Hard to Endure Chapter 07

Hard to Endure Chapter 07

After breakfast, I finally remembered to look for my phone. I charged it and turned it on, and my message list

was flooded with texts from Adrian and his friends.

They’d recorded the video of me fighting with Knox at the bar and posted it in the group chat Adrian and I

were both in.

Tyler: [Summer, who’s that guy? Want us to come help?]

Marcus: [Summer, Adrian didn’t cheat. You’ve got it all wrong. @AdrianS, explain yourself, now.]

Josh: [Summer, where’d you two go?]

Tyler: [Summer, Adrian’s on his way back.]

Adrian didn’t reply in the group, but he messaged me privately.

Adrian: [Vanessa was in a bad place. I was worried she’d do something, so I took her to the beach to clear her head.]

Adrian: [Babe, there’s nothing going on between her and me. Don’t get the wrong idea.]

Adrian: [I’m on my way home.]

Adrian: [Who’s that guy, babe?]

In the video, Knox’s jaw was clenched tight. When he heard me say I was crazy about Adrian, he looked like

he wanted to kill me.

After thinking it over, I replied in the group.

Me: [Nobody.]

Me: [Adrian, we’re done.]

Once I’d sent it, I left the group chat and drove to the apartment Adrian and I shared. I had a lot of stuff. It

took me a whole afternoon to pack everything up before the movers could load it into the truck.

I never expected to run into Adrian and Vanessa in the parking garage on my way out. They were making out so hard that they didn’t notice me drive right past them.

When Adrian got home, he was surprised by how clean the apartment was.

Summer loved snacks, especially chips. She always got sick of them after a few bites, so they’d bought a ton of chip clips.

Summer also loved curling up on the couch, and she’d bought so many stuffed animals that they took up half

of it.

Whenever he complained, she’d kick a few of them onto the floor and pout. “Okay, okay. You matter most,

babe.”

Adrian’s pupils shrank. The stuffed animals were gone.

He was in such a hurry that he forgot to change into his slippers. After two steps, he remembered that

Summer liked to walk around barefoot, so he couldn’t track dirt across the floor. He rushed back to the

entryway.

He pulled open the shoe cabinet to find his slippers, and that was when he noticed all of Summer’s heels

were gone.

This time, he didn’t bother with the slippers. He ran straight into the bedroom and the walk-in closet. Every one of Summer’s things was gone.

It felt like someone had carved a piece out of his chest. It wasn’t the same as the day Vanessa left three

years before, but Adrian couldn’t explain the difference, even to himself.

He pulled out his phone and texted her without thinking.

Adrian: [Babe, where are you?]

He hadn’t expected Summer to block him. The red Not Delivered alert stung his eyes. He called her next, and

an automated voice told him the number he’d dialed was unavailable.

Adrian couldn’t reach Summer, so he called his friends over to help him figure out what to do..

Marcus couldn’t hold it in. “If you’re going to keep hanging on to Vanessa, then leave Summer alone. You

didn’t see her at the bar that day. It was painful to watch.”

Adrian frowned. “What do you mean, hanging on? There’s no chance for Vanessa and me.”

Marcus snorted, unable to keep from sticking up for Summer. “No chance, and you were kissing her? What

counts as a chance, then? Sleeping with her?”

“Adrian, figure out what you want before you do anything else.”

Adrian’s face stiffened. That night at the beach, he’d slept with Vanessa. But he’d told her plainly, “After this,

we’re done.” And Vanessa had agreed.

The truth was, he’d been terrible that night. He could tell Vanessa was disappointed, but he couldn’t help it.

The whole time, all he could think about was the video his friends had sent him. Summer, red-eyed and

crying, had been screaming at her own brother that she was crazy about Adrian.

At that thought, Adrian snapped back to himself. He’d never once heard Summer mention having a brother.

There had only been a few times, when she’d had too much to drink, that she’d clung to him and cried,

mumbling the same thing over and over. “Please don’t leave me like my brother did.”