Page 35 of What Broke First
Matt exhaled. “So what now?"
Tyler shrugged. “Well, do you want Jules to set you up with her friend, Marley? From what I understand, she's hot, smart, probably too emotionally well-adjusted for you, but she also owns a punching bag and thinks pickleball is a personality trait."
Matt shook his head. “Nah, I’m good. Appreciate it, though. Right now, my only mission is getting Sarah back. I blew it—big time. And yeah, she’s got me crawling through glass, but honestly? I wouldn’t blame her if she told me to get lost for good.”
Tyler leaned on the cart, his voice quieter.
“Then fight for her, man. If she’s the one, don’t half-ass this. Own your shit. Keep showing up. Do the hard stuff. Because if she’s still letting you in the door, even a little, that means there’s something left. Don’t waste it.”
He paused, then added with a small grin, “And if she does tell you to fuck off forever... you’ll know you didn’t go down easy.”
By afternoon, Matt had installed two towel racks and watered the lemon tree like it might hold him accountable.
Then the text came in.
Sarah: Thank you for the croissant. It didn’t fix anything. But it didn’t make things worse.
Was that a win? A non-loss? Either way, Matt took it like a man finding a gold coin in a pile of emotional lint.
Later that evening, he showed up at Tommy’s soccer game early.
Tommy spotted him and waved like his arm might fly off. That alone made Matt feel human again.
She showed up ten minutes later, iced coffee clutched like a lifeline and sunglasses perched just high enough to make ignoring Matt effortless. She didn’t acknowledge him at first, but she sat next to him, which in their world now qualified as a sacred truce.
“I brought orange slices,” she said, holding up a ziplock bag.“
Nice. I brought Capri Suns. I’m still working on redeeming myself through sugar.”
She allowed a smile, thin and barely-there, but real. “Tommy’s lucky.”
Matt looked at her. “So was I.”
She didn’t respond. But she didn’t move away either.
By halftime, Tommy had scored a goal. Matt shouted like it was the World Cup. Sarah rolled her eyes but clapped, and for a flicker of a second, they were that couple again. The good kind. The before kind.
Then, as they were walking back to their cars, Sarah stopped. “I have a date Saturday.”Matt froze.“With James?”
“No,” she said. “Someone new. Just thought you should hear it from me.”
He nodded slowly, biting back a thousand bad choices. “Thank you for telling me.”
“I didn’t do it for you. I did it because I promised myself no more secrets. From anyone.”
Matt wanted to scream. Or confess. Or beg. Instead, he just said, “I hope he’s good to you.”
Sarah hesitated. “Me too.”Then she got in her car and drove away. Matt stood there in the parking lot, holding a Capri Sun like it was a divorce decree.
Is she moving on? He nodded to himself. She must be moving on.
And he was holding on.
His phone buzzed. He checked it, half-hoping it was Sarah changing her mind.
It wasn’t.
Mom: Any update on you and Sarah?
