365 Days of Rain, 365 Days of Her, Zero Days of Me Chapter 02

365 Days of Rain, 365 Days of Her, Zero Days of Me Chapter 02

I ran into Julian at the elevator after work. I stepped in, pressed the lobby button, and moved to the far corner — keeping as much space between us as I could.

It was just the two of us. He broke the silence first. “Why didn’t you ride with me?”

The doors slid open. Chloe squeezed in between us with a pout and swatted Julian on the arm.

“You snuck out without me! We said we’d leave together — I don’t want you waiting around.”

Julian made a big show of rubbing his arm, laughing. “All right, all right, princess.”

Then Chloe seemed to remember I existed. “Audrey, want a ride home with us today?”

She said it like an afterthought. The elevator hit the lobby.

“I’m good.”

I stepped out, and Julian caught my wrist.

“I need to talk to you tonight. Head home early, okay?”

He said it like it was nothing. Light. Easy.

Easy for him to say. My commute was five subway stops, one transfer, and an hour-long bus ride. On rainy days, the line at the station backed up all the way out the door.

Trust me, I’d love to get home early, too.

“I’ll try. I’ve got something to take care of first.”

I pulled free and walked away without looking back. The smell from a bakery stopped me mid-step.

That smell — warm sugar and butter, exactly the way I remembered it. Julian and I used to take the long way home just to stop here, passing a pastry back and forth, letting the whole day melt off us.

That felt like someone else’s life. A couple sat at our old table out front now.

I looked away and pushed open the door to the leasing office next door.

“Ms. Hayes, your lease is all wrapped up. Just need you out by the weekend.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

“Honestly, the place looks great — you kept it in such good shape it practically rented itself.”

“But all that furniture, the curtains, and everything — you’re really leaving it all for the next tenant?”

“Yeah.”

The ergonomic sofa, the blackout curtains, the desk I’d measured to his exact height — I’d hit up every thrift store in the city to find them, and none of it came cheap. But once the feelings were gone, everything you built around them was just furniture.

By the time I got home, it was late. I flipped the lights on. Empty.

I texted Julian. [Weren’t you going to tell me something?]

He didn’t answer for a long time.

[Chloe wanted to try this restaurant and it wasn’t far, so I took her.]

I looked up the restaurant. An hour’s drive from the office. The place I’d booked for our anniversary was twenty minutes away.

He’d said that was too far. We ended up eating at home.

My phone rang. Mom.

“Have you two set a date for the wedding yet? If you wait any longer, all the good venues will be booked!”

No. We hadn’t.

He forgot the gift. He forgot the promise, too — the one where five years meant it was time.

I didn’t say anything for too long, and my mom caught it.

“He’s not going to do it, is he? I knew it. He’s stringing you along — again.”

“I told you not to follow him out there. You swore he was good to you — and where did that get you? You ended up in the hospital alone!”

When my ulcer flared up, I could barely move. I called Julian over and over — he never picked up.

My mom was the one who called 911 — from across the country. The doctor told me if I’d gotten there any later, it could’ve killed me.

I tried to end things the moment I was out of surgery. Julian lost it.

He took time off and stayed at the hospital around the clock. I’d wake up at three in the morning and find him slumped in the chair beside me, eyes swollen from crying. For a little while, it felt like before.

Back then, his phone was always on, always answered. I was the only one who ever rode on the back of his motorcycle. My roommates would complain about their boyfriends texting other girls, and I’d just sit there — the one they all envied.

Watching my mom’s marriage fall apart made me cynical in my own relationships. I pushed people away before they could hurt me. Julian just kept showing up, no matter how many times I cut him.

He tore down every wall I’d built, one by one, until I believed he was the exception.

He wasn’t.

After the surgery, I asked him. “Why didn’t you pick up?”

“A server crashed,” he said. “It was critical. I didn’t even look at my phone.”

Chloe had been moving into a new apartment that day.

I saw the photos later — Chloe’s post, Julian’s hands carrying her boxes, her caption calling him her knight in shining armor. I knew he was lying. I didn’t call him on it.

Not because I was weak. Not because I still loved him. I just needed time to plan my way out.

That day was here now. I opened my mouth.

“No, Mom. It’s not him. I’m the one who doesn’t want to set a date.”

“I’ve made up my mind.”

The front door swung open. Julian was standing right there.

“Made up your mind about what?”