The Game Is Over

I tried everything to get out of it, but Riley dragged me to the party anyway.

The moment we got to the hallway outside the private room, I froze. Claire's voice carried right through the door, sharp and smug.

"Oh, come on, stop hyping it up. Zach's been saying dramatic crap for years, but he always comes crawling back. He's probably just blowing off steam right now. Give it a few days, and he'll be wagging his tail and begging for my attention again."

I clenched my jaw so hard I bit into the inside of my cheek. The coppery taste of blood spread across my tongue.

Years of effort. Years of loving her, looking out for her, giving her everything I had… And that was how she saw me?

Like I was nothing. A doormat. A joke.

Riley glanced over and saw the look on my face. His hand landed on my shoulder in a quiet show of support.

He was about to open the door when I stopped him.

I didn't want to see Claire. Not now. Not ever again.

I turned, grabbed Riley's arm, and started walking away.

However, we barely made it to the corner when the door behind us swung open. Claire and Leo stepped out, laughing.

Leo spoke first, his voice low and teasing. "Claire, you've had enough to drink. You should really stop talking like that. If Zach heard you, it'd break his heart."

Claire giggled, half-slurring her words. "Isn't that what you want? You're the one who kept pushing me to say yes to marrying him, just so I could bail last minute. You're such a bad influence, Leo!"

That did it. The tears I had been holding back finally spilled over.

So, it was all a game. A cruel, private joke between the two of them, and I was the punchline.

It made sense now. When Claire agreed to marry me, there wasn't even a flicker of excitement in her eyes. I thought I had caught her off guard. I wrongly assumed she was just overwhelmed.

The truth was—she wasn't surprised. She was disgusted.

Leo pulled her into his arms like it was the most natural thing in the world. She giggled, pounding her fists playfully against his chest.

"Bad influence? This whole plan was your idea, babe. I only went along with it to make you laugh."

Then, they kissed. Right there in the hallway, like no one else existed.

I felt hollow. I felt like my soul had cracked open and drained out onto the carpet. I didn't speak, didn't lose it. Instead, I just turned and walked out the front doors with Riley.

The night air was cool, but it cut through me like glass. Each gust of wind felt like it was slicing straight through my chest.

"You're too kind, Zach," Riley snapped, furious. "That's why they had the gall to pull this crap. They knew you'd never fight back."

I gave him a small smile, more out of reflex than anything.

Then, I opened my mouth to speak… and coughed up red.

The coppery taste of blood hit the back of my throat.

"It's over," I murmured quietly. "Claire and I… we're done. For real this time."

After a lot of convincing, I finally got Riley to head home.

When I got back to my apartment, my phone was already buzzing.

It was the delivery guy I had hired. He said he had made it to Claire's place, but no one was answering. I remembered then that she never picked up calls from unknown numbers.

I told him to wait and hung up. Then, I called her myself.

It sounded like she was in a bar. I could hear loud music in the background, people laughing, and glasses clinking. Still, none of it could drown out the smugness lacing her tone.

"Well, well. Look who couldn't stay away," she cooed. "What happened to all that fire from earlier, leaving me on the street like a drama queen? Where's that courage now?"

In the past, I would have swallowed my pride, begged for forgiveness, and said anything to get back on her good side.

Not this time.

"Your stuff is at your front door," I said flatly. "Make sure you grab it when you get back."

She laughed, way too pleased with herself.

"Oh, Zach. What'd you get me this time? Is this your way of making up? Didn't you text everyone that you weren't gonna show up to anything if I was there? But now you're trying to win me over again?"

I didn't respond. I just hung up.

Right before the call ended, though, I swear I heard her snicker and say something like, "I hope it's something cute. If I like it, maybe I'll forgive you."

I stared at the dark screen in my hand, then let out a dry laugh. After all these years of being her doormat, backup plan, and lapdog, she still thought I was groveling.

She didn't get it just yet.

But… she would.

