Chapter 2

The next day, she came to the auto shop.

She was wearing the yellow sundress I bought her for our third anniversary, the one I always said was my favorite. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she held a box of cheap donuts, the kind she knew I liked.

"Ethan, can we please talk?"

My boss, a good man named Frank, gave me a sympathetic look and motioned for me to go outside. I followed her into the parking lot, leaning against a customer's pickup truck.

"There's nothing to talk about," I said.

Tears started rolling down her cheeks. "It was a prank, baby. A stupid, stupid prank. Caleb sent you that photo. He was trying to 'test' you, to see if you really trusted me. It was a joke."

"A joke," I repeated, my voice devoid of emotion.

"Yes! And the phone call this morning, I was out of breath because I was running to find a signal to call you back! Nothing happened, I swear."

I just looked at her. The lies were so practiced, so smooth. She really believed she could make me swallow them.

"I don't believe you, Jenny."

Her face hardened. The tears stopped as if on command. "You're just insecure. You can't handle that I have a male friend. You want to keep me in a cage."

"A cage I paid for," I said. "A cage where I work sixty hours a week so you can go 'find yourself' with your 'friend'."

She stormed off, throwing the donuts in the trash on her way out.

That night, my phone rang. It was an unknown number. I answered.

"Is this Ethan Lester?" a woman's voice asked.

"Yes."

"This is Austin General Hospital. We have a Jennifer Chavez here. She listed you as her emergency contact."

My blood ran cold. "What happened? Is she okay?"

"She was admitted for severe dehydration and emotional distress. She's stable now."

Before I could process it, another call came in. My mom.

"Ethan! What did you do to that poor girl? We're at the hospital! Jenny's mother is here, we're all here! Caleb called us. He said you broke her heart over a misunderstanding!"

I drove to the hospital in a daze. I walked into the waiting room and it was an ambush. My parents, their faces etched with disappointment. Jenny' s mom, wringing her hands and glaring at me. And Caleb, standing there looking solemn.

"Ethan," my father said, his voice heavy. "We are a Christian family. You made a vow before God. You don't throw that away because of a youthful mistake."

"It wasn't a mistake, Dad. She's cheating on me."

Caleb stepped forward, placing a hand on my dad's shoulder. "Sir, with all due respect, that's not true. I was just helping her learn about the van. It was all innocent. I'd swear on a Bible right now."

Jenny's mom started crying. "She loves you so much, Ethan. This is killing her. Calling off the wedding would bring such shame on us all."

They all looked at me, a jury delivering a verdict. I was the bad guy. I was the one bringing shame. I looked through the window into Jenny's room. She was lying in bed, an IV in her arm, looking small and fragile. It was a perfect performance.

I felt the weight of all of them, of five years, of a promise I made. I was tired. So tired.

"Fine," I heard myself say. "I'll talk to her."

I walked into the room. She looked up at me, her eyes filled with crocodile tears. "I'm so sorry, baby," she whispered.

I felt nothing. But I nodded. I let them win. For now.