Never His Second Choice Chapter 02
Tears splashed onto the screen. I typed back slowly:
“Thank you, but I’m no longer planning to move to Seattle.”
From Ethan’s lab at the University of Washington to my apartment on the outskirts of the city, it was nearly an hour by cab.
I’d made that trip for four years.
He had never once come to my school.
There was always a reason: too many classes, too much lab work, meetings.
But he could carve out an entire afternoon to film a promotional video with Nina for the engineering department. He could stay up all night to score tickets to Nina’s favorite band.
Back then, I’d felt so wronged I actually told him it bothered me.
He just laughed and squeezed my hand.
“Nina’s your best friend. I only look out for her because of you. You’re not seriously jealous of your own best friend, are you?”
Don’t be petty. Because of that one phrase, I’d played the bigger person for four whole years.
I couldn’t do it anymore.
A familiar cramp twisted my stomach as I pushed open the apartment door, pale-faced.
My roommate pointed at a steaming bowl of chicken porridge on the table with a grin.
“Your boyfriend ordered delivery. So sweet of him.”
The moment she finished speaking, Ethan called.
“I figured you didn’t eat much tonight. Your stomach’s acting up again, isn’t it? Finish the porridge and get some sleep.”
Feeling the warmth of the bowl through the ceramic, my resolve—so hard-won—started to waver.
He had taken up too much space in my life.
Maybe… maybe I should give him a chance to explain.
But before I could say anything, he added:
“Once you’re done eating, message Nina and apologize.”
“She cried herself sick over it. Took me forever to calm her down.”
The bowl slipped from my hand. Scalding porridge splashed all over my legs.
My roommate shrieked.
My phone hit the floor, the screen splintering.
“Hello? Lena? Lena?”
Ethan’s panicked voice crackled through the broken speaker.
When I was little, I really was slow. But Ethan had always patiently taught me, over and over.
The day I got into the best high school in the state, he grabbed my hand and announced proudly to everyone in earshot:
“See? I told you Lena isn’t dumb!”
Then, in high school, Ethan met his rival: Nina.
They didn’t just compete for the number one spot in the class—they used to argue over who got to partner with me on group projects.
Until the day he was helping me with homework and saw a test paper covered in red marks. The words slipped out before he could stop them:
“Lena, why can’t you catch on the way Nina does? This is just… stupid.”
Yeah. I really was stupid.
Stupid enough not to notice that Ethan’s heart had wandered a long time ago.
I opened my eyes slowly. Everything was white.