I Earn Six Figures, But Can't Even Buy My Own Snacks

By the time I made it back, my mother's surgery was already over.

She was all right, thank God.

Only later did I learn that Theo had spent that whole time at the movies with Shirley.

It was the first time I ever lost my temper with him.

He swore to me, eyes rimmed red, that nothing like that would ever happen again.

But later I figured it out.

His promises were only true in the instant they left his mouth.

In practice, he carried on exactly as before.

I gritted my teeth and dragged myself up off the ground.

Every step sent a sharp ache straight through my knee.

I don't really know how I made it back at all.

By the time I finally limped home through the downpour, three hours had passed.

The living room blazed with light.

Theo was already back.

He sat on the couch in clean, fresh pajamas, gazing into his phone camera with a soft, doting look.

"It gets cold at night, so make sure you tuck the blanket in when you sleep. You catch cold so easily."

His voice was low and gentle, reminding her over and over, unable to stop worrying.

I didn't need to guess who was on the other end. It was his foster sister, Shirley.

Only after he hung up did Theo finally turn around.

His gaze slid from my still-dripping hair all the way down, and stopped on my knee, where blood was still seeping through.

He frowned.

"Didn't I tell you to take an Uber home?"

"How did you get yourself into this state?"

"Why are you just standing there? Go clean up."

"You've gone and dirtied the rug by the door. That's Shirley's favorite, the handwoven wool one."

His brow drew tighter and tighter, his eyes full of regret and displeasure.

In that moment, no rain outside could ever be as cold as my heart.

My boyfriend looked at the gash on my knee and felt nothing.

But over one rug I'd dirtied, he wore the panicked face of a man watching the sky fall.

It was only after a hot shower that the stiffness in my limbs began to ease.

Theo waited outside the door with the first-aid kit.

Seeing how blank my face was, he sighed, pulled me over, and sat me down on the couch.

"Rebecca, can you be any more childish?"

"You'd stoop to hurting yourself just to compete with a kid for attention?"

There was reproach in his voice.

I couldn't really blame him for thinking that way.

I used to believe Theo treated Shirley, a foster sister with no blood tie to him, better than he treated me, his actual girlfriend.

And I had been jealous of her, more than once.

I'd done plenty of childish things too, trying to get Theo to notice me.

But this time, that really wasn't it.

And the "kid" Theo kept talking about was twenty-four this year, a college graduate.

Still, I didn't say a word.

There was no point.

To someone who cares about you, even a slight furrow of your brow puts them on edge.

To someone who doesn't, you could hang yourself and they'd just think you were having fun on a swing.

"All right, I know today upset you, so don't be in a mood anymore."

"Here. A gift for you."

Theo held out a square velvet box, as if trying to make it up to me.

There was a little smugness at the corner of his mouth, like he was certain I'd love it.

I recognized the logo on it at a glance. It belonged to my favorite car brand.

My numb heart gave an uncontrollable little jump.

Not long ago, I'd suggested we trade in for a new car.

The one I drove now was almost ten years old, and a lot of the parts were wearing out.

Back then, Theo had turned me down without a second thought.

"Why change it? The car still runs fine, doesn't it?"

I'd been a little disappointed, but I let it drop.