Chapter 7: Shattered

Of course. Now she’s the victim.

And apparently, I’m old news—literally.

I am, in fact, five years older than Caleb. We met on a dating app, then hit it off in real life.

But when I met him, I was their age too—funny how that works.

“Yeah, I’m twenty-nine this year. Maybe some people won’t even make it to twenty-nine.”

“You—”

I cut her off again, not missing a beat: “Even if she does, with her attitude, she’ll probably still be waiting for the bus in the rain. She’ll never get to ride in a car someone else paid for, acting all high and mighty.”

My words broke Maddie. She started crying in earnest, wiping her face with trembling hands.

Seeing her tears, Caleb’s eyes flared with anger as he glared at me. “You made her cry. Does that make you happy?”

“Not in the slightest.” I opened my bag, cool as ice, and pulled out my phone, opening the calculator app. “She likes to throw things out? All the cushions in the car—four of them, custom silk, five hundred each, that’s two grand. The black flats she called old? Birthday gift from my dad, eight hundred bucks. And—”

“Enough.” Caleb cut me off, his voice cold as the rain outside. “Rachel, I never thought you could be this petty. Maddie has a boyfriend, and he doesn’t care that I drive her. Can’t you get over this? Men and women can be friends, you know. If you really care that much, we’ll just keep our distance from now on. Did you have to act like a crazy person, throwing things and waving money around to shame her?”

Before he could finish, I snapped. I raised my hand and slapped him, hard, right across the face.

The aftermath hung in the air—a beat of stunned silence. The rain thundered on the roof. My hand stung, and Caleb’s cheek flushed red where I’d struck him.

“Who said there’s a future with you?”

“Caleb, I’m done. Take your little drama queen and get out!”

Caleb’s head jerked to the side, but he barely reacted, just let out a heavy sigh.

Then, calm as can be, he said, “I know you’re just angry right now. You’re not in any state to talk.”

With that, Caleb opened his umbrella, got out of the car, and walked around to Maddie’s side. He threw me a look over the roof. “Cool off in here. When you’re ready, come find me. Maddie’s not feeling well and shouldn’t get wet. I’ll take her home first.”

Outside, the rain kept pounding down, the sky a bruised, angry purple. The city kept moving, but in that moment, everything felt unbearably still inside my car—my car, the one I’d paid for, now echoing with the sound of two people leaving. I sat alone in the driver’s seat, the keys still in the ignition, wondering if this was what heartbreak sounded like—just the storm and the echo of my own silence.