Stranded My Boyfriend Stole My Car and Left Me on the Highway

Two days before New Year's, my boyfriend and I were driving to his hometown to spend the holidays with his family.

We got into a fight over how much to give his sister as a gift. She was seventeen this year, and we'd originally agreed I'd buy her the latest iPhone.

But halfway there, Leo Sullivan suddenly changed his mind. "Forget the phone," he said. "Just give her seventeen thousand dollars instead. Think of it as a little something from her future sister-in-law, to celebrate her moving to the city."

I frowned and argued with him, but before I could get two words out, he hit the gas and pulled over on the highway, leaving me stranded on the shoulder. The cold cut right through me. I was shivering so hard my teeth chattered.

I called him countless times. Sent text after text. He didn't respond to a single one.

Half an hour later, I calmed down and dialed the highway patrol. "Hi, my car was stolen. I'm on the interstate heading toward his hometown."

……

I was thirty years old. Leo and I had been together for four years.

He was my second boyfriend, and being with him was the first time I'd ever truly wanted to settle down.

Things between us had always been good, so we'd decided to meet each other's parents over the holidays and lock down a wedding date.

Before the trip, I'd already bought gifts for his family: two bottles of premium whiskey, two cartons of high-end cigarettes, plus supplements like high-grade vitamins and health tonics.

To show my sincerity, I'd gone top-shelf on everything. It cost me a small fortune.

But I'd been happy to spend it.

I thought I'd covered all my bases. I hadn't counted on forgetting a gift for his sister.

Leo had explained, somewhat awkwardly, that his sister Libby Sullivan had bombed her SATs this year. Their parents planned to move her to the city so she could retake them next year.

I'd chosen my words carefully. "When I was your sister's age, the thing I wanted most in the world was a phone. For kids these days, a phone isn't just a toy; it's a study tool. How about I get her one?"

Leo had agreed. But then, out of nowhere, he'd changed his mind. He said his sister didn't want a phone anymore.

Better to just give her seventeen thousand dollars as a gift.

Thousand? I'd blinked. For a seventeen-year-old girl, that was an astronomical sum.

I stared at him. "Seventeen thousand dollars? Leo, you can't be serious."

"I'm dead serious. My sister spent all those years in the countryside, roughing it. We're doing well now. Shouldn't we help her out?"

He grabbed my hand. His eyes were soft, tender even, but something behind them felt calculating.

I frowned, making no effort to hide my irritation. "If you want to help her, you help her. She's not my sister. Why is this my problem?"

Leo's expression froze. He clearly hadn't expected me to refuse so flatly, without even a moment's hesitation.

If he'd asked me to pick up some small gifts to make a teenage girl smile, I'd have been all for it. But seventeen thousand dollars? Whoever handed that over was a fool, plain and simple.

He stared at me for a long moment, then let out an awkward laugh. "I was just testing you, that's all. Seeing if my future sister-in-law was willing to spend a little on my kid sister. If you don't want to, I won't push it."

That comment did not sit well with me.

Testing me? That wasn't a test. That was emotional blackmail.

I didn't respond. I turned and stared out the window.

Dark clouds churned across the sky. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and within minutes, rain came hammering down in sheets.

Cold mist seeped through a gap in the window that hadn't been sealed properly. I shuddered.

Neither of us said a word for the rest of the drive. The silence lasted all the way to the rest stop.

Leo parked the car and turned to me. "Nora Henson, I'm going to grab something to eat. You want anything?"