Chapter Three — The Worst Night That Changed Everything
606 Words
The bartender barely looked up. “What’ll it be?”
“Something strong,” she said.
“Any preference?”
“Something that erases memory.”
He slid a glass across the bar.
She drank it too fast and immediately regretted it.
Then immediately ordered another.
By the fourth drink, her chest loosened. By the sixth, her head floated. By the seventh, she was crying into her hands.
“He said I don’t take care of myself,” she slurred to no one in particular. “Like I woke up one day and thought, ‘You know what sounds fun? Hating my body.’”
Someone snorted beside her.
She turned.
And froze.
“Caleb?”
He blinked. “Mara?”
Her eyes widened. “Are you real or am I hallucinating?”
“Real,” he said cautiously.
She squinted. “Wow. You got hot.”
He burst out laughing. “Nice to see you too.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Meeting a friend. You?”
She gestured at her empty glass. “Ruining my life.”
His smile faded. “What’s wrong?”
“My boyfriend dumped me,” she said. “Because I’m fat.”
His jaw tightened instantly. “Did he actually say that?”
“Not in those words. But yes.”
“That’s bullshit.”
She laughed bitterly. “That’s honesty.”
“No,” he said firmly. “That’s cruelty disguised as honesty.”
She stared at him, caught off guard by the intensity in his voice.
“I loved him,” she whispered. “I loved him so much.”
Caleb reached out and gently took her glass away before she could order another.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get some air.”
“I don’t want—”
“You’re drunk, heartbroken, and about to cry into a jukebox,” he said. “Trust me.”
She considered.
“…Fine.”
Outside, rain drizzled lightly. The street glistened under neon signs.
She hugged herself. “I feel disgusting.”
He frowned. “Mara.”
“I know I gained weight,” she rushed. “I know I’m not what I used to be. But I didn’t think that meant I was disposable.”
“You’re not,” he said immediately. “And anyone who makes you feel that way doesn’t deserve you.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not.”
“You’re supposed to say that because you’re my friend.”
“No,” he said. “I’m saying it because it’s true.”
Her eyes filled. “Then why does it hurt so much?”
“Because rejection always hurts,” he said softly. “Especially when it hits where you already feel insecure.”
She stared at the wet pavement. “I hate myself.”
“No, you don’t,” he said gently. “You hate how someone made you feel.”
That hit harder than anything else.
“I can’t go home,” she whispered. “He’s there.”
“Then come with me,” he said. “My couch is available. My fridge is stocked. And I make excellent emergency grilled cheese.”
She sniffed. “I’m not good company.”
“You don’t have to be.”
That was when she broke.
She started crying — ugly, gasping sobs — right there on the sidewalk. People passed by. Cars drove past. The city kept moving.
Caleb didn’t.
He pulled her into his arms and held her like she might shatter.
And for the first time since Ethan spoke those words, she felt safe.
- Writer
