Chapter 2

"Aubrey! What are you doing?!"

I slammed my phone face-down, silencing Luke's roar. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to lose myself in the massage, but the tears came anyway, disobedient and hot.

Seven years. This is how it ended. Anyone who said it didn't hurt was a liar.

Later, standing at my own door with a stack of empty boxes, I took a deep, steadying breath. It was time. I hardened my resolve and stepped inside to pack away Luke's relics.

I had just tossed one box aside when the keypad at the front door beeped.

"Unlocked."

The door flew open. Luke stood there, chest heaving.

"Where is he?"

"Who?"

"The guy you were just with! He sounded young, too, didn't he? Aubrey, are you that desperate?"

As his wild eyes scanned the room, a cold dread filled my stomach. So that's why he'd come. Because of a sound.

"Are you here on a raid?"

His silence was confirmation.

I scoffed. "We're broken up. You have no right to be here. And more importantly, does Chloe know you're here?"

Luke seemed to calm. His eyes swept over me.

"Who said I'm here to catch you in the act?"

He jutted out his chin, extending his hand. "My belt. Hand it over!"

I didn't move. My attention was locked on the lipstick near his feet.

That was the first gift he ever gave me.

I remembered the first weekend after we started dating. We'd planned a trip to the beach. It was our first trip together.

It was also the first time I met Chloe.

Chloe was Luke's longtime family friend, practically a sister. On the train, claimed the middle seat between Luke and me.

"Aubrey, I just love the middle seat! You don't mind, right?" She then grinned. "Oh, and Luke said you're paying for everything! Your family must be loaded."

I forced a smile, shooting a pained look at Luke. He just turned away, offering no defense.

Back then, I was too hopelessly in love to stay mad at him. Our first trip, and I was already seething because of his "sister."

Later, he appeased me with a cheap lipstick. The very one now at his feet.

The memory sent a wave of fury through me.

"I told you, I threw it out. Try the dumpster."

I shoved Luke away, picked up the lipstick from the floor, and tossed it into a packing box.

"You're throwing that out too?" Luke stared, utterly stunned. "That was my gift!"

I pointed at the still-sealed tube and smiled coldly."An $18.80 lipstick with free shipping, Luke? I wouldn't dare use it. I'm pretty sure it's toxic."

Luke's face immediately darkened, a chaotic mix of embarrassment, fury, and a pathetic attempt at disdain.

"You're not still thinking I bought you that lipstick just because it was cheap, are you?"

"I explained it to you! I bought you a designer one later! You forgave me back then, didn't you?"

I just stared at him.

When I first got the lipstick, I told myself the same lies.

Guys just don't get all the nuances of makeup, they're too simple-minded, too lazy to pick out anything good...

It wasn't until months later, when I scrolled past Chloe's Ins feed and saw picture after picture of her with designer lipsticks Luke had given her, that my defenses completely crumbled.

That was the first time Luke and I had a real fight.

I hysterically accused Chloe, criticizing all his boundary-crossing behavior with her.

Luke just sat there, silently watching me lose my mind, watching me cry non-stop.

It wasn't until I quieted down that he finally spoke.

"Aubrey, I honestly didn't know there was so much to a lipstick. Chloe just picked it out herself and asked me to pay!"

"There's nothing going on between Chloe and me, you know that. Why would I be with you if there was?"

"How about this, you pick one too, and I'll buy it for you!"

Just like that, I was placated.

I picked out one more expensive than Chloe's, but now I had no idea where it even was.

"I forgave you then. Now we're broken up. Can't I just throw it out?"

Luke jabbed a finger toward my face. "Aubrey, you'd better not come crawling back to me, begging to get back together, because I-"

"I won't."

I cut him off. The words he hadn't spoken died in his throat.