Chapter 106


    "Yes," she says. "Think of how her father would feel if you led her on for years. It’s bad enough that you


    married her. You need to end things before they go too far. What if you were together for five years?


    How could you steal her youth from her? And you know that Eric would murder you for sleeping with


    her. I know what I heard on the phone.”


    I feel like a terrible human being anyway, having sex with my young teenage neighbor who is also the


    daughter of my best friend. And when he finds out, he''s going to blow. I need to make sure that we


    have a professional and amicable rtionship. I know what I have to do.


    Dumping


    Elia


    The door opens to reveal him. I lean in for a kiss, standing on tiptoe. His big hands to my hips. Jeff''s


    lips touch mine, but I can tell his heart isn''t in it.


    "Something''s wrong." I open my eyes and look up at him. There''s something sad in his eyes. "Spit it


    out."


    "I can''t do this anymore."


    My stomach feels like it just dropped through the floor. "What?" I tug at my earlobe, sure that I couldn''t


    have heard what I just did.


    "I don''t want to pretend that we''re getting married anymore, Elia. You''re just too young for me."


    I don''t want to cry in front of him. His words hit me as if he''d just jammed a knife in my chest.


    "I see," I say. But I don''t see at all. "It''s for the best," Jeff says. He clears his throat. "With a little time,


    you''ll see."


    "Cool," I say, my voice t. "Then I hope you''ll understand if I quit."


    His face gets a little sadder. He nods. "Yeah, I understand. I''ll send you yourst paycheck and that''ll


    be the end of it."


    "Awesome," I say, biting my lip and hoping that the tears don''t spill over. Don''t cry! "I''ll go now. Bye."


    I turn away from him and finally let my tears spill down my face. I''m angry. I want to shout at him, to ask


    him how he could dump me like this when I thought we had something real. Something good. But all


    I''m doing is grabbing my stuff and heading next door.


    My dad isn''t home, so I can run upstairs to my room and hide under my covers. I wish I never met Jeff.


    I wish that I had never done anything with him ever. I feel like there''s a bleeding knife wound in the


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    center of my chest. I don''t know how long it will take to heal, if it ever does.


    Night falls. I don''t turn on my lights. I can hear my dad''s car get into the driveway. I text my dad that I''m


    in bed, so he knows that I''m home but not to disturb me. He texts me back.


    I''m so tired. I can''t do anything anymore but fall asleep in this soft bed.


    Waking Up


    Elia


    When I wake up, I look at the clock. It''s half an hour before I need to be next door to take care of


    Danny.


    Then I remember what happened yesterday. I''m not taking care of Danny. I don''t want to get out of bed,


    to be honest. Maybe if I just stay here, I can pretend that today is a good day.


    My father is not the kind of person who would allow his daughter to hide under the covers. He has


    something to say about sloth. So I roll out of bed and brush my teeth. I''m going to escape.


    "Morning," I say,ing down the stairs. My dad has a te with one egg left and half a slice of toast.


    He''s eaten the same breakfast every day for the past few decades. Eggs and bread are pretty simple


    toe by.


    "Want something?"


    "I don''t really eat much for breakfast," I say, because it''s true. Also the thought of eating anything at all


    makes me feel like I want to throw up.


    "Something wrong?" he asks. "You don''t sound so good."


    "I want to throw up," I say. Then I turn and spew into our sink. Good thing it''s clear. My dad doesn''t like


    to have a lot of dirty dishes hanging around.


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