Justin adjusted his glasses. “Ethan, you’re
drunk. You’re not making sense.
99
“I’m perfectly sober!” He glared at Justin. “You know what you did! You told me Liv made a bet with Veronica that she could get me to fall for her. You said she wasn’t serious, that’s why I avoided her! You said you were going to school down south, but you secretly applied to the
same college as Liv! And you knew the milk on
my desk was from Liv, but you and Veronica
<
11:29
pretended it was from her!”
((
46
I had no idea about any of this. Like everyone else, I was just stunned.
Ethan rolled up his sleeves. “Justin, let’s go another round. Your face makes me sick.”
Justin smiled faintly, a surprisingly dark look on his face. “Yes, I lied. But the fact that you believed me so easily shows you never trusted Liv in the first place.”
Ethan flinched. That hit a nerve. He looked at me, his expression pained. “I’m sorry, I…”
Sorry what? I didn’t want to be part of this
drama anymore. I grabbed Ethan’s sleeve. “My ride’s here. Let’s go.” I practically shoved him into the car. I was never coming to another reunion.
Mr. and Mrs. Evans were asleep. I helped Ethan
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11:29
46
inside. He grabbed a green scarf and wrapped
it around his head.
“Liv, look! My hat!”
“Stop playing around. Take some aspirin.”
“No. Three years of dating, and my girlfriend
cheated on me countless times. Let me die.
Maybe she’ll feel bad then.”
…What melodramatic nonsense. But… was he
serious?
“She won’t see you if you die here,” I said. “Not worth it.”
“Why not?” Ethan clutched his “hat“, looking at me with wide, teary eyes. “Aren’t you right here?”
13
<
11:29
46
“You’re drunk,” I said. “You’re seeing things.”
“No, you’re Liv. My girlfriend of three years.”
“When were we ever together?”
“Since the night… you know. Since then, we’ve
been together.”
Me:
The silence was deafening. We stared at each
other, both in varying stages of disbelief.
Ethan: “We slept together. Of course we’re dating!”
Me: “Not if you never officially asked me out!”
Ethan: “We did that! Why would I need to ask?!”
Me: “Consenting adults doing that doesn’t
<
11:30
automatically mean a relationship!”
46
2500
Ethan sounded like he was about to lose it. “So,
for three years, you never considered me your boyfriend?”
I was losing it too. “So, for three years, you thought I was your girlfriend?”
“Of course! It was my first time!”
Wait. My head itched. Was I actually growing a brain?
“Ethan,” I said slowly, “have you ever heard of a couple who don’t see or speak to each other for three years?”
“I tried to see you! You wouldn’t meet me.” He
huffed, his cheeks flushed.
I tried to reason with him. “Not seeing each
other for that long… even if we were dating,
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11:30
46
we’d have broken up by now.”
“You didn’t say we broke up. So, we’re not broken up.” Talk about double standards. Being
in a relationship was apparently telepathic, but breaking up required verbal confirmation.
“I dated other guys! Didn’t that clue you in?”
That made him even more upset. “I thought you were doing it to make me jealous…”
I was speechless. For three years, Ethan had been in an imaginary relationship with me. A very new, very advanced kind of relationship.
It was utterly ridiculous, but coming from Ethan,
it almost made sense. He was arrogant and
cocky on the surface, but underneath…
surprisingly innocent.
“About that two hundred dollars,” Ethan said
suddenly. “Was that… for me?”
<
11:30
I nodded. “Yeah.”
He exploded. “You think I’m only worth two
hundred bucks?!”
