James was wrong. I could take care of myself. I didn't need his handouts. I had my debit card with a few thousand dollars left in my bank account. It was all the money I had saved up working stupid summer jobs in high school and in college before meeting James. And it was all I needed. It was all I had ever needed. I'd use it to leave. That's what he wanted. He didn't want to see me ever again.
I would have followed James to the ends of the earth. I pulled my phone out of my purse and looked down at it. There were no missed calls or messages. He wanted me to leave. So I'd do that for him too. I'd disappear. It felt like I already had. I wasn't me without him.
I wasn't sure when my tears stopped. It was hard to tell in the rain. But eventually I was numb. All James had to do was ask me
