Chapter 2

2.

Caleb had just come back from washing his hands when a girl walked up to him, holding a small bowl.

"Here's that special dipping sauce you like. No cilantro, extra spicy. I know your tastes."

Caleb took the bowl from her naturally, tried a bite, then winced and grinned. "Damn, that's really spicy. You shouldn't have any."

A happy smile spread across her face. "Thanks for the warning."

The two colleagues sitting closest to me were gossiping in low voices.

"Dude, are they really not together yet? No one would believe that."

"So many nurses at the hospital have crushes on Caleb, but he keeps his distance from all of them. Guess we know why now. This is a real power couple."

"Seriously, Caleb works like a dog, but he still helps Sienna check her charts on night shifts. That has to be true love."

"Sienna is super into him, too. They've known each other less than a year, right? I went over to Caleb's apartment for drinks once and saw her folding his laundry."

A power couple.

She even folded his laundry.

My phone buzzed. The Reddit post had been updated again.

Update 3: Out for hot pot with my crush! He's so thoughtful, he even tasted my sauce first to warn me it was too spicy. How could anyone not love a gentleman like that?

A reply appeared almost immediately: [He's still someone else's boyfriend. Maybe you should get your head checked instead of being a homewrecker.]

She quickly downvoted the comment until it was hidden.

I put my phone down. At the next table, Caleb and his friends had opened a few beers and started venting.

They complained about everything from how insane the MCATs were to the crazy patients they'd dealt with in the ER yesterday.

Then, someone changed the subject.

"Isn't it Caleb's birthday in a couple of days? Should we celebrate at that old spot in the North End?"

Caleb declined, as always. "I have plans that day. It's just a birthday, no need to make a big deal."

"Come on, you're just saying that because Sienna isn't asking. Sienna, say something."

The girl, Sienna, put down her chopsticks, her voice dripping with a kind of sharp, American confidence. "He's spending it alone with his girlfriend. What am I supposed to do?"

"Girlfriend? Wait, I've heard rumors, but... you actually have a girlfriend?"

I slowly lowered my eyes.

This was my eighth year with Caleb.

We had made it through the so-called "seven-year itch." We had met each other's parents over Thanksgiving and Christmas.

So whether or not my picture was on his social media had long since stopped mattering to me.

Besides, he barely ever used it.

But in this moment, I was suddenly terrified of his answer.