After that day, I cut all contact with Claire—deleted her number, wiped her from my socials. It was like she never existed. 

My friends would invite me out a few times. I would always ask first, “Is Claire gonna be there?” 

Eventually, they stopped asking. Everyone started inviting just one of us at a time—a quiet understanding. No one wanted to rock the boat. 

Time slipped by, and before I knew it, the day before our college’s anniversary celebration had arrived. 

Riley had already called me about it ahead of time, asking if I was going. As one of the school’s “outstanding alumni,” I had gotten an invitation, too. 

What I didn’t expect was that Claire would be attending too. 

Now that I think about it, I shouldn’t have been surprised. She was always top of the class back in school, and after graduating, she helped the college build up its internship program. Inviting her made sense. 

When Riley and I got to campus, it was packed, shoulder to shoulder. I flipped through the event schedule they had handed us and spotted her name right away. 

Claire Fisher. Scheduled to perform. Seventh act of the night. 

By the time we got through the sixth performance, I told Riley I needed some air and slipped out of the auditorium. 

Behind me, somewhere in the noise, someone called my name. 

I didn’t turn around. 

Not long after, my phone buzzed. It was a message from my old college advisor. 

‘Zach, why’d you leave in such a hurry? I called your name a few times, but you didn’t answer. Claire’s performance is up next. Don’t you want to stay and watch your girlfriend?’ 

I shook my head and texted back, ‘Thanks, but I had to go. Something came up. And for the record, I’m single.’ 

I caught myself smirking as I typed it. Back in college, I must have chased Claire so shamelessly that even our advisor thought we were a couple. 

What I didn’t know was that Claire was standing next to him, reading my reply over his shoulder. 

She saw every word. 

Under the dim lights of the auditorium, she didn’t say anything. Just stared at the screen with an unreadable look in her eyes. 

I left campus and headed straight for my office. I had left my bag behind in my rush to get to the school event. 

When I got there, I noticed something on my desk. It was a proposal document for a new partnership. 

I flipped it open. Right there, in bold black letters, was the name of Claire’s company. 

I called my boss on the spot. 

“Hey, I just saw the proposal for the new partnership. We’re partnering with Claire Fisher’s firm, right?” 

“Yeah,” he said. “Why?” 

“I’m resigning. For personal reasons.” 

He sounded stunned. “Zach, that’s… sudden. I was actually planning to have you take the lead on this. You’d be the main contact.” 

“Thanks, but no thanks. I can’t work with that company.” 

After I hung up, I sat down at my desk and typed up a resignation letter. If staying meant dealing with Claire again, then leaving was the cleanest escape. 

Once I had printed it and left it on my boss’ desk, I finally headed home. 

Yet, when I got to my floor, I noticed something strange. The hallway light was on. 

There were only two apartments per floor, and the one next to mine had been vacant for months. The motion lights rarely kicked on unless someone was standing right there. 

I took a few cautious steps, and that was when I saw her. 

Claire was crouched on the stairwell landing, smoking. The floor around her was littered with cigarette butts. It was obvious she had been waiting a long time. 

Fortunately, I was quiet. She didn’t hear me. 

I turned on my heel and hit the elevator button. The doors slid open with a ding. As I stepped inside, I heard her shoes scrape against the floor. 

Then, her voice, sharp and wild, rang down the hallway. 

“Zach! I know that’s you! You’re in the elevator, aren’t you? You came back!” 

The doors slid shut in front of me, and the elevator groaned as it descended. 

To slow her down, I mashed every floor button on the panel before jumping out at the lobby. The elevator would stop at every floor now. Petty? Maybe. But it bought me time. 

No way I was spending the night in an apartment she was camped outside of. 

I walked a few blocks and checked into a nearby hotel. As I turned away from the front desk, room key in hand, I heard the pounding of heels behind me. 

Claire came running in, breathless and wild-eyed. Sweat trickled down her forehead, and her face was flushed red from the chase. 

She stormed straight to the front desk. “Did someone just check in? Did a guy named Zach Mason just book a room here? Tell me! Answer me!”