I had spent my entire life coloring inside the lines, but during my freshman year of college, I fell for a guy who was obsessed with his own freedom. Dates were always on his terms, dictated down to the minute. On April Fools’ Day, just as dawn broke, he pounded on my dorm door, waking up all my roommates, insisting I go to the track for a sunrise walk. On Valentine’s Day, he texted me at one in the morning to meet him downstairs. I was two minutes late, and he lost his temper. When I apologized, he rejected it with cold detachment. “Even if you’re my girlfriend, you don’t have the right to strip me of my free time.” I swallowed my pride and endured it all because I loved him. Until the night I was doubled over with severe stomach cramps and dragged myself to the campus clinic, only to find him sitting beside a girl I’d never seen before, chafing her hand between his to keep her warm while her IV dripped. There wasn’t a flicker of panic or guilt on his face when he saw me. Instead, he looked at me with smooth composure. “It’s my time. How I choose to spend it is none of your business, isn’t it?” he said. “Besides, she sprained her ankle, so I brought her in to get some medication. Are you really going to be jealous over this?” For the first time since we met, I thought he was right. So I turned around and called a senior from the performing arts department. “Hey,” I said, my voice steady. “I’ll be your dance partner.” … During the freshman orientation showcase, Greg’s hand rested lightly on my waist. Even through the thin fabric of my dress, I could feel the heat radiating from his palm. Aside from Trevor, he was the first man to touch me like that. But I felt nothing—no spark, no flutter. My eyes swept over the crowded auditorium, searching for Trevor. He wasn’t there. A sharp, familiar ache bloomed in my chest, and I looked down, unable to hide my disappointment. “Dancing a duet with me,” Greg murmured, leaning down slightly, “won’t your boyfriend get jealous?” Instinctively, I took a step back, my heel catching on the edge of my dress. I stumbled, but Greg caught me cleanly by the waist, pulling me against his chest to steady me. “He won’t,” I whispered, keeping my voice low. Greg held my gaze, his expression unreadable. “Because from where I was standing, it looked like your boyfriend was too busy taking care of a freshman to notice you. How about dancing another piece with me at the university anniversary gala next month?” He wasn’t wrong. By the time the gala rolled around, Trevor would likely still be catering to Amber, unable to carve out ten minutes for a real date with me. “Okay,” I agreed softly. We had already danced this one. What difference did one more dance make? When the performance ended and we walked offstage into the backstage hallway, my roommate, Sadie, ran up to us, holding her phone. “Greg! Josie! The clip of your duet just exploded on the campus forum!” Greg turned to me, his dark eyes searching my face. “Josie, everyone on campus thinks we’re a couple now. Is Trevor going to be angry when he sees this?” I parted my lips to speak, but before I could utter a word, my phone vibrated in my hand. Trevor’s custom ringtone chimed. I instinctively answered it and ducked into an empty, quiet classroom down the hall. The line remained silent. Trevor didn’t speak. I stood by the window, waiting, my eyes absently wandering down to the main courtyard outside the building. Suddenly, my breath caught in my throat. There, near the campus gates, stood Trevor. He had his arm slung casually around Amber’s shoulder, pulling her close in a way that erased every boundary a taken man should hold. Amber held a half-eaten apple up to his mouth, tilting her head with a sweet smile. Trevor laughed, leaned down, and took a bite. The sharp, crisp crunch of the apple resonated clearly through the speaker pressed against my ear. “Why are you eating someone else’s apple?” I asked softly into the phone. A long beat of silence followed before Trevor’s impatient voice came through. “Amber couldn’t finish it. I was just helping her out. Are you really getting jealous over an apple?” My hand trembled, nearly dropping the phone. “Josie,” Trevor continued, his voice laced with irritation, “am I spoiling you too much lately?” In the background, Amber’s sugary, delicate voice drifted in. “Trevor, your girlfriend is so lucky to have you.” “She doesn’t realize it,” Trevor replied to her, a rare, softer note in his voice that sounded almost embarrassed. He used to sound like that when we first started dating. I stayed silent, but my body shook uncontrollably. “Look, Josie, let me cancel our date for tonight,” Trevor said, lying without hesitation. “Amber sprained her ankle, and it’s pretty bad. I need to stick around and look after her for a while.” I had expected it, but the sudden, sharp twist in my chest still took my breath away. Trevor hadn’t even noticed that we hadn’t had a proper date in over two weeks. I swallowed, wanting to tell him “fine”, but the word caught like glass in my throat. On the other end of the line, Amber chimed in again, her tone dripping with mock innocence. “Trevor, you’re being so sweet to me. Won’t Josie be mad? Should I call her and explain? I mean, I only took a little bite of your mouth by accident earlier when I was eating that jelly—it wasn’t a big deal at all! Besides, Trevor, you love your freedom so much. Do you really need her permission for everything you do?” My hand clamped into a fist, my fingernails biting deep into my palm. The physical sting anchored me, keeping the panic at bay. “No,” Trevor answered her smoothly. “It’s