When Love Breaks by Jack

The arrow hit the bullseye, though it wasn’t exactly planned that way.

By the time the meeting wrapped up at the office, dusk was already creeping in. I had hitched a ride with Christine earlier in the day.

I was just about to call an Uber back to the hospital.

Christine offered to drop me off, and I shot her a sidelong glance, teasing, “I saw you texting Dailey during the meeting. Don’t let me hold you back from… whatever’s brewing there.”

Christine’s laughter was bright and beautiful. “Oh, what now? You’ve become a screen peeker?”

“Just happened to catch a glimpse.”

I chuckled awkwardly, feeling a bit embarrassed.

During the meeting, she was seated diagonally to my left, leaning over the table to text. It was impossible not to see.

Just then, my phone rang. It was Gregory.

“All done with the meeting?”

His voice, relaxed and casual, flowed from the other end of the line, making me smile.

“Yeah, just finished. I’m heading back to the hospital to check on Ramona, then home.”

at the hospital, she’d start suspecting she had some incurable disease. She had already asked me a few times

down. I’m waiting in the

“You’re here?”

Webster from work is all

“I’ll be right there.”

on, go on. Look

our faces every day,

“You…”

my nose, “You go get him, girl.

that, I grabbed my bag from my office and made

the parking garage still held the warmth of late summer

against his car, tall

fiddling with his phone, his casually drooping eyelids giving off a cool detachment. He had

carefree about

surprise him, but before I could say a word, he suddenly stretched out an arm without even looking

startled me instead, “You didn’t even

“Not afraid.”

his hand caressing the small of my back, “A

countered, “Isn’t everyone

argument, pinching my cheek and looking deep into my eyes,

wriggled free to slip into the passenger