Chapter 2

2.

“The surgery is tomorrow?”

The attending physician handed me the clipboard, his tone routine. “Dr. Mercer is still out of town for a conference. If you’d like to wait for him, we can reschedule.”

“No,” I said. “Tomorrow is fine.”

The doctor just nodded, asking no more questions.

As I walked out of the office, two people came down the hallway. Elias was pulling a suitcase, looking like he’d come straight to the hospital from the airport. Lily followed him, wearing a black cashmere coat over her scrubs―the Burberry one I’d given Elias for our third anniversary.

Elias saw me and his brow furrowed.

“What are you doing here? Sick again?”

That word, “again,” stung like a needle. He snatched the papers from my hand, his eyes scanning them with a flicker of annoyance.

“I have things to do tomorrow. This isn't an emergency. We can do it when I have time.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “I’ve already handled it.”

He looked taken aback.

This was coming from the girl who used to video-call him in tears over a paper cut. The one who sent him a dozen selfies just to pick a date night outfit. Now, here I was, calmly scheduling my own surgery. If he hadn't run into me, he probably wouldn't have known until after it was over.

I took the chart back, accidentally knocking a small box from his hand. It clattered to the floor, spilling its contents―birth control pills.

“It’s not what you think,” Elias said, bending to pick them up. His voice was as flat as if he were discussing the weather. “They’re for Lily’s cramps. Doctor’s orders.”

Lily clutched the coat tighter, her voice a fragile whisper.

“I’m so sorry, Chloe. It’s all my fault. My anxiety has been so bad lately, I can’t sleep, I can’t focus. Elias is the only one who understands. He said he couldn’t leave me alone, in case I… did something stupid.”

Her voice trailed off.

“You don’t know what it’s like. Sometimes my head is just full of bad thoughts. I can only get through it when Elias is with me. I just wish I could be strong like you.”

I’d heard this script before.

Every time I questioned their relationship, Lily would bring up her anxiety and her “bad thoughts.” And Elias would shoot me a look that screamed, how can you be so heartless?

Once, I had a sharp pain in my stomach and asked him what kind of specialist I should see. This brilliant neurologist told me: “I don’t know.” When I complained he was being dismissive, he just pinched the bridge of his nose wearily.

“Can’t you just look it up yourself? You’re an adult, Chloe. Can you be a little more independent? Stop relying on me for every little thing.”

So frugal with his words for his girlfriend, yet he personally escorted someone else to her doctor's appointments.

“Well, you should take good care of her then,” I said, my voice completely flat. “After all, her mental health is much more important than my surgery, right?”

Lily’s face flushed. “Chloe, that’s not what I meant―”

“Are you still mad?” Elias cut her off, his eyes fixed on me. “Just because I didn’t tell you I was going out of town?”

Two weeks ago was his birthday. I had worked overtime for weeks to get the day off, cooked a huge meal, and had the watch he’d been wanting ready and waiting for him to come home. I waited until midnight, but he never showed. I only found out where he was when I saw Lily’s Instagram story―he was in London for a conference.

“It was just a business trip,” he’d said then. “I don’t need to report my every move to you. Birthdays happen every year, but this was a career opportunity. Don’t you have your own life to worry about? Why are you always tracking my schedule?”

I’d lost it on the phone that night.

“Elias, in your world, am I always last? The least important? The one who can always be postponed?”

His only response was: “You’re being irrational. We’ll talk when I get back to Seattle.”

Then he hung up.