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“Your parents?” she repeated. There it was. She had once loved how much his family meant to him. Now, though, she realized that he’d never be able to prioritize her over them. “That’s who you’re thinking about right now?”

“My whole entire family knows I’m here,” he said. “They’re all waiting for me to call them and tell them that we’re back together. And now I have to tell them—well, you tellme. What should I tell them, Lola? That we’re not getting back together because you’re a lesbian now?”

“I’m not a lesbian,” she said matter-of-factly. “But you know what? If I were, it wouldn’t be any of their business. Nor yours, for that matter.”

Justin’s mouth hung open. She had never asserted herself like this before.

“You lost the right to know what’s up with me the second you walked out our door,” she added.

“I told you I wanted to take abreak,” he said. “Not break up. There’s a difference.”

“I’m not sure there is,” she replied, everything clicking into place at once. “You could have stayed so we could work through our differencestogether.”

“Lola, I asked you tomarry me,” he said.

“Yeah,” she said, incredulous at the memory of it. “You called it a proposal, but it was more like an ambush. I was clearly not in the headspace to make any major decisions, and instead of understanding that, you held it against me. When things got hard, you literally bounced. You left me alone to pick up the pieces of my life.”

Just then, Ryan burst through the front door and came crashing into the kitchen. “LOLA!” he screamed. “Stepped fucking Out?” Then his eyes landed on Justin. “Jesus, fuck,” he cried. “Not you.”

“Hi, Ryan,” Justin said, his voice flat and unfriendly.

Ryan ignored him. “Lola, are you okay?”

“Oh, I have no idea.” She tried to laugh, but what came out of her mouth was more like a sob. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

Ryan shot Justin a look. “Which part can’t you believe?”

“Don’t worry,” Justin said, getting up. “I’m leaving.”

Lola and Ryan were both frozen in place while Justin pushed past them, pausing only to take his phone from Lola’s hands. He made his way upstairs, thundering up each step.

Justin?Ryan mouthed at her.What the fuck?

She shook her head, gesturing for him to stay quiet.

They listened as he gathered his things and then returned, suitcase in hand, standing in the doorway looking bereft.

“Justin,” she started but trailed off. She didn’t have that much left to say to him.

“I’m sorry I showed up like this,” he said. His shoulders slumped forward. “I know it wasn’t fair to surprise you. For what it’s worth, I do want you to be happy. I just wanted you to be happy withme, I guess.”

“I know,” she whispered.

“I love you so much,” he said, his hand gripping the handle of his suitcase. “Everything I said last night still stands. If you want to be with me,bewith me. But if you don’t, I need you to tell me sooner rather than later.”

She nodded, her heart aching at the sight of him so undone, despite all her anger. “That seems fair.”

“My Uber is almost here,” he said. “I’ll wait outside.”

And then he was gone.

Lola, still kneeling, crumpled all the way to the ground.

Ryan sat on the floor next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

“Oh, honey,” he said. “Fuck him. I promise you, we will get through this.”

But Justin leaving like that wasn’t what caused her to collapse.