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There was no reason he should have cared about me or Max anymore. Not unless he was on a power trip. Our relationship had been nothing to him, and he had never even spoken to Max a day in his life.

He didn’t need us. Clay was good looking, had a good job, and had the kind of charm most women fawned over. I could never understand why he continued to pursue me.

Another text came in and I looked down, expecting it to be Francesca again, but feeling somewhat relieved when I saw Easton’s name.

Easton

How’s my little dude?

Jesse

He’s good. Sleeping after an evening of me doting on him.

Easton

I drove by and left some things on the porch since you weren’t home.

Jesse

I’ve been home since I left the clinic. You could have knocked.

Easton

Your car wasn’t in the driveway. Plus, you didn’t seem like you wanted company when you left. I just wanted to bring y’all some stuff to make you feel better.

Guilt at how I snapped at Easton once again had my stomach turning. Protecting myself was never supposed to be painful or unfriendly. It was supposed to be mutual and satisfying. We found comfort with one another, we shared ourselves and our stories, and we had to end things before it went too far.

But Easton had the right to ask why I hadn’t told him about my meeting. We were close enough that I should have told him the moment I thought about it despite the feelings those rumors gave me.

What right did I have to be angry if he was seeing someone else, when I was the one that kept telling him we had to end things one day?

Jesse

Between you and me, the car is in the garage. The rain was heavy when we got home.

Easton

Ah. Well, I’m glad you two are okay tonight and just maybe grab that stuff off the porch before you go to bed.

With a smile, I stood and made my way to the door. A huge bouquet of yellow roses sat at the top of the stairs and next to it was a basket with Max’s name handwritten on a tag. I grabbed everything and brought it inside, taking a quick picture and sending it to Easton.

Jesse

Thank you *image sent*

Easton

Feel better Jess. Take all the time you need with Max, and call me when you’re ready.

Sifting through the basket he sent Max, I found a few toy fire trucks, his favorite cookies with a label saying they were “baked by Grams”, and a silver fire department badge that said Harmony Haven FD. It looked like something they gave to kids that took field trips to the station, but to Max, it was going to rock his world. He would probably wear it every day.

With a long look at the yellow roses, it dawned on me that Easton may have been more aware of my intentions than he let on. Yellow was the color of rose you sent to signify friendship, and it must have meant he was accepting that we had to be just friends.

I should have felt a smidgen of relief, but a shooting pain laced my heart, and it felt like my soul was breaking in half. Selfishly, it was easy to act like I needed to push Easton away while I was trying to maintain some control over my life. Knowing he was giving up his fight as well was unexpected.

Fair, but heartbreaking all at the same time.

Had we had met at any other stage in my life, we may have been able to see how far we could go. But for now, and maybe forever, we were done.

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