Between Him and Her

A light drizzle fell outside, and I was in the kitchen making sushi for the guy I liked, a dish I had just learned how to make.

Cooked shrimp, thinly sliced cucumber, and a fluffy omelette were neatly arranged on a plate, and the air was filled with a pleasant aroma.

My phone buzzed with a text message.

With one hand occupied, I used my free hand to open the message from Alec Griffiths, "Sorry, Rosanna, something came up, and I can't make it to the movie tonight. You'll still need to go feed Muffin for me."

I replied, "Okay."

A single tear fell onto my fingers.

This was supposed to be our first date after our cold war.

But once again, it ended without a resolution. I couldn't even describe how I felt at that moment.

I didn't know what could be so important. He didn't explain, and I didn't ask.

Besides, I didn't have the right to ask. I wasn't in a position to.

I thought that, sooner or later, we would break through that awkward barrier!

But Alec still hadn't given me the confession I was waiting for.

Kathryn, one of my colleagues, called while I was at Alec's place, feeding Muffin.

Muffin was a dog-one that Alec had raised with his ex-girlfriend, the one he had always held dear. I wasn't fond of animals, but for Alec's sake, I tolerated it.

Muffin was doing well; he's a dog that could be trained and become quite tame.

A few months ago, when Alec went on a business trip, he left the spare key to his apartment with me.

Since then, I had been coming over to help clean his apartment and feed Muffin. Occasionally, I would cook meals for Alec, waiting for him to return so we could eat together.

Kathryn asked me about work, but then her tone turned serious. "Rosanna, I heard Linsey's been transferred to our department."

I stopped petting Muffin and froze for a moment, quickly asking, "Wasn't she promoted to supervisor in Brighton City? Why did she choose to come back?"

"Yeah, she chose to return as a supervisor, too. She'll be our new boss. Not sure if that's a good thing or not," Kathryn said casually.

The few words she said carried so much weight. I couldn't stay calm.

Linsey Roberts was the student council president and the most popular girl in our high school.

More importantly, she was Alec's first love. They had been together for two years in college.

Back then, Alec and I were in the same Math class. If you had to find a connection between us, it was probably just that we sat near each other.

We sat in front and behind each other, while Linsey and Alec were seated together as partners.

I often saw Linsey looking at Alec in class, her eyes full of admiration.

In truth, Alec wasn't that handsome. He was just tall, good at basketball, and one of the top students in our grade.

As for his personality, he wasn't competitive and treated everyone the same.

Later, the three of us ended up at the same university.

I had secretly liked Alec for six years. I couldn't even remember when he first entered my heart.

Maybe it was when he patiently explained a problem to me, or when he effortlessly fixed my computer. Or maybe it was earlier...

But that didn't matter. In our second year of university, Alec and Linsey became a couple.

I naively thought someone like him, so indifferent, wouldn't start dating too early. But as it turned out, men were all the same; they couldn't resist a beautiful face.

When I found out they were dating, I deliberately distanced myself from both Alec and Linsey.

But, of course, Linsey and I lived in the same dorm, and although we weren't particularly close, I could still hear her talk about Alec with our other roommates.

Linsey often said that Alec was perfect-he would buy her breakfast in the morning, remembering her favorite flavors, and when she was upset, he would let her vent without ever getting angry.

Every time I heard her talk about those sweet moments, it felt like a heavy stone was crushing my chest. It hurt to breathe.

I was both envious and jealous. Several times, I had to make an excuse to leave halfway through their conversations.

I spent two difficult years like that, still unable to forget Alec, even as graduation loomed.

Of course, Alec and Linsey couldn't escape the breakup curse that seemed to come with graduation. That summer, Linsey resolutely moved to Brighton City.

Alec was left behind with Muffin, trying to heal from the breakup.

During that time, I often came over to keep Alec company, watching him drown his sorrows in alcohol as he went through the hardest days of his life.

Maybe Alec was touched by my presence. After he pulled himself together, I could tell that he started to treat me differently than he did others.

Then, he gave me the key to his place.

To me, that key was a silent confirmation of my place in his life. He hadn't confessed, but it felt like I now had a way in, didn't it?

Now, I realized I might have been fooling myself. Maybe the signals I picked up were just my own wishful thinking. In reality, he didn't treat me any differently.

Alec appeared to have moved on from his previous relationship, but in reality, he remained distant, never allowing anyone to truly get close to him.

Well, the reason for our last fight was enough to prove how perfectly my analysis matched reality.