He Took His Childhood Friend to the World Cup, Leaving Me With Their Cat Chapter 10

He Took His Childhood Friend to the World Cup, Leaving Me With Their Cat Chapter 10

A memory sparked. Yesterday, my social media account had received a direct message.

It was just three simple words: You won, Sloane.

It must have been from Chloe.

“You want to know why I will never forgive you?” I asked, my voice flat. “Follow me.”

I led Barrett straight to my grandma’s grave.

Staring at her kind face on the tombstone, a lump formed in my throat before I could even speak.

“That herbal pillow Chloe’s cat ruined with its urine was the most precious thing my grandma left me.”

“She knew my job was grinding me down and I couldn’t sleep.”

“She asked around until she found an old Amish craftsman who made traditional herbal pillows.”

“She was eighty-five, Barrett. She didn’t trust flights, and she had no idea how to book anything online. So

she took buses.”

“She sat on a bus for nearly twenty hours, transferring multiple times, just to get that pillow made for me.”

“She didn’t want me taking sleeping pills because she worried about the side effects.”

“She searched the internet for solutions until she found out about those custom herbal blends.”

“She had never left our small town in her entire life, but she went across state lines behind our backs just so I could sleep better.”

“And on her way back, she was killed in a car accident.”

“I told you how much those pillows meant to me.”

“But while I was telling you, you were busy playing video games with Chloe.”

“Chloe was laughing, and you were catering to her.”

“Whenever Chloe was around, nothing I said ever registered in your brain.”

“You let her pamper that damn animal until it turned the last thing my grandma ever gave me into a litter

box.”

“You didn’t just let her ruin a pillow. You let her ruin the last thing my grandma ever gave me”

Barrett froze entirely, then dropped to his knees in agonizing regret.

Barrett fioze. The color drained from his face. Then he dropped to his knees, shaking.

“I’m sorry,” he choked out. “I swear I didn’t know.’

“I’m sorry,” he wept, choking on his own words. “I swear I didn’t know.”

“It’s my fault. I’m a monster.”

“I ruined everything.”

My eyes stung, and a few tears finally slid down my cheeks.

But I was only crying because I missed my grandma.

When I got home, my parents told me the neighbors had seen Barrett lurking around.

My parents panicked, thinking I might soften.

They barely got three sentences in before I stopped them.

I cut them off after a few sentences.

“Don’t worry, I am never getting back with Barrett.”

“You can both breathe easy now.”

“No matter what he does, I will never forgive him, and I will never look back.”

“I’m staying right here. You two can retire in this small town, and I’ll build my business here.”

My parents finally relaxed, smiles returning to their faces.

I thought after making things that clear, Barrett wouldn’t have the nerve to bother me again.

But a week later, he walked into my shop.

He was meticulously dressed, his hair cleanly cut, his beard shaved, and he was wearing the exact suit I had

bought him in the past.

He held a massive bouquet of fresh flowers.

I was standing behind the counter, auditing yesterday’s receipts.

He looked just like he did the first day we met-earnest, tense, and desperate.

“Sloane, the old Barrett doesn’t deserve forgiveness,” he said. “But the man standing in front of you today is starting over from scratch. A completely new man.”

“From this day on, I’m going to pursue you with everything I have.”

“I know you won’t accept me tight away, but it’s okay. I have faith. I won’t give up.”

believe love can overcome any distance.”

He extended the flowers toward me with both hands.

I just stared at him, completely speechless. Did he honestly think this was sincere? Or original?

Before I could even open my mouth to dismiss him, a familiar voice cut through the air.

“You can keep your faith,” Brooks said. “Sloane has better options now.

“Right, Sloane?”

Brooks walked in with a bouquet of red roses, his suit immaculate, his expression calm.

He walked right past Barrett and handed the flowers to me.

Looking at the two bouquets held out in front of me, under Barrett’s terrified gaze, I took the roses from

Brooks.

“Right.”