I Was Working Late, He Was Eating My Food and Falling for My Best Friend Chapter 04

I Was Working Late, He Was Eating My Food and Falling for My Best Friend Chapter 04

My mind went blank. I ran all the way there.

The light above the operating room burned into my eyes. When Mom saw me, tears poured down her face.

“We waited outside the hotel for Ethan, but he never came. Your father was afraid he’d miss the surgery, so he decided to call a cab. Then a car came out of nowhere and hit him.”

She gripped my arm.

“Annie, what if your dad never wakes up?”

Her tears felt hot against my skin.

I forced myself to stay calm.

“He’ll be okay, Mom. Dad is strong. He’ll make it.”

Ethan did not answer any of my calls.

I crouched in the hallway, my head buzzing. Then a college roommate I had not spoken to in years sent me a message.

College Roommate: [Annie, I found Lily’s secret account by accident. I think you need to see this.]

My pulse jumped.

The pinned post was from three years earlier, just after graduation.

[I’m a terrible person. I fell in love with my best friend’s boyfriend. But sometimes I think he might love me too.]

My fingers shook as I scrolled. Three years of posts recorded every private moment Lily had shared with Ethan.

[I told him I couldn’t afford rent and might not be able to live with them. He saved me again. He’s my knight in shining armor.]

[He took me to the amusement park today. I’d never been. Now we have a memory that belongs only to us.]

[Even if he belongs to someone else, I still wish he could belong to me for one moment.]

The newest post had been written that morning.

[The cramps were unbearable. I never expected him to come back for me, but he did. Ethan Carter, I wish you would stay by my side forever.]

Everything became horribly clear. They had fallen for each other years ago. Neither had admitted it because I stood between them.

At last, Ethan answered his phone.

“What is it?”

“You were supposed to drive my father to the hospital. Where are you?”

My voice broke.

There was a long silence, as if he had only just remembered.

“Something came up. His surgery isn’t that serious. You don’t have to panic. I’ll go now.”

Something inside me finally broke.

I wiped away my tears.

“Don’t bother.”

Then I said, “Ethan, we’re done.”

I hung up.

Ethan stared at the silent phone, frowning.

“What is wrong with her now?”

From the bedroom, Lily called, “Ethan, I want a cupcake. Will you get me one?”

He called back that he would. As he crossed the living room, he stopped in front of the television.

The local morning news was reporting an accident outside a hotel. The victim had been rushed to the hospital.

Ethan recognized the man in the photograph.

It was Annie’s father.

His keys fell from his hand.