Break Up with Him, for Me (You Belong With Me 1)

Penelope doesn’t answer it, though. Tim does.

What the hell?

“Hey, Hayden.” He smiles. “Nice to see you.”

As if he can read my confused expression, he clears his throat. “The water pipes at my house burst an hour ago, so I figured I could stay with my girlfriend for a few days while they get fixed. That’s what girlfriends are for, right?”

“Right.”

I step inside and see that her living room is filled with his belongings. Rolling my eyes, I look around for her, finding her in her mother’s old library.

“Is Tim still taking you camping for the weekend?” I can’t think of anything else to say.

“Yeah, unless …”

“Unless, what?”

She doesn’t answer me.

“Did you mean what you said at the theater last week?” I ask.

“Yes.” She nods. “Every word. I really do love him.”

My chest aches at her confessing that she’s in love with him again. The look in her eyes is undeniably for him.

“Take things slow with him, then,” I say, surrendering. “Make sure he’s everything you want before you cross the line.”

“He is. I just wish that he could see that.” She hugs me longer than usual, and I rub my hands against her back.

We slowly pull away and stare at each other.

Fuck it. Tell her that she belongs with you instead. Consequences be damned.

“Hey.” Tim steps into the room before I can utter a word. “I was looking for you two. I just got an email about free pizza night at Brick Oven. Let’s go, shall we?”

“No, I’m okay,” I say. “I need to pick up some stuff for her brother while I’m here anyway. I’ll be out of your way soon.”

“I’ll go.” Penelope keeps her eyes on mine, but she loops her arm in his. “We need to leave now if we’re going to make it before they run out, though. Oh, and Hayden, can you shut the door all the way when you leave the house? Tim’s dog is here.”

“Will do.”

I watch from the windows as they leave and get into his truck. Once they roll out of the driveway and pass the four-way stop at the end of the street, I treat myself to a private tour of his things that are in the living room.

I remember Penelope telling me that he was building a dating app as well, but according to what she’s said, he is a bit farther along in the process than me. Where I have a team of seven, he has a team of twenty.

Flipping through his folders, I raise my eyebrow at the logo and name ideas.

Tinder as the name? A red or hot pink flame as a logo?

I open one of the mini file cabinets near the coffee table and pause. There’s a stack of papers, all dripping in code. In between the lines are the words, ‘suggested algorithms, and features.’

I know that I should let them lay as they are, but I can’t help myself.

I make copies of everything in Penelope’s library and unplug the printer. Then, just because he has the audacity to make my best friend fall for him, I knock over all of his shit before leaving.

Break Up #16.5

The One That Could Never Be

better yet …

the one that really started the cold war

* * *

Hayden

Back Then

The copies on my front seat are taunting me as I drive; they’re calling me a “thief.” The guilt of what I’ve done almost makes me turn around and shred everything.

Keyword: Almost.

I want to look at his work, only to see if he’s figured out something amazing for his app. If there’s anything I can learn, not steal.

Trying to silence the voices in my head, I accidentally trigger the memory of a dog barking.

Woof! Woof! Woof!

I try to think of something else, but the barks get louder. And it only takes me half a mile to realize that those sounds aren’t in my head at all.

Woof! Woof! Woof!

I pull over on the side of the road and look in the backseat.

“Woof!” Tim’s grey and black terrier stares into my eyes.

He’s sitting on the floor, and his front paw is trapped under some shipping tape.

What the hell?

I mentally rewind the past hour, wondering when and how he jumped into my car.

He barks louder and struggles to free himself.

I sigh and take my time helping him, considering the pros and cons of returning him tonight or first thing in the morning.

The cons outweigh the pros, so I scoop him up and move him to the passenger seat. Then I grab a blanket off the floor and cover him.

Pulling onto the road again, I take a detour to the closest pet store and try to pretend like I haven’t completely lost my damn mind.

One hour later

I place a bowl of water onto my kitchen floor and make sure there’s enough kibble in the new dispenser that’s next to it.