One day, she would wake up and realize the game was over.

I'm Resigning

After that day, I cut all contact with Claire—deleted her number, wiped her from my socials. It was like she never existed.

My friends would invite me out a few times. I would always ask first, "Is Claire gonna be there?"

Eventually, they stopped asking. Everyone started inviting just one of us at a time—a quiet understanding. No one wanted to rock the boat.

Time slipped by, and before I knew it, the day before our college's anniversary celebration had arrived.

Riley had already called me about it ahead of time, asking if I was going. As one of the school's "outstanding alumni," I had gotten an invitation, too.

What I didn't expect was that Claire would be attending too.

Now that I think about it, I shouldn't have been surprised. She was always top of the class back in school, and after graduating, she helped the college build up its internship program. Inviting her made sense.

When Riley and I got to campus, it was packed, shoulder to shoulder. I flipped through the event schedule they had handed us and spotted her name right away.

Claire Fisher. Scheduled to perform. Seventh act of the night.

By the time we got through the sixth performance, I told Riley I needed some air and slipped out of the auditorium.

Behind me, somewhere in the noise, someone called my name.

I didn't turn around.

Not long after, my phone buzzed. It was a message from my old college advisor.

'Zach, why'd you leave in such a hurry? I called your name a few times, but you didn't answer. Claire's performance is up next. Don't you want to stay and watch your girlfriend?'

I shook my head and texted back, 'Thanks, but I had to go. Something came up. And for the record, I'm single.'

I caught myself smirking as I typed it. Back in college, I must have chased Claire so shamelessly that even our advisor thought we were a couple.

What I didn't know was that Claire was standing next to him, reading my reply over his shoulder.

She saw every word.

Under the dim lights of the auditorium, she didn't say anything. Just stared at the screen with an unreadable look in her eyes.

I left campus and headed straight for my office. I had left my bag behind in my rush to get to the school event.

When I got there, I noticed something on my desk. It was a proposal document for a new partnership.

I flipped it open. Right there, in bold black letters, was the name of Claire's company.

I called my boss on the spot.

"Hey, I just saw the proposal for the new partnership. We're partnering with Claire Fisher's firm, right?"

"Yeah," he said. "Why?"

"I'm resigning. For personal reasons."

He sounded stunned. "Zach, that's… sudden. I was actually planning to have you take the lead on this. You'd be the main contact."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I can't work with that company."

After I hung up, I sat down at my desk and typed up a resignation letter. If staying meant dealing with Claire again, then leaving was the cleanest escape.

Once I had printed it and left it on my boss' desk, I finally headed home.

Yet, when I got to my floor, I noticed something strange. The hallway light was on.

There were only two apartments per floor, and the one next to mine had been vacant for months. The motion lights rarely kicked on unless someone was standing right there.

I took a few cautious steps, and that was when I saw her.

Claire was crouched on the stairwell landing, smoking. The floor around her was littered with cigarette butts. It was obvious she had been waiting a long time.

Fortunately, I was quiet. She didn't hear me.

I turned on my heel and hit the elevator button. The doors slid open with a ding. As I stepped inside, I heard her shoes scrape against the floor.

Then, her voice, sharp and wild, rang down the hallway.

"Zach! I know that's you! You're in the elevator, aren't you? You came back!"

The doors slid shut in front of me, and the elevator groaned as it descended.

To slow her down, I mashed every floor button on the panel before jumping out at the lobby. The elevator would stop at every floor now. Petty? Maybe. But it bought me time.

No way I was spending the night in an apartment she was camped outside of.

I walked a few blocks and checked into a nearby hotel. As I turned away from the front desk, room key in hand, I heard the pounding of heels behind me.

Claire came running in, breathless and wild-eyed. Sweat trickled down her forehead, and her face was flushed red from the chase.

She stormed straight to the front desk. "Did someone just check in? Did a guy named Zach Mason just book a room here? Tell me! Answer me!"