Page 9 of Rumor Has It

I’ve never understood why they dated. They didn’t seem like a match to me. Not much in common, not the same friend circles, and two very different ideas of how they wanted their lives to be. It never made sense to me or anyone else, but I respected it. He seemed happy and in love, and I was okay with that no matter the consequences. But I’m not sure I can avoid asking anymore.

“Why, Theo?”

“Why what?” he replies.

“Why did she break up with you? You seemed happy,” I say.

He lets out a long sigh, looking up at the stars as he gathers his thoughts. He pulls one hand from his pocket and rubs the back of his neck. I’ve never seen him this lost for words. He stops walking and turns toward me. I search his face—he looks hung up on my question.

“Because she wanted me to give you up,” he says.

His words fall out like he hates even repeating them.

“She wanted me to cut you off completely, stop being your friend,” he says.

My eyes narrow as confusion swells inside me. Why? Why would she want that? Why would our friendship bother her?

As if reading my mind, Theo says, “She was jealous of you, Ellie.”

I don’t know why, but his response makes no sense to me. It’s not that I think he’s lying, but I just never got the sense she was jealous. She seemed to hate me, not envy me.

“And she had a reason to be,” he says.

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

SEVEN

THEO

I never wanted to say that out loud to anyone, least of all Ellie. I never wanted her to know the real reason in case it made her feel guilty. She has nothing to feel guilty about, but I know her and how her mind works, and somehow she would feel some sort of way about why Lindy broke it off with me.

We spent the rest of the walk back to her place in silence. She didn’t respond and I didn’t press her to. Now that we’re back at her place, she pulls a blanket and pillow from the closet. It’s the same one I use every time I spend the night.

Ellie places it on the end of the couch, also known as my bed when I stay over. I sit down and she takes a seat next to me before breaking the silence.

“I’m sorry,” she says.

It’s exactly what I didn’t want her to say or feel. “Don’t be. Nothing is your fault.”

“Still,” she says. “I am.”

“I wish you wouldn’t be. It’s not worth it.”

She leans her head over onto my shoulder. It’s an act of solidarity, really. Something just to let me know she’s there for me.

Truth be told, the breakup with Lindy wasn’t that emotional for me. The moment she uttered the words “If you want to be with me, she’s got to go,” I pretty much wrote her off right then and there. I was too angry to be sad about it. How dare she. Ellie’s been in my life longer than any lover, and you don’t throw away friends for anything, especially not someone you weren’t even sure about to begin with.

“I’m going to go to bed,” she whispers. “I’m drunk and tired and might cry.”

She knows I hate it when she cries, so she’s just saying she doesn’t want to do it in front of me. And while I appreciate the gesture, just knowing she might is enough to hurt me.

She stands and leans down to kiss my forehead and whisper goodnight before she disappears down the hallway.

I begin unfolding the sheet to put over the couch when she calls for me.

“Theo! Theo, come here.”

I run back toward her room thinking there’s probably a spider she wants me to kill, and I see her standing pantsless at the sliding glass door in her room.

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