Page 58 of Flashback for the Forward

“Bridget, I can’t do this anymore.”

The silence stretched for so long that I pulled the phone away to make sure the call hadn’t dropped.

“Bridget? Are you there?”

A shaky exhale came through the line. “What are you saying?”

I squeezed my eyes shut against a fresh wave of pain. “It’s over between us.” The words tasted like acid on my tongue.

There was a hitch in her breathing. “O-over? You’re breaking up with me?”

“I am.”

Sniffling, she said, “Y-you said you were going to give me your last name.”

The reminder that I was giving up my dreams for the future felt like a dagger piercing through my heart, but I pushed forward anyway.

Derisive laughter burst past my lips. “How would that even be possible when we can never bring our relationship into the light?”

“Then let’s stop hiding.”

“No.”

“No?” she asked in disbelief.

I shook my head even though she couldn’t see me. “Russ is my best friend.”

“And he’s my brother!” she cried. “When he finds out how much we love each other, he’ll accept us as a couple. I know it.”

“Acceptance isn’t the same as forgiveness.”

“So, you’re choosing him over me?” Her voice came out watery.

“It’s what I should have done in the first place.”

A hiccupping sob sounded in my ear. “Wh-when did I become something you regret?”

“I always knew it was wrong. That’s what made it so exciting. But now that the fun of sneaking around has worn off, I realize it’s not worth the risk.”

Damn, those words came out so cold that I couldn’t suppress a shiver.

“Cole, you don’t mean that.”

“I do.”

“Please don’t do this,” she begged, desperation taking hold. “I love you.”

“You’ve confused a teenage infatuation for love. You’ll get over it eventually.”

She was blubbering loudly now, and her breaths came in broken gasps.

Unable to take it a moment longer, I said, “I have to go.”

“No, w-wait! Cole, I—”

Vision blurry, I hung up, but that wasn’t enough to stop the sound of her brokenhearted cries from echoing in my ears.

Back in the present, I blurted, “I should’ve never broken up with you!”