- 2.
I told my doctor I was up for the surgery
before I broke up with Mark.
I’d been getting terrible headaches and
couldn’t sleep. Turns out I had a tumor,
thankfully benign. If it was left too long, it
could get worse, according to the doc.
The surgery was risky, though. The doc
warned I could have amnesia, forgetting
things.
I was hesitant before. I didn’t want to forget
Mark, like he forgot me.
く
But after I learned he was playing games with
me, my decision was clear.
I’d rather live without him than live with him.
Plus, maybe I could cut the lovestruck part of
my brain while they were in there.
The surgery was fast tracked, but it was
expensive. I needed to make some serious
cash.
I was an artist and photographer. I made a
good living out of it.
But I was living in New York, and those
paychecks weren’t piling up.
As I got to the ground floor, I ran into Mark,
and his arm candy, Tiffany.
<
“Sarah? What are you doing at a hospital?
Are you sick?” He frowned a little.
I was confused. Wasn’t he supposed to be
playing amnesia? Why was he caring all of a
sudden?
I didn’t wanna get into it. “Just visiting a
friend,” I mumbled.
“What friend?”
He caught himself and shut up.
But that look in his eyes was searching,
suspicious.
I almost laughed.
Dude, get a role in a soap opera, why are you
L
Tiffany wrapped herself around Mark. “Honey,
you canceled a huge meeting to come with
me for my check–up. Are you sure it’s
alright?”
What a lame move.
She was trying to show off for the ex
girlfriend who broke up with her. Did she
really need to do so much?
It was so cringe it was giving me a migraine.
As I went to leave, Tiffany cut me off, “Sarah,
you look pale. You must have some awful
sickness you’re embarrassed about.”
“Why don’t you come over later, Mark’s
making me some homemade chicken noodle,
you can have some too?”
I wrinkled my brows and stared at Mark.
I was his live–in girlfriend for almost two
years, and I never had his soup.
I thought he didn’t cook. Seems like he just
never found anyone who he deemed worthy
of his cooking skills.
“Excuse me, I’ve got to go.”
I brushed past them.
“What’s the rush? You haven’t had Mark’s
soup, he is so good at it.”
She kept following me, grabbing my arm. “Got
some place to be? We could give you a ride.”
Her neediness rubbed me the wrong way, my
く
head was pounding. I pulled my arm back.
She crumbled like a cookie and started to cry.
“Sarah, I was just looking out for you. Why
would you hurt me like that?”
I stared at the sky, so clear and bright.
Today wasn’t going to rain, because she got
me so annoyed.
“Are you trying to start something?” Mark
asked as he went to comfort Tiffany, voice
icy.
This fall was so fake it was worse than a B-
rated movie. Could he really not see that?
“Are you serious? She just had to trip while I
く
pulled my arm away,” I said, my voice calm
but cold.
Mark’s face flushed with anger. His stare
could cut me.
“Liar! Apologize to Tiffany!”
“Or you’ll see what happens!”
With Mark in her corner, Tiffany was smirking,
a mix of satisfaction and malice.
