“You were pretty young.”
“I know. I should’ve done it anyway.”
Gabe took a sip of coffee because he didn’t know what to say. He was thinking that last night he’d been the one leaving, and how sinister those words, He’s good at leaving people behind, sounded right then. “I was, uh, I was pretty bitchy to him, after he hit me.”
“I think you might’ve had a reason.” Alice looked at him. “Did you break up?”
Gabe nodded unhappily. “Yeah.”
“Good.”
Gabe was surprised at her reaction and also at how relieved he was to hear it.
“I love him, but he can’t do that. That’s…” She broke off, flattening her lips into a pale, thin line. She dropped her gaze back to her coffee mug, as if the chipped ceramic could help her find the right words. “I keep wanting to say, ‘That’s not him, he would never do
