?”
I hesitated.
“About what?”
“About that dinner.”
I agreed to meet him at a coffee shop.
Mark arrived looking uncomfortable.
He sat across from me.
Then said:
“I owe you an apology.”
I blinked.
“For what?”
“For laughing.”
I looked down.
He continued.
“When Ethan fed Natalie that dessert, I knew it was inappropriate. Everyone did.”
My throat tightened.
“Then why did everyone laugh?”
Mark sighed.
“Because it's easier to laugh than make things awkward.”
I stared at him.
He rubbed his forehead.
“And because we've all gotten used to their behavior.”
I looked up.
“What do you mean?”
Mark hesitated.
Then said something that made my stomach drop.
“Claire, you know Natalie used to tell people Ethan would eventually marry her, right?”
I froze.
“What?”
Mark looked miserable.
“She said it for years.”
I swallowed.
“Before Ethan met me?”
May you like
Mark shook his head.
“After.”
