She'd left me. In the middle of the night she'd sneaked out, not even leaving so much as a note. I guessed it was for the better. After all, she couldn't exactly show up at the breakfast table with Ian there, could she? But I couldn't deny the feeling of betrayal and hurt simmering somewhere deeper.
If I was being honest, I wanted her to make a decision. To choose me and to finally cut ties with Ian. He wasn't right for her. Never had been.
It was hard to focus on anything while constantly waiting for her call. Or a message. Anything, really.
But all I got was radio silence.
I felt like I was going crazy. I was losing my mind. Maybe Al had been right, and we were both too broken to ever be in a functioning relationship.
If Ian knew she was the real reason why I was so miserable, he'd kill me. The thing was, at that point I didn't even care any more. Our friendship was already beyond saving. It had started to fall apart the day I introduced him to Allie.
Being in the house with him was driving me nuts, so I began to wander the streets like a stray dog. It was a Wednesday morning, the weather was shit, and I didn't really have anywhere to go.
Eventually, I ended up on campus, without consciously deciding to go there. And there she was.
She was wearing this stupid orange parka which made her stand out, even from miles away.