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“No,” Hayden says. “I was just telling Penelope that I got an investor for my app. He wants me to move, so I’m considering it.”
What? My world comes to a complete stop, and I look up at him in utter disbelief. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“I was about to.”
“Oh,” Tim says. “Investment company or single partner?”
“Single partner—at least now anyway.” He smiles, then he looks at me. “I figured it’s time for me to make plans for the future anyway. I think Travis is cool with me putting an end to looking after his little sister anyway.”
“Well, congratulations,” Tim says. I’m looking forward to competing with you down the line.”
“Likewise.” He extends his hand and shakes it. “I’m sure we’ll meet in the future someday.”
“Come on, Pen. I bought tickets to The Tracy Show.” Tim wraps his arm around my shoulder, leading me away from Hayden.
It takes everything in me not to look over my shoulder, not to run back to Hayden and tell him what I feel, but his words are still stinging.
Finally putting an end to looking after his little sister anyway?
Break up #16
The one that started the Cold War
Penelope
Back Then
* * *
A week later
“We need to talk.” Tim leans against my kitchen sink one morning, his eyes red-rimmed and puffy. “And no, I’m not giving you another day for space. You’ve had an entire week, and somehow you managed to forget that today was my birthday.”
“I have a birthday cake being delivered this afternoon.”
“Well, you can call it a breakup cake now.” He shrugs. “Or maybe you can call it an ‘I want to fuck Hayden Hunter’ cake. The latter actually sounds better.”
“For the umpteenth time, Hayden is just a friend.”
“Friends don’t look at each other like that.” He shakes his head. “The way the two of you looked at each other before we went camping last month and at the movies last week told me all that I needed to know.”
“I think you’re reading too much into that.”
“I know that I’m not.” He walks over to his duffle bag in the corner and pulls the strap over his shoulder. “I can’t do this anymore, Penelope. I’m sorry.”
“Tim, there’s nothing going on between me and Hayden.” My voice cracks. “We’re really just friends.”
“Do you always get this emotional when you talk about your friends?” He puts on his jacket. “Better yet, if he wasn’t suddenly leaving town with little notice, would you even care that I was breaking up with you?”
Silence.
“I thought so.” He walks out of the kitchen, slamming the door on his way out.
I wait until he leaves before ordering an Uber to Hayden’s house.
Even if he rejects me, it’s worth giving it a try.
When I arrive, I find myself face to face with a For Sale sign in the grass.
There’s also a bright yellow note on his door.
Please leave all packages with my neighbor.
She has my new address.
Thank you.
If you need to reach me, you can call me at 555-8756.
What the hell?
It’s a new phone number, and I’m wondering if by “new address,” he means that he’s going to surprise me by showing me the realtor listing of his house later.
Where is he staying now, though?
“You’re here looking for your friend, hun?” His redheaded neighbor calls out from her porch.
“Yeah. Can you tell me where he went?”
“He’s in the sky by now, I suppose.”
“The sky?”
“New York City,” she says. “His flight is this afternoon. Got a love letter you want me to send him?” She smiled. “I’m sure he’ll think that’s really cute.”
I rush toward the Uber and fling the backdoor open. “Can you take me to the airport, please?”
Half an hour later, I weave my way through the crowds at Sea-Tac International, looking for Hayden.
Two gates later, I spot him sitting at a Starbucks.
“Hayden…” I step in front of him. “Hayden, what the hell are you doing?”
“Going to New York,” he says. “I told you that I was leaving.”
“No, you told me that you were thinking about leaving. Last time I checked, you usually call and talk to me about major things in your life before jumping on them, because they affect me, too.”
He stares at me blankly, as if I’m speaking a foreign language.
“You’re leaving, just like that?” My voice cracks. “When were you planning to tell me?”
“I wasn’t.”
“Why not?”
“You didn’t need to know. It’s my life.”
“What?” I push at his chest. “It’s my life, too. You’re my best friend.”
“We’ll always be friends, Penelope.” His eyes are cold, and his voice is flat. He’s nothing like the man I was talking to in the theater the other day, nothing like the man who has become my support system.
“Why are you acting this way with me, Hayden?” Tears prick my eyes. “Why are you really leaving me?”
“I’m not trying to act any way with you at all.” He grabs my wrists, holding me still. “I’m behind on my app and I’m running out of money, and investors who are willing to help me fix it. I’m in a bad place.”