my time. I schedule it however I want.” He tossed a quick goodbye into the receiver, telling me he had to get back to taking care of Amber, and hung up. For the next three days, Trevor was everywhere with Amber. They looked like a couple in the sweet, intoxicated honeymoon phase of a romance, clinging to each other as they strolled lazily through the campus fruit shops. On the track, Amber would delicately wipe the sweat from Trevor’s brow with a handkerchief. In the cafeteria, she would pout playfully, coaxing him to feed her bites of food. I didn’t want to see any of it, but no matter where I walked, they materialized in my line of sight. After finishing my lunch, I picked up my tray and walked toward the tray return station. A figure stepped out, blocking my path. Amber stood there, tapping her foot impatient on the tile—showing zero signs of the severe ankle sprain Trevor had claimed she suffered. She got straight to the point. “Josie, you should break up with Trevor.” She crossed her arms, looking down her nose at me. “He craves freedom. Trapping him like this won’t make either of you happy. I’m the only one who can actually give him what he needs.” I stepped sideways to go around her, but she shifted instantly, cutting me off again. “You guys always go on those weird dates late at night or at midnight, right?” she sneered, leaning in slightly. “But do you know what? Ever since he started taking care of me, he never makes me meet him in the middle of the night. He adjusts to “my” schedule. Whatever I want, he does. When I wanted breakfast from that bakery outside campus yesterday morning, he went and got it without a single complaint. When I wanted to take an afternoon walk, he showed up immediately.” She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a whisper right beside my ear. “Josie, you might be his girlfriend on paper, but he treats me ten times better than he treats you. Haven’t you seen enough these past few days?” It hit me then. I hadn’t been casually bumping into them by accident. Amber had been orchestrating every single encounter. I forced myself to breathe, clutching the edges of my plastic tray. Suddenly, Amber reached out and grabbed my wrist. Before I could react, she yanked my arm downward. The bowl on my tray tilted, spilling lukewarm soup and leftover broth all over the front of her white sweater. Amber let out a high-pitched, agonizing scream. “Ow! It burns! Trevor, help me! It hurts so much!” Footsteps pounded across the cafeteria floor, and Trevor materialized like a storm, his face contorted with anger. “She did that on purpose—” I began, my voice tight. Trevor didn’t listen. He grabbed my wrist and shoved me backward with a force that sent me staggering off balance. My spine slammed hard against the sharp metal corner of the stainless-steel serving counter behind me. A fiery, blinding agony exploded across my shoulder blades. I trembled, leaning against the counter for support, and reached behind my back to touch the wet warmth soaking through my shirt. When I brought my hand back around, my fingertips were smeared with bright, wet blood. I froze, the air leaving my lungs. Trevor didn’t notice a thing. He unzipped his jacket, wrapping it tenderly around Amber’s trembling shoulders. She burrowed into his chest, tears streaming down her face like a tragic heroine. Trevor looked down at her, his eyes red with concern. Amber whimpered, lifting her face. Her lips brushed intentionally against his jaw as she wept. “Trevor, don’t be mad at Josie… it was my fault. I just saw her following us every day, and I wanted to ask if she was mad at me for taking up your time… I didn’t mean to cling to you…” When Trevor turned his head back to look at me, his expression was colder than ice. “Josie, aren’t you exhausted, tracking my every move like a stalker?” He gestured wildly toward Amber. “Yesterday, Amber was kind enough to make excuses for you, saying you just happened to be walking by. But now? You’re not even pretending anymore. You’re physically attacking her in broad daylight?” “I wasn’t tracking you,” I said, my voice hollow, stripped of all emotion. “And I didn’t attack her. She grabbed my hand and pulled the bowl onto herself.” The veins on Trevor’s forehead bulged. There wasn’t a single shred of trust in his eyes. Not a drop. Amber reached out, her pale hand coming to rest softly on Trevor’s forearm. “It’s okay, Trevor… don’t be mad at her. It was all my fault, really…” Trevor didn’t hesitate. He scooped Amber up into his arms, carrying her bridal-style. As he passed me, his voice cut through the air like a blade. “Josie, I never realized how cruel you actually are.” He stopped, glaring at me over his shoulder. “We need to take a six-month break. We’re done spending time together until you fix your attitude.” I stared at him, the disappointment settling deep into my bones. “Trevor, we’ve been together for almost a year,” I said softly. “You really don’t believe me at all?” He chose to believe a girl he had known for less than a month over me. Trevor’s jaw set into a hard line. “I believe Amber.” Amber rested her head on his shoulder, casting a triumphant, mocking smile at me over his back as he carried her away. I clung to the edge of the serving counter, my hand shaking uncontrollably. The warm, thick stickiness on my back was spreading, soaking through my shirt. My knees buckled, and my legs gave out. Just as I was about to hit the hard floor, a pair of strong, steady arms caught me around the waist, lifting me off my feet. Gasps echoed through the cafeteria.
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