Chapter 2

2 Watching her walk away, I sighed. It felt like she'd picked up on my unease because she turned back. "Before I go, is there anything you want me to do? Name it, I'll do it."

I looked her in the eye and thought for a second, "Can you find someone for me? Her name is Sarah Lu, and she was a war correspondent."

Tiffany's face hardened. "What's she to you? Spill it, or no dice."

I pursed my lips, "She's my cousin. From my aunt's side."

Tiffany's face eased a bit, she nodded. "I'll look into it." Then, she turned and left.

I watched her disappear and took a photo from my wallet. It was a picture of a woman with a slim build, looking a lot like Tiffany. I rubbed the photo between my fingers. Tiffany really was forgetful. I'd told her I grew up in an orphanage, so no aunt or cousins, I also told her about my sister from the orphanage, how she looked out for me. Tiffany must have just forgotten. She never even questioned why I was so drawn to her face. Just her face.

Tiffany was head-over-heels for Chad, no matter how flaky he was with her. She was happy to play his game. And me? Well, I was head-over-heels for Tiffany's face―for it was Sarah Lu's spitting image.

I had been in Tiffany's debt ever since we met. She'd pulled me out of my own personal hell. It had been three years since I last heard from Sarah. Everyone was saying Sarah was gone. I was a zombie, just going through the motions.

Then I met Tiffany, a freshman who was a year younger than me. I saw her face, and it was like Sarah's. I cried. I found ways to get close to her, always showering her with affection. Everyone knew I was Tiffany's tagalong, carrying her bags, grabbing her coffee, relaying messages when she and Chad had a fight, and driving her home when she was drunk. I guess I was good enough for her and she finally couldn't just ignore me. So one night, after she had another fight with Chad, she turned to me, drunk, "Do you like me?"

Looking at that pale face, I just nodded.

That's how I became Tiffany's secret boyfriend. If you can even call a backup that. It lasted for years. Tiffany and Chad never made it official, but me and Tiffany moved in together. Sometimes, she'd hug me and say, "Tao, you're the best guy to me. You don't even want my money."

I'd joke, "If you offer, I wouldn't say no."

"But you don't spend it." Tiffany would stare at me with those bright eyes of hers. "You don't spend my money and you don't force me to go public. You're different than all the other guys who hit on me." She even said, "Sometimes, I think you're just keeping me as your backup."

I ruffled her hair and snuggled into her arms, not really caring about labels. We'd spent six years together. It was important to me. But Tiffany didn't see it that way. She was still obsessed with Chad. If he called her drunk at 2 a.m., she'd rush to pick him up.

She used to just leave without a word, but then started to offer explanations, looking a bit guilty. I thought that meant I was finally starting to matter to her. But I was wrong. She still ran after Chad overseas, giving me no chance to beg her to stay. Just like that, she was gone for a year.