Page 50 of Five Years
And yet in a few days, reality would snap back into place. Leah would go home to her too-quiet apartment and a job she wasn’t sure would ever feel like purpose, and Ariana would go back to Hannah.
Ariana would go back to Hannah.
The thought hit like a sucker punch. Sometimes Leah managed to forget, for a few blissful moments—but then it came roaring back, cruel and sharp: Ariana had a fiancée.
She couldn’t compete with Hannah—not that there was even an option to compete. But even if there were, she’d lose. Because the truth was simple, and it burned:
Ariana left Leah for Hannah.
Call it whatever you want. Reframe it however you like. The facts stayed the same.
Leah was second best. Always the option. Hannah was the choice.
She pushed back from the booth, her chair scraping the floor.
“Can we go now?”
“Is everything okay?” Ariana asked.
Leah nodded, still staring out the passenger-side window. It had been twenty minutes of silence.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Ariana, I’m fine.”
Ariana kept her eyes on the road, but Leah noticed the quick glances—those tiny turns of her head every few minutes. Finally, Ariana spoke again.
“Okay . . .have I done something wrong?”
“Why would you assume that? I just don’t feel like chatting.”
“You practically ran back to the car. You haven’t said two words since we started driving, and you’re frantically texting my sister.”
“How do you know I’m texting Grace?” Leah dimmed her phone screen almost to black.
“I can see her name at the top.”
“You shouldn’t be reading my messages,” Leah snapped.
“I wasn’t! I just glanced and saw Grace’s name, that’s all. I didn’t read what you wrote—but now I’m guessing it’s about me?”
“Not everything is about you, Ariana.”
“Wow. Okay.” Ariana’s tone was light, but Leah could feel the tension settle like a heavy blanket.
She turned back to her phone, fingers flying, aware Ariana’s question wasn’t entirely wrong.
Grace
ETA?
Leah
17:46
Grace
You’re early.
