Chapter 2

Two days passed. I didn't send Ronnie a single message, and she didn't seem to notice.

Then one evening after work, a downpour hit. I was waiting under the awning outside the office for a ride.

Nick was standing next to me, phone in hand, smiling to himself.

"Ronnie, pull up a little closer — I'm right by the entrance..."

A car pulled up. I recognized it immediately.

Sure enough, the window rolled down. Ronnie was in the driver's seat.

That car was something Ronnie had wanted. I helped her pay for it so her commute would be easier.

But in the middle of a rainstorm, she hadn't thought to check on me once. She drove my car to pick up Nick.

She saw me and hesitated. "Hernandez, you're..."

Nick folded his umbrella and climbed into the passenger seat.

"Ronnie, you know Hernandez?" He looked at me through the window, a barely-there smirk on his face.

"Hernandez, why don't you hop in? Let Ronnie drop you off. Hard to get a ride in this rain."

Ronnie said nothing. She just looked at me too.

I kept my face flat and shook my head. "I'm good."

I'd already called a car. Three minutes out.

I wasn't going to squeeze in there and ruin my own night.

Nick nodded and rolled the window back up.

The car sat there for a few seconds, then drove off.

By the time I got home and stepped out of the shower, Ronnie was already there.

She had my door code.

"Hernandez, are you mad at me?"

"You didn't get in the car, and I figured you were busy — but the more I thought about it, something felt off. You've barely been texting me lately."

Ronnie reached for my arm. I stepped aside.

"Is this about me picking up Nick? Or about the other night when I wouldn't let you stay over?"

She looked more exasperated than anything.

"Don't be like that. Nick is an old classmate. I gave him a ride because I was already passing by — hard to say no when someone asks directly."

"And the reason I don't let you stay is because a girl has to have standards..."

"Ronnie. Let's break up."

She froze. Her expression cooled.

"Hernandez. Seriously?"

"Seriously." I held her gaze. "I can't stay at your place, but Nick can. You don't think that's a little ridiculous?"

She never planned on telling me. She knew exactly how I'd react.

"You... just hear me out."

She hadn't expected me to find out. That much was clear from her face.

"Nick came here on his own to make it in the city. I'm the only person he knows."

"His family doesn't have much. It's been hard for him, and then his landlord threw him out. If I didn't help, he'd literally be on the street."

I stayed quiet. She sighed.

"He's just crashing temporarily. There's nothing going on between us. It's not that deep."

"Besides, he's like a younger brother to me — and technically just a tenant..."

"Just a tenant?"

I almost laughed.

"Ronnie, I told you about Nick. He's a new intern in my department."

"He's been here a week. Every lunch break, he's on the phone in the break room. People teased him about it and he said it wasn't a girlfriend — just an old classmate."

"That's you, isn't it?"

Ronnie's eyes shifted for just a moment. She didn't deny it.

I'm the kind of person who likes to share things. Whenever I had a free moment, I'd text her.

She almost never texted back. We'd argued about it more than once.

Back then, Ronnie always looked worn out when it came up.

"Hernandez, we're adults. Work is busy. Lunch breaks are for resting. Can you stop making this so hard?"

With Nick, nothing was hard.

"These past two days, Nick has been bringing lunch to the office. You made it for him, didn't you."

I'd once complained about my stomach bothering me and asked if she could cook for me sometime. She told me coldly that she wasn't my personal chef.

The matching lunch containers I'd bought for us — left at her place — Nick had been using them.

Ronnie frowned, clearly not following my logic.

"Hernandez, don't you think you're being a little petty?"

"Try not to judge Nick. He mentioned there was some misunderstanding between you two..."

She hadn't listened to a word I said. But she'd taken Nick's word for it.

I had nothing left to say. The silence stretched between us — until the doorbell rang.

Ronnie turned and opened the door.

Nick walked in and gave me a small smile.

"Hernandez. Sorry to intrude."