Page 64 of Don't Love the Boy Next Door
“Really?”
She nods, her smile growing wide. “I’ve been thinking about you a lot. Like every second of every day.”
A pang of guilt attacks me. Truth is, I haven’t been thinking about her much. Been too busy worrying about Phoenix.
“Yeah?” I say.
She laughs. “Why are you so quiet?”
“I’m not. Just got a lot on my mind.”
She lifts a brow. “Like me?”
“Uh…”
She giggles. “Of course you do. So I thought about it a lot. Like, I really miss you and it’s stupid that we broke up because you moved away.”
I drop down on the grass before my house. “I thought that was what you wanted.”
She tilts her head to the side, eyes narrowed as she thinks. “I know, but it was stupid. I mean, we could have at least tried long distance.”
I blink at her. “What?”
She rolls her eyes. “I want to try to date long distance. Are you sure you’re okay?”
It feels like the world is shifting on its axis. “You want to get back together?”
She nods enthusiastically, another bright smile on her face. “Of course I do! I don’t think I’ve stopped loving you.” She frowns. “Don’t you feel the same?”
My gaze leaves hers. Do I? I’ve been waiting for this moment. But now that it’s come…
I glance at the house next door. All shades are shut, like Phoenix is locking me out.
“Ethan? Hello? Did the video freeze?”
I turn back to Charlotte. Her eyes brighten again. “So what do you say, boyfriend? Excited to try this long distance thing?”
I avert my eyes again. I should be excited. I should be dancing around the planet. Cheering at the top of my lungs. But I’m not. Instead, I keep looking at the house next door, hoping and wishing a certain girl who isn’t Charlotte would come to the window. But of course that doesn’t happen.
“Ethan? What’swrongwith you?”
I don’t know, honestly, but one thing I do know—my feelings for Charlotte. Just a few weeks ago, I would have cried for joy at the chance of getting back together with the girl who used to mean everything to me. Now…now I feel nothing.
“Ethan!”
I snap my gaze to her. “No.”
“No what?”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “I don’t want to get back together with you.”
Her mouth drops. “Excuse me?”
I swallow again, but it feels like there’s a rock lodged inside. “I don’t love you anymore.”
Her eyes flame. “How can you say that to me?”
“What do you want me to do? Pretend I love you? That would only hurt you.”
