Part 2The Last Vote

Jeannie came back at 1:00 am.

I was packing up the things she had left at my place.

After three years together, traces of her were practically everywhere—her high heels by the front door, her skincare products in the bathroom, and her hair ties buried between the couch cushions.

Even the throw pillows I had bought had been replaced with the beige ones she liked.

The lock clicked just as I put the last book into a cardboard box. Jeannie stood in the entryway, carrying the chill of the night with her and a faint woody scent. It was the same cologne Marvin always wore.

The moment she saw the box, her expression darkened. "You're doing this again?"

I pulled the tape loose. "I'll have someone come pick this up tomorrow."

She walked over and pressed down on the box lid. "Yale, I already gave you an out over what happened on your birthday. How much longer are you going to keep this up?"

I looked up at her. "I'm not making a scene. I'm cleaning out my stuff."

Jeannie let out a bitter laugh. "So, I go see a movie with Marvin, and suddenly you want to break up? You saw the results yourself. That was what everyone voted for."

My fingers stopped moving. "So, you think you've done nothing wrong?"

She frowned. "I was just following the rules."

The rules again.

Three years ago, when we first voted on our relationship, she had said the exact same thing. She had agreed to make our relationship public, but then Marvin posted a poll in the group chat.

[Would Jeannie going public with her relationship affect our friendship?]

[Yes: 15 votes.]

[No: 2 votes.]

After Jeannie saw the results, she kissed me on the cheek. "We can make it public later. Everyone thinks now isn't the right time."

I waited for her for three whole months. Then, on Marvin's birthday, she finally updated her social media.

One picture after another appeared on the screen.

The first was a photo of her and Marvin together. Then came pictures of them celebrating New Year's side by side, Marvin sitting beside her in the passenger seat, the two of them marking their anniversary together, and Jeannie cutting the first slice of his birthday cake herself.

With every new picture, I found myself thinking the same thing. Maybe, finally, I had a chance.

Again and again, I realized I was never her real choice.

I picked up my old phone and opened a folder. It was my backup phone. Inside were 276 screenshots I had saved over the past three years.

Jeannie froze for a second. "Why did you save all this?"

I turned the screen toward her. "Because I'm afraid that someday, I'll soften and change my mind. And because I'm afraid I'd forget why I had to leave."

Her expression stiffened. "Yale, you're getting nastier every time you talk."

"Nasty?" I gave a quiet laugh. "Compared to making me sit there and watch those numbers change over and over, I'd say I've been pretty polite."

She looked away. After a moment, she said quietly, "You never used to be this petty."

"I used to think that one day, you'd choose me."

She fell silent.

I pushed the box over to her feet. "That one vote tonight wasn't mine."

Jeannie looked up as if I had just said something ridiculous. "If it wasn't you, then who was it?"

I did not answer because I did not know either. All I knew was that when the countdown started, my hands had stayed at my sides. I had not even touched the screen.

Maybe some last shred of pride would not let me beg for a single vote in front of a room full of people.

Jeannie stared at me for a long moment. Then, she suddenly kicked the box away. "Fine. If you want to clear everything out, then clear it all out."

Her phone lit up at that exact moment. A message from Marvin appeared: [Jeannie, is Yale over it yet?] Want me to take him out for dinner tomorrow and apologize to his face?]

Jeannie did not hide the screen from me. She replied almost immediately: [He's still making a big deal out of it. We'll talk about it tomorrow.]

I stared at those words and suddenly found the whole thing almost funny. That was what I was to her… I was not someone she had hurt or disappointed, just someone making a big deal out of nothing.

I bent down, stood the box back up, and sealed it shut again.

"Jeannie, we're breaking up."

She had her back to me. After a long pause, she gave an icy laugh. "You've said that plenty of times. When have you ever actually left?"