Caleb was waiting for me after school, leaning against my car with his arms crossed. The tension radiating off him was palpable, and I braced myself as I approached.
“We need to talk,” he said, his voice sharp.
I nodded, unlocking the car. “Get in.”
The silence between us on the short drive to the park was deafening. When I parked under the shade of an old oak tree, Caleb turned to face me, his jaw tight. “So, is it true?”
I stared straight ahead, gripping the steering wheel. “What are you talking about?”
“You know damn well what I’m talking about,” he snapped. “The rumors, Emma. People are saying you’re still hung up on Logan.”
I opened my mouth to deny it, but the words caught in my throat. Caleb’s gaze bore into me, and the weight of my silence was enough to give him his answer.
“Unbelievable,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. “After everything we’ve been through, you can’t even look me in the eye and say it’s not true.”
“It’s not that simple,” I said, my voice trembling. “Logan and I... it’s complicated. But that doesn’t mean—”
“Doesn’t mean what?” Caleb interrupted, his tone growing harsher. “That you don’t still have feelings for him? Because that’s exactly what it means, Emma.”
Tears pricked my eyes as I turned to face him. “I didn’t want this. I didn’t plan for any of it. But you’re not making this any easier.”
He let out a bitter laugh. “You think this is easy for me? Watching you wrestle with whatever the hell this is with Logan while I’m standing here, trying to give you everything?”
“I didn’t ask for everything!” I shot back, my voice breaking. “I didn’t ask for any of this.”
The silence that followed was thick with unspoken words. Caleb shook his head, his expression a mix of hurt and anger. “You know what? Maybe I should’ve listened to Vanessa when she said you’d never really choose me.”
I flinched at her name, the sting of it cutting deeper than I wanted to admit. Caleb didn’t wait for a response. He opened the car door and stepped out, slamming it shut behind him.