He Fumbled a Lifetime

So he knew.

He knew in my last life, I loved him to the point of breaking—worked three jobs, handed over every dollar.

I never complained. Not once.

Not when coworkers bullied me.

Not when my supervisor made my life hell.

Not when customers grabbed me or ran their mouths.

I never told him.

I always felt bad for him.

School. His mom's illness. Working to cover her bills—I thought he had it rough.

I never realized... that was his responsibility. Not mine.

I worked twelve-hour days. He never once felt bad for me.

And in the end, I still got the worst ending.

Philip dug his fingers into my shoulder. Pain shot through me, tears stinging my eyes.

He froze, then let go, face twisting with disgust. "Stella, even if you try to split me and Winnie up—even if you cry because I don't love you—I'll only love her this time. Since you won't lend me money, drop the jealousy and stay away. Otherwise, don't blame me for getting nasty."

I almost laughed. "Fine. Then stay away from me too. Stop bothering me—and don't ask me for money again."

He blinked, thrown by how fast I agreed.

Like he didn't buy it, he scoffed. "Relax. I'd never come to you anyway."

Then he turned and walked off.

Later, I heard he spent two days sweet-talking Winnie before they got back together.

Guess a young, naive girl like her couldn't resist so-called love.

***

Third-Person POV

Two months flew by.

Philip finally scraped together enough for his first semester and a couple months of living. He was riding high, thinking he'd made it without Stella, no dropout in sight.

Then Margaret crashed.

She got rushed to the ER, and just like that, his little victory died.

That's when it hit him. Last time, Stella's card had covered everything. Margaret stayed in the hospital the whole time—no emergencies, no panic.

This time?

Winnie had five grand. That was it.

She handed over all five grand.

Still not enough.

So Philip cut corners. Checked Margaret out early and dragged her home to "recover."

Yeah, that backfired.

She got worse.

He camped at the hospital for two days straight. When they finally rolled her out of the ICU, ventilator still hooked up, he let out a long breath.