Seventeen Times She Came, Once I Stopped Caring Chapter 03

Seventeen Times She Came, Once I Stopped Caring Chapter 03

I went to the hospital alone, got the wound cleaned and stitched.

At 2:50 p.m., he still hadn’t shown.

But I saw Megan’s new Instagram post—this time she hadn’t blocked me. [Even though it was another false alarm, you looked so cool stopping that bus for me.]

She was leaning on Ethan’s arm, smiling sweetly.

The hospital hallway bench was cold and hard.

I pounded my numb leg, and the motion pulled at my stitches for the third time. The pain was searing.

He wasn’t coming.

I was about to stand up when I bumped into a warm chest.

Ethan looked down at me, drenched in sweat, startled.

“Where are you going?”

I stared at him, barely able to breathe.

“Did they take care of your wound?”

“Yes.”

I looked at the clock on the wall. 3:08.

“You’re eight minutes late.”

“It’s only eight minutes.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

But my deadline for telling him the truth was three o’clock.

He yanked my arm, and the stitches pulled. I winced and jerked back.

Blood seeped through the bandage.

“Come on, hurry.” He frowned and grabbed my hand again. “Megan twisted her ankle chasing that bus. I’ll drop you off first, then I have to get back to put medicine on it.”

That sentence hit me like ice water.

At twenty-two, Ethan would agonize over a scraped knuckle all night.

At thirty-two, he tore open my fresh stitches just to rush off and tend to another woman.

I laughed, then pulled my hand away.

“Ethan, we’re done.”

His eyes went wide with shock and confusion.

Then he pulled his phone out of his pocket—it was still on an active call—and frantically tried to soothe her.

“Megan, don’t cry… it’s not your fault. She’s kidding.”

I realized then, he’d been on the phone with her the whole time.

“She heard everything you just said,” I said, my voice hoarse.

“Why were you on the phone with her while you were standing right next to me?”

“Because she worries about me, okay? I nearly wrecked my car getting here!”

He looked at me with pure disappointment.

“You joking about breaking up scared her half to death—she’s still limping and she wanted to come apologize to you!”

“What if I’m not joking?” I held his gaze.

“I don’t want to need you, only to find you’ve run off looking for her brother again.”

“I don’t want to hand over my biggest moments to her like I’m some sideshow act.”

“If she never finds her brother, are we just never getting married—?”

Smack.

His palm hit my cheek. Not hard enough to knock me down, but loud enough to silence everything.

He froze. He reached out to touch my face, then curled his hand into a fist.

“Do you have any idea how much those words would crush Megan?”

My nails dug into my palm.

Then I slapped him right back.

“And do you have any clue how many times you two have wrecked me—seventeen weddings, seventeen times?”

“Do you know what it’s like to be the laughingstock among my own friends and coworkers, to have them all thinking I must’ve done something wrong to just take all of this?”

“Are you really helping Megan find her brother, or do you just love the way she looks up to you and needs you?”

I was shouting now, drawing stares from passersby.

He stood there, one cheek red, silent, thinking.

But all he answered was the second question.

“Maybe you need new friends. A new workplace. Anyone without compassion isn’t worth your time.”

Compassion?

I’d waited from twenty-two to thirty-two and never gotten a single complete wedding.

I was the one who deserved compassion.

We didn’t speak after we got home.

He moved to the couch in the living room.

I lay in the bedroom, still as death.

I replayed that scene in my head and laughed at myself for losing control.

I’d already decided to leave. Why did I even say all that?

But laughing turned into tears, streaming down my face.

The door creaked open and shut.

I could hear him on the phone, comforting Megan.

I could hear him sighing.

After a long time, he came in and wiped my tears.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have hit you. Megan and I cleared things up.”

“I didn’t know you cared so much about what people say. I’ve already gotten the online comments under control, and I’ve talked to your coworkers and friends.”

“The wedding in four days—you can relax. It’ll be fine.”