Page 86 of Come Apart
"A lot can change in six months."
"Yeah." She squeezes her cup. "It looks so different than it did that day."
She brings her eyes to mine. "Where did you ask Samantha?"
"You don't want to talk about that."
"I'll decide what I want to talk about."
I bite my tongue. Fine. I can tell this story. "At USC. We were visiting an old professor and I asked her to stop by the building where we reconnected. She was barely listening until she saw the ring. And whatever was on her face then, it wasn't anything close to joy."
Alyssa presses her fingers into her cup. "I know the feeling."
I set my cup on the railing, turn to Alyssa, and lift her sunglasses off her eyes. There's so much pain in her expression. There's something she desperately wants to say.
"You want to tell me what you're thinking?"
"What if we had it right the first time? What if you were supposed to be with her, and I was supposed to be with Ryan?"
"Do you really believe that?"
She presses her eyes closed. "No." She shifts, her gaze turning back to the restaurant. "But I was a little scared you'd come back with...feelings, maybe."
I run my fingertips over her cheek. "I love you. Only you."
I've never meant anything more.
She moves closer. Wraps me in a hug and squeezes for dear life. "But she talks to you. What if you get tired of me keeping everything to myself?"
"That will have nothing to do with Samantha."
She squeezes tighter. And tighter.
I stroke her hair. "Something happened over the weekend, didn't it?"
She nods.
"You weren't at the movies, were you?"
"No."
I close my eyes, bracing myself.
"Where were you?"
"At Laurie's."
"Alone?" I ask.
She nods.
"Well, then it can't be that bad. It's not like you were out fucking Ryan."
She stifles a laugh. Her eyes turn to mine. "You're obsessed."
I nod and brush a hair from her eyes.
"You're going to be upset." Her voice is low, desperate.
