By two in the morning, I had packed half my apartment.<\/p>\n
Not carefully.<\/p>\n
Not neatly.<\/p>\n
I simply opened drawers and closets and began separating what belonged to me from what belonged to the life I had imagined with Brendan.<\/p>\n
Clothes went into one suitcase.<\/p>\n
Documents went into another bag.<\/p>\n
Family photographs were wrapped in towels so the frames wouldn't crack during the drive to Tucson.<\/p>\n
I found the silver dance shoes at the back of my closet.<\/p>\n
I sat on the floor holding them.<\/p>\n
They had been the shoes I wore during the championship.<\/p>\n
For years, they had made me uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
Now I understood why.<\/p>\n
Brendan had taken the happiest achievement of my youth and turned it into the justification for three years of punishment.<\/p>\n
I placed the shoes in a box.<\/p>\n
Then someone slammed a fist against my apartment door.<\/p>\n
\u201cChloe!\u201d<\/p>\n
I knew the voice.<\/p>\n
Brendan.<\/p>\n
I didn't move.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpen the door.\u201d<\/p>\n
I walked toward it but kept the deadbolt locked.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to you?\u201d he demanded. \u201cYou've been ignoring my calls.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
It lasted only a few seconds.<\/p>\n
Then he asked, \u201cWho told you?\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
Not Are you okay?<\/p>\n
Not Did you hear something?<\/p>\n
Not I'm sorry.<\/p>\n
Who told you?<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody,\u201d I said. \u201cI was standing outside the room.\u201d<\/p>\n
His breathing changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cChloe, you're misunderstanding what you heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI watched you lying in a hospital bed without a scratch on you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a joke.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou made me give blood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou volunteered.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words landed with such coldness that I gripped the edge of the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're right,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody forced me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I took a breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I didn't volunteer for your game. I volunteered because I believed you were hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brendan sighed as though I were making an ordinary argument unnecessarily complicated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always take things too seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the closed door between us.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many times?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many times did you do this to me?\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn't answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many times did you make me believe something terrible had happened because you wanted to laugh afterward?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChloe\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt's not important.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
That answer told me everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe're finished.\u201d<\/p>\n
He went silent.<\/p>\n
Then he laughed.<\/p>\n
Not nervously.<\/p>\n
Disbelievingly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're breaking up with me over a prank?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn't prank me once.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're being emotional.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou planned this for three years.\u201d<\/p>\n
He slammed his palm against the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpen it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're acting insane.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said quietly. \u201cI'm finally acting like someone who knows what is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter everything I've done for you?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked around the apartment.<\/p>\n
At the framed photograph from our second anniversary.<\/p>\n
At the blanket he had bought me.<\/p>\n
At the books we had chosen together.<\/p>\n
Then I realized how little of the room actually felt like mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat have you done for me?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave you a place in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer stunned me.<\/p>\n
Then I understood.<\/p>\n
He believed access to him was a gift.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never gave me a place,\u201d I said. \u201cYou gave me a role.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that even mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe person you could punish whenever you wanted to feel powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n
His breathing became louder.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't drag Scarlett into this.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed once.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything was about Scarlett.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did you date me?\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn't answer.<\/p>\n
I removed the necklace he had given me on our first anniversary.<\/p>\n
I opened the door just enough to slide it through the gap.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis belongs to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cChloe, don't do this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLeave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou'll regret this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed the door.<\/p>\n
For the first time in three years, I didn't chase after him.<\/p>\n
My parents arrived later that morning.<\/p>\n
Dad saw the bruise on my arm before he even looked at the suitcases.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
I hesitated.<\/p>\n
Then I told them.<\/p>\n
Not every detail.<\/p>\n
Not yet.<\/p>\n
But enough.<\/p>\n
My father's face became very still.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he hurt you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at the bruise again.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did that,\u201d I said. \u201cNot directly. But because of him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
He didn't ask me to explain.<\/p>\n
Mom found the box containing my dance shoes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're leaving these?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't want them.\u201d<\/p>\n
She sat beside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou loved dancing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still do.\u201d<\/p>\n
I shook my head.<\/p>\n
She touched the box.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen don't let him keep something else from you.\u201d<\/p>\n
We left Pasadena that afternoon.<\/p>\n
I expected relief.<\/p>\n
Instead, I felt hollow.<\/p>\n
At the hotel near the airport, I lay awake staring at the ceiling.<\/p>\n
Around ten-thirty, my phone rang.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
I almost ignored it.<\/p>\n
Then I answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cChloe?\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman's voice was hesitant.<\/p>\n
I knew it immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cScarlett.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat upright.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom Brendan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen from whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom someone who was there.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost ended the call.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout some of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew Brendan was angry about the championship.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn't answer my question.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scarlett exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew he had been playing cruel jokes on you. I didn't know about tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the bruise on my arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's supposed to make me feel better?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI deserve that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't deserve anything from me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sincerity in her voice stopped me.<\/p>\n
Then she said something I hadn't expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrendan didn't do it because I wanted revenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought he was angry because I lost the championship. But I eventually realized he was angry because you won it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds like the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt isn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scarlett's voice became quieter.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe couldn't accept that you beat me without having the advantages I had.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the hotel curtains.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he thought I needed to be punished.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor three years?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you let him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know how far he'd taken it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her answer carried no defense.<\/p>\n
Then she said, \u201cThere's something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe kept records.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt a chill move through me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of records?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything.\u201d<\/p>\n
She explained that Brendan had maintained a private digital archive.<\/p>\n
Dates.<\/p>\n
Messages.<\/p>\n
Photographs.<\/p>\n
Videos.<\/p>\n
Screenshots.<\/p>\n
Descriptions of each prank.<\/p>\n
His friends had added comments.<\/p>\n
They had treated my worst moments like entries in a collection.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause they wanted to reach ninety-nine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNinety-nine what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cActs.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey planned to show you the archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTomorrow night.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were going to invite everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Scarlett hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cA party.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey wanted the final act to be public.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo tell you that the entire relationship had been an experiment.\u201d<\/p>\n
I couldn't speak.<\/p>\n
Scarlett continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey wanted to see how much humiliation you would tolerate before you finally walked away.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward the other bed where Mom was sleeping.<\/p>\n
She had no idea how much of my life had been built on a lie.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho organized all of this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLiam.\u201d<\/p>\n
The name stopped me.<\/p>\n
Brendan's cousin.<\/p>\n
The man who had once helped Dad carry boxes into our apartment.<\/p>\n
The man who had called me family.<\/p>\n
Scarlett's voice dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe kept the master record.\u201d<\/p>\n
The call ended a few minutes later.<\/p>\n
I sat alone in the darkness, listening to the air conditioner cycle on and off.<\/p>\n
Then a new message appeared on my phone.<\/p>\n
A series of screenshots.<\/p>\n
At the top was a folder name.<\/p>\n
REVENGE.<\/p>\n
Below it was a list of numbers.<\/p>\n
And beside number ninety-six were four words that made my hands shake.<\/p>\n
FAKE CRASH. BLOOD DONATION.<\/p>\n
By two in the morning, I had packed half my apartment. Not carefully. Not neatly. I simply opened drawers and closets and began separating what belonged to me from what … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5755,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sharestory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5757"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5769,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5757\/revisions\/5769"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}