Chapter 2
Benson slammed the door shut, and I was totally dazed. Then I finally came back to my senses as my phone buzzed non–stop.
My high school group chat just blew up. Benson: “The boss of our class is back! Everyone is invited to dinner tomorrow! It’s the usual spot!”
He tagged everyone and sent a photo, in which he and Ethel were snuggling with each other, smiling happily as he kissed the back of her hand gently.
The others were instantly thrilled. Classmate A: “Benson, come on. Ethel hasn’t been back for years, but this is way too passionate!”
Classmate B: “What the heck? Who gave him the right to kiss Ethel?”
Many of them tagged me.
Classmate C: “Marlene, bad news! Your childhood sweetheart is cheating on you!”
At the graduation ceremony, Ethel confessed her feelings for Benson in front of everyone. As she knelt on one knee and told him how much she loved him with hope in her eyes, he sneered.
“Who gave you the wrong idea?
“I’m not interested in you.”
He saw her red eyes and turned his face away. Then he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and continued, “I’m stuck with Marlene, and we’ll get married after we graduate from college. Guys, you’re all invited to our wedding. Remember to bring gifts!”
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Ethel got up, slapped my face hard, and ran out while crying.
Now that I thought about it, his eyes were red after she left. Maybe it wasn’t because he felt distressed at the sight of my swollen creek; it was because he didn’t want her hand to hurt.
As I was lost in thoughts, Benson sent: “I get to kiss Ethel because she’s my fiancee. We’re getting engaged!”
Immediately, the messages that tagged me were all recalled.
They all congratulated the pair.
Classmate D: “Hey, has anyone noticed the background of their photo? Are they so eager that they’ve already got a room?”
Almost right away, Benson replied: “Piss off! This isn’t funny!”
He sounded so serious and so protective of Ethel.
I suddenly remembered something.
Six months ago, we had a class reunion. A guy asked me how I was in bed, and I was so furious that I had a row with him in front of the others.
Back then, Benson said to me with blame in his eyes, “We all go way back. Why so serious? Stop making a fuss.”
It turned out he simply didn’t care about me and my feelings at all.
I smiled bitterly when Ethel said: “We’ll get engaged this Sunday. It’s going to be official.”
She then sent an emoji with a smiling face wearing sunglasses, and everyone started to congratulate them again.
Then she tagged me and sent: “I’m sorry, Marlene. Eight years ago,
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Benson used you as a shield, and I ended up slapping you. And now, you’re getting ridiculed because of us.
“Benson told me you volunteered to be my bridesmaid. Thanks! See your
tomorrow.”
I was wondering what she meant by “a shield” when Benson texted me.
“Marlene, stop pretending you didn’t see that!”
“Can’t you let bygones be bygones? It happened ages ago!”
“Ethel has just come back, and you’re already giving her a hard time? You wanna embarrass her this much?”
“Reply to her! Now!”
He sent me those harsh words in a row without giving me a chance to reply at all. Seconds later, he texted, “Fine! If you insist on ignoring her, forget it!”
Then he tagged me in the group chat and sent: “Maybe stop clubbing so often. And remember to take pills afterward.”
After he sent a grinning face emoji, Ethel sent: “Gee, I’ve been abroad for years that I have no idea Marlene has become so wild.”
Looking at the giggling face emoji she sent, I was about to send
something to reply to her, only to realize Benson, the group admin, had muted me already.
Overwhelmed by rage, I called him. After a few seconds, however, I heard Ethel’s voice.
“Benson, why did you turn me down back then? Do you really think Marlene is better than me?”
He answered without hesitation, “Marlene? Are you kidding me? She’s my buddy.
“My dad’s company was on the verge of breakdown, and I didn’t know whether we could pull it off. I didn’t want you to suffer with me, so I could only find an excuse to push you away. I also couldn’t bear to fail. other girls, so I chose Marlene.
“Well, it’s all in the past now. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of us both.
“Ethel, I’ll never let you slip away again.”
The rustling sound of kissing rang out, and then he said gently, “We’ll do this after we get married. We’ve got a lifetime to be together; there’s no rush in doing it right now.
“I love you and respect you, so I wanna save this moment for our wedding night.”
I hung up abruptly.
At the graduation party, he was drunk. Several classmates helped him into a motel room which cost 30 dollars per night.
I was worried about him, so I stayed. He pulled me into his arms.
The next day, after he woke up, he looked at the bloodstains on the bedsheet and slapped himself hard.
He said, “Sorry.”
I thought he said that to me, but now that I thought about it, perhaps he was apologizing to Ethel.
He was sorry for rejecting her.
He apologized to her for sleeping with me.
I wiped the tears away from my face hard and called a moving company.
I spent years decorating this cozy place, but it took them only a couple of hours to empty it.
As I looked at the truck full of rubbish going away, I put the spare key on the shoe rack.
My parents got divorced when I was little. Growing up, I was used to being treated like a liability.
I guessed the silver lining was that now, I could accept any blows quickly. Even though I was dead inside, I could still smile brightly as if nothing had ever happened.
Closing the door, I called my father.
“You want me to marry that disabled guy? OK. I’ll do it.
“Consider it as me repaying the debt I owe you.”
