The Girl He Called Practice

Case

ity, every sight, every new experience. I hiked for miles, sketched architectural wonders, learned to make pasta from scratch, and danced until my

n arm, strolling through a market in Capri, her impossibly long legs in designer shorts. Felix and Bella, laughing over a candlelit dinner, her hand clasped in his. Felix and Bell

screamed their coupledom, their lavish, exciting life. He was flaunting her, flaunting his supp

comment from a mutual acquaintance popped up on Chloe's

a practiced, polite one, was always ready. "Oh, I' m traveling with Chloe

er down my spine. It was like a phantom limb, an ache where something used to be, even though I knew it was better go

. The ache had dulled, replaced by a quiet sense of peace. I could go a full day, sometimes even two, without thinking of him at all. It was a victory, small but significant. I started to truly see t

ch I'd nearly forgotten, rang. It was an unfamiliar number. My heart skipped a be

ell

kable. He sounded... agitated. "Where the hell are you? What is going

the phone. "I' m on a

letter to Stanford came through, I saw it in the mail! Your parents told me you were still going to Columbia!" He sounded genuinely

erately withholding any other information. "And

d? Kiera, why? We had everything planned. Our apartments were practically next door. I even got you those new

sion of a shared future. The familiar manipulation, only this time, i

stated, my voice firm. "I' m flyin

"After everything? After all these years? You' re just going to th

spark of defiance igniting within me. "

' re being... ungrateful! If you don' t come back, Kiera, don' t ev

ead. He' d hung

o my blocked list. It was a lie, of course. I was going home first, to see my parents and pa

olarship to Stanford has been officially confirmed! They' ve processed y

xture of pride and relief.

ling, why didn' t you tell us you were changing your university? We were so worried. Felix has

ce soft but steady. "I need to tell you something. I' m not going to Columbia. I

e essence of his betrayal, his casual disregard, his view of me as a convenience. I spoke of my need to build

. "I need to prove that I can stand on my own, away from all of... that.

inished, my mother was crying softly. My father,

"We... we are so proud of you, Kiera. This is a big step. A

l trembling. "But if this is what you need,

ase, don' t tell Felix. Don' t tell him about Stanford, or about me coming home first. Let him think I' m still tr

een them. Then, my father nodded, his expression grim but determined

"Anything for you,

one family, but my true one was still there, unwavering, supporti