Sharing Hannah

Chris was foaming at the mouth now. Practically slavering, right there in his own doorway. God, it was so great.

“You gave me the key…” I said, holding it up. “Remember?”

My ex-boyfriend’s face turned so bright red it was almost purple. He stomped over, reached out, and moved to violently snatch the key from my hand. At the last second I let it fall to the floor.

“Oops.”

He was so easily rattled. Always had been. But I was approaching his limits now, and from this point on I had to be careful. People like Chris always had simple limits.

“What are you doing here?” he growled. “Why are you on my computer? What have you—”

I rotated the chair and stood up, just as he swooped in to grab the mouse. I could see his eyes, scanning the desktop. Looking for any trace of what I might’ve done, or might still be doing.

The only thing he got was an eyeful of Solitaire.

“I always hated that game,” I said offhandedly. “Too little skill involved. It’s almost entirely the luck of the draw.”

“What is it you want Broo—”

“I want you to STOP FUCKING WITH ME,” I snarled, abruptly and savagely. “You need to stop following me, you need to stop harassing me, you need to stop showing up, trying to break into my apartme—”

“I did NOT break into your apartment!” he yelled. Boy, I could tell he was mad. Really mad.

“You need also need to stop skulking around in the middle of the night,” I said. “Stalking parking lots. Slashing tires, like some lame fucking coward.”

“Middle of the night?” he asked incredulously. “Slashing… tires?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” I spat angrily. My voice was lower now, but still filled with acid venom. “You’re a lunatic, Chris. Out of your goddamn mind, and for what? All because you can’t have me?”

I could see that the words hurt. That

I’d hit on truth he still hadn’t fully faced, one that he was still denying.

“Well I have news for you,” I said. “You never had me.”

He started twitching. First his hands, then his wrists, then part of his face. It only happened when he was extremely upset, or extremely embarrassed. I didn’t know if it was either one or both.

“Even when you had me you never had me,” I said. “I was never yours. Not ever.”

There was no more beating around the bush, no more being nice or sparing his feelings about it. No, the time for that was long since over. I needed him to know.

“Stop telling people we’re still together,” I said, “including your sister. Especially your sister. And stop following me around wherever I go. I will call the police, Chris. I will get a restraining order.”

He stood there utterly motionless, stunned and stupefied. He’d even let go of the mouse.

“I wish I could go back in time,” I said, driving the point home. “I wish I’d never, ever gone to that stupid fucking Christmas party…”

“Me too.”

The new voice nearly startled me out of my skin! We both whirled, and there was Chloe, standing in the doorway.

“I wish you two had never gotten together,” my boss said. “Such a clusterfuck of a relationship. You keep fighting with each other. Yo-yoing back and forth, between—”

“I am not yo-yoing!” I cried, distancing myself from Chris. “We’ve been over forever. Contrary to what I’m sure he tells you, I have ZERO interest in your brother.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”