Page 84 of Rebound With Me
“Were you going to tell me that you saw her?”
“No, Nina. That’s not what I was going to tell you today. I don’t give a fuck about Sadie—seeing her barely even registered in my brain—this can’t be about that.”
“Well I do give a fuck about Sadie and about Russell and about you, and I want to be able to only give a fuck about you and me, but I need some time on my own so I can process everything that’s happened.”
“You said you aren’t mad at him anymore.”
“I’m not but I never had time to process the breakup either. I was with him for three years, Vince, I was engaged to him.”
Our of the corner of my eye, I see the waitress heading towards us with my soup and tea, but as soon as she catches our body language, she turns on her heels, pretending to have forgotten something, and goes back inside.
“Are you telling me you still have feelings for him? Is that why you’re worried about me and Sadie— you’re projecting?”
“I don’t have that kind of feelings for him no. God no. Vince. I’m a mess right now. School starts in less than three weeks and I can’t be an emotional mess when I’m responsible for dozens of small children. Why don’t you understand this?”
“You said you’d give me the whole summer.” It’s an accusation, the way he says it. He’s getting aggressive and I’m getting defensive. I honestly didn’t expect him to be like this. He’s usually so open and understanding. I don’t know what I was thinking.
“I know. I’m sorry. I’m not good at this.”
“At what? Being with me?”
“I love being with you. I just don’t know if I’m good at being me when I’m with you.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Who are you being?”
“Vince.”
“No, tell me. I wanna know. Who were you being? Who did I fall in love with?”
He says it so quickly, my brain doesn’t even register the words. “I’ve booked a flight, I’m going to Bloomington for ten days.”
“What? When?”
“Tomorrow. I’m going to stay with my parents.”
“You already planned this. Without telling me.”
“I just decided to yesterday. I’m telling you now.”
He shakes his head. I can visibly see him shutting down.
“Vince. I didn’t mean for this to be a permanent break. I just need some space. It’s not your fault, but I’m overwhelmed. I don’t know what else to do.”
I’ve lost him. I can see it in his eyes. “What about Charlie?”
“Well…I can FaceTime with him when I’m gone.”
He shakes his head.
“Vince.”
He won’t even look at me. Whatever he’s thinking about, even though he’s physically still here, he’s already left me.
“We can still be friends while we’re working through this. I’m just talking about a couple of weeks.”
“No.” He looks up at me.
“No?”
