Chapter 2

That's what I told myself.

But it still hurt like hell.

I went back to the bedroom and buried my face in the pillow and sobbed until I couldn't breathe.

I don't know how long I cried. Then I heard the front door open.

I stopped crying instantly and scrambled off the bed.

I was halfway to the door before I made myself stop.

Him coming back didn't mean he was coming back to make up. He could just as easily be here to grab his things.

The thought made it worse. I took a slow breath and tried to hold myself together.

I turned to go back to the room. The bedroom door swung open from the other side.

Leon stood in the doorway, looking unhappy and a little lost in that way that only made him more attractive. I forgot, for a second, to be heartbroken.

Leon blinked. Then he held out a pizza box and two cups of coffee. "Eat something first. Then we can talk."

[I actually thought Leon was about to walk out for good. Turns out he just went downstairs, smoked a few cigarettes, and talked himself down.]

[Leon has always been the responsible type. Niya doesn't want to break up, and even if he's upset with her right now, he's not going to force the issue.]

[It doesn't matter. They'll break up eventually.]

I did my best to ignore the flood of spiteful comments and wiped my nose. "Okay."

I followed Leon into the living room.

I sat down at the table and stared at nothing.

He unpacked the food carefully, setting everything out.

I looked up. "You're not eating?"

"Already ate," Leon said flatly.

I didn't call him on the lie. I just put my head down and ate.

Leon always reached for cigarettes when he was stressed.

His hand found the pack, then stopped. He pushed it away.

"You can smoke if you want," I said.

I hated the smell, which was why he never smoked in front of me. I used to take that for granted. I didn't dare take it for granted anymore.

"Don't want to," Leon said coldly.

Fine. I didn't push it.

After a while, Leon spoke again, his voice slower, like he was thinking out loud. "I've been looking at the numbers. What I have right now is barely enough for a down payment on a small place."

"It wouldn't be anything fancy. Old building, small square footage. But if you don't mind, we could start there and trade up later."

I stopped chewing.

Leon gave me a small, crooked smile. "Didn't you always say the biggest dream of your life was to have a real home? Now you're turning your nose up at square footage?"

My throat tightened. Every wall I'd built up while he was gone came crashing down at once, and I burst into tears.

Leon panicked immediately. "Okay, forget the small place, we'll wait until we can afford something bigger—"

That only made it worse. I cried harder. He looked more helpless by the second.

I gave up trying to hold it together and threw my arms around him, crying against his chest.

Leon held me tight and kept talking in a low, steady voice, over and over, patient in a way that broke me even more.

"Hey. Don't cry. We're going to have that big house someday. I promise."

[She's not completely unsympathetic, I guess. The reason she's so fixated on having a home probably has everything to do with her childhood.]

[Her sad backstory doesn't justify the way she treated Leon and Eve. Let's not make excuses for her.]

[Exactly. She might seem pitiful right now, but the second a richer guy shows up, she'll drop Leon without a second thought.]