Jake froze.
That hearing aid was a gift he gave me for
my seventeenth birthday.
<
The Evans family never encouraged
extravagant spending, and Jake didn’t have
much allowance. He’d worked two months of
summer jobs to buy me that hearing aid, even
dipping into all his savings.
Back then, the seventeen–year–old boy had
slipped the hearing aid onto my ear while I
was sleeping.
When I woke up and started crying in
surprise, he’d clumsily tried to comfort me.
Jake used to be so good to me. Mrs. Evans
had told me countless times to be her
daughter–in–law. Jake would grin widely and
say, “Duh, I’ve been raising my wife for years,
you think I was doing it for someone else?”
Everyone assumed we’d go to college.
together, date, and get married.
Jake had grown up next door to me with his
grandpa. We grew up together. He’d wake me
up for school and carry my backpack every
<
day.
He confessed his feelings for me, and I’d
blushed and said yes.
Until Mia showed up, and everything changed.
When she arrived as a transfer student, Jake,
sitting next to me, stared at her for a long
time.
I knew then that something had shifted.
Sure enough, Jake and Mia grew closer and
closer. He stopped walking to and from
school with me, and the backseat of his bike
became Mia’s exclusive seat.
Even though I distanced myself from Jake,
Mia still didn’t like me.
She accused me of studying hard just to
make people think Jake had made the wrong
choice.
Gradually, even Jake started to believe it, and
resented me for it.
He’d hold Mia’s hand and scold me in front of
<
the whole class for being manipulative.
Mia would cry and claim that I had no
boundaries, that I was the third wheel
intruding on their relationship.
But I had grown up with Jake. He was the one
who confessed to me, the one who said we’d
be together after graduation.
Jake just stood there, without explaining.
My heart completely shattered.
I distanced myself from Jake, thinking we
could coexist peacefully.
Until today.
Jake opened his mouth, wanting to say
something.
But Mia across from him said, “Jakey, let’s
- go. Let’s go home together.”
He looked at me once more, then left.
