Chapter 2
Ethan had been the most popular guy in school since middle school. Countless girls had crushes on him. His locker was always filled with love letters. He wasn’t the best student, but he excelled at everything else video games, basketball, you name it. He was outgoing and charismatic.
Because I was close to Ethan, we were often talked about together. The more he shined, the more ordinary I seemed in comparison.
But he never cared about what people thought. He continued to walk to and from school with me every day, hung out with me on weekends, and even bought me gifts when I was feeling down.
It was in high school, when I decided to distance myself from him, that he finally panicked. He rushed to explain to those who confessed their feelings for him: “I have a girl I like.”
“Sarah.”
That was the first time I heard him say he liked me.
“What’s wrong with her? She’s kind, she’s smart, she has a beautiful voice…” He listed all my good qualities.
Then he asked me if I wanted to be his girlfriend.
I said yes.
Because I liked him too.
But the negativity didn’t stop just because we were together. It seemed like looks were more important than grades or personality at that age. Good–looking people were inherently luckier.
Someone posted a picture of us online, and the comments were brutal. They said I was plain, that I was overweight, that I was an embarrassment to Ethan. Some even photoshopped my face onto the school’s most popular girl, saying, “Much better.”
Ethan was always more upset about these comments than I was. He would find those people and argue with them, saying they weren’t worth a finger on my hand, that I was the most beautiful girl in the world to him.
He knew about my insecurities, so he complimented me every day, called me cute, and bought me beautiful flowers.
I tried to learn how to dress better, how to apply makeup. It didn’t work, and my grades started to slip.
Ethan wiped off my eyeliner and lipstick. “Sarah, I like you. You don’t need to change yourself.”
We both endured the pressure of public opinion and stayed together for three years.
Then came college. He didn’t get into his dream school and ended up going to a university in New York. I got accepted into a top university in California.
The day he left for New York, I cried my eyes out.
He comforted me patiently, over and over again. “Hey, you’re so amazing, I should be worried about someone else stealing
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Chapter 2
you away! We’ll video chat every day, stay in touch. I’ll only be gone for a year, and then I’ll come find you.”
To reassure me, he introduced me to his parents and made our relationship official
I thought we had double the security, that we could definitely survive this year of long distance.
But I underestimated the time difference, the distance, and overestimated our love.
Just as Ethan was closing his laptop, we heard the sound of breaking glass from next door. He rushed out of the room.
I called out to him, trying to keep my voice steady. “Where are you going? It’s late.”
“Something happened with Ashley. I need to check on her.”
The irony was that Ashley hadn’t even called him. He just ran to her without a second thought.
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Chapter 3
Chapter 3
