I Came Back for Everything

Selene pushed the door open and handed me a set of pajamas.

She started to say something—

Then she saw the scars covering my body.

Burn marks. Cigarette tips.

From my collarbone all the way down to my tailbone.

One hundred and eight of them.

They looked like eyes, staring straight at her.

Selene's face drained of color. She covered her mouth and staggered back.

I quickly pulled the pajamas over myself.

They obviously weren't meant for me. The fabric hung off my frame like a robe.

Had I really gotten this thin?

Selene's lips trembled. She reached out like she wanted to touch the scars—then pulled her hand back.

"What happened? Tell me. What happened?"

I pushed her out of the bathroom.

What would be the point of telling her?

Would the scars disappear if I did?

It would only make her feel guilty.

And guilt was never what I wanted.

***

At breakfast the next morning, Selene looked determined to make it up to me. She even brought up marriage on her own.

She said LQ Corp had already gone public, and marriage wasn't a small thing. The preparations alone would take half a year.

She said during that time I could work if I wanted. Or travel. She'd give me a secondary card.

She said she'd keep her promise. She'd marry me. And I shouldn't overthink it.

I kept my head down, stirring the soup in my bowl.

Every word felt planned out, like she'd thought through the deal.

None of it sounded like love. Just repayment. Compensation.

Not once did she say she missed me.

Not once did she say she loved me.

Five years was a long time.

Everything had changed.

Maybe guilt. Maybe she was just busy. Either way, she didn't even finish her cream soup before leaving.

She left me a phone.

"Call if you need anything."

But the first person to contact me wasn't Selene.

It was Cody. Full name—Cody Hogg.

The second I picked up, he came at me hard.

"Don't you know Selene has stomach problems? Why didn't you make sure she finished breakfast before work? Or are you just counting on her guilt?"

He didn't even pause.

"If you hadn't taken the fall for her, do you really think she'd marry you? You don't seriously think I'm your substitute, do you?"

A short, mocking laugh.

"Sorry. I'm the one who's been with her this past year. When she was hospitalized for her stomach, I was there. She spent four years alone. Whatever grudge you had should be over by now."

Over the phone, Cody tore into me like he'd been waiting for it.

'Selene's been hospitalized?'

I rushed out and grabbed a cab to the hospital near her company.

I ran through the halls, half-panicked. A nurse pointed me the way. I finally reached the ER.

***

Selene's face was pale. She clutched her stomach.

The one holding her while she saw the doctor was Cody.

They looked like the most intimate couple in the world—leaning into each other, whispering close.

Cody murmured something in her ear. Selene's cheeks flushed. She gave him a light punch.

He kissed her hair like no one else existed.

When she cried out in pain, he leaned close to her lips.

The ER was packed. People coming and going.

Some crying in grief. Some standing there numb. Some running back and forth in panic.

And some—like them—wrapped up in tenderness.

I stood in the loud, crowded lobby.

My feet felt glued to the floor.

I couldn't move.

The loving pair finally wrapped up their little show.

Selene lifted her head and spotted me in the middle of the lobby—disheveled, out of breath.

Pain flashed across her face.

Gone just as fast.

Cold hostility took its place.

That wasn't the Selene I knew.

Where had my Selene gone?

***

I left in a daze. Selene didn't follow.

I barely remember getting back to the apartment. My stomach twisted hard. Since yesterday, all I'd had was a bowl of cream soup.

I wasn't hungry anyway.

Six months ago, I picked up an eating disorder.

Food made me sick. When I forced it down, it tasted like dirt. Once it hit my stomach, it burned so bad I'd spend the whole night tossing around.

The apartment still felt weird—like it wasn't mine anymore.

Nowhere felt right to sit.

So I curled up on the carpet and stared at the door.

Selene didn't come home that night.

Cody showed up the next morning instead.

He came to grab some clothes for Selene. When he saw me crouched on the floor like trash, he smirked.

"Look at you. Half-dead already. You really think you're good enough for Selene? She's way out of your league. You're nothing but dirt. You don't belong next to her. Take the hint and leave. Stop dreaming about marrying her."

Like always, he was trying to get a rise out of me.

I just looked at him.

Said nothing.

To him, it was like punching a pillow.

Cody's patience snapped.

"Don't think you're so great. Know what Selene did yesterday? She was with me. We slept together. Yeah. That's right. We slept together."