Chapter 2She Signed the Divorce Papers on Our Wedding Day

A white BMW was parked right outside the apartment gates.

As I walked closer, the driver's side window rolled down, revealing Dave's face.

He offered me a faint smile. It looked fragile, like it slipped out by accident, or maybe it was entirely calculated.

"Charlie," he called out. "Is Gina around?"

I kept walking, looping around the front of his car.

He called out from behind me, "She drank too much last night. I was worried about her, so I came to check."

I stopped dead in my tracks.

When I turned around, he was already out of the car. He wore a crisp white button down shirt, his hair styled perfectly, his face clean and totally bare of makeup.

I had seen this exact look a million times. In the photos on Gina's phone. Standing outside her office building.

"She did drink too much," I said. "She drank at my house."

He flinched.

"Charlie, please do not misunderstand..."

"I am not misunderstanding anything," I cut him off. "She got trashed last night, gripped my wrist, and screamed your name twenty-three times. She woke up this morning and told me she finally wore you down. You two are officially a couple."

A deep flush crept up his neck and face.

"Charlie, I am so, so sorry. I really didn't do it on purpose. I honestly had no idea she was married. She never told me."

I stared at him.

His eyes were already red, a faint shimmer of tears caught on his eyelashes. He bit his bottom lip, looking like he had suffered the greatest injustice in the world, trying desperately to hold back his crying.

I was way too familiar with this routine.

"Well, now you know," I said. "She is upstairs. Apartment 301. Go on up."

He stood frozen in place.

Footsteps hurried up from behind me. Gina's voice cut through the air. "Dave?"

I glanced over my shoulder.

She had run outside in her slippers. Her hair was a mess, her shirt wrinkled. When she saw Dave standing there, she hesitated for a split second before marching straight over.

She stepped right in front of him, physically blocking him from me.

"What are you trying to do?" she glared at me, her voice dropping to a low, threatening register.

I let out a dry laugh.

"What did I do?"

She shielded him with her body, tucking him behind her back like she was terrified I was going to throw a punch.

"He does not know anything," she declared. "I was the one who went after him. I lied and told him I was single. If you are pissed, take it out on me. Do not mess with him."

Dave peeked out from behind her shoulder, his voice tiny. "Gina, please don't be like this. Charlie didn't even say anything..."

I actually laughed out loud.

"I haven't even said anything yet," I said. "But you guys are already putting on an Oscar winning performance."

Gina furrowed her brows.

"Stop being so passive aggressive."

"Me? Passive aggressive?" I looked at her, then at the half of Dave's face visible behind her. "Dave, didn't you just apologize to me? You just claimed you had no idea she was married, and now she is saying she lied to you. So which one of you is full of shit?"

A single tear slipped down Dave's cheek.

Gina glanced back at him, and when she turned to face me again, her expression was pure ice.

"Enough," she snapped. "I will sign the papers. Whatever you want, you can have it. Just do not touch him."

I stared at her.

Three years. She had never looked at me like that in three years. She had never stepped in front of me to protect me from anything.

"Whatever I want?" I echoed. "I don't want a damn thing. The agreement is already blank. Fill it out yourself. Your parents put the down payment on the house, and I paid the mortgage for the last three years. Do the math and wire the equity to my account. The car is yours, keep it. I will pack my own shit and leave."

She was stunned into silence.

Dave stepped out from behind her and gently tugged at her sleeve.

"Gina, stop fighting. I am fine..."

Gina reached back and grabbed his hand, interlacing their fingers tightly.

I looked at their locked hands and suddenly felt incredibly bored by the whole spectacle.

"Alright," I said. "I will be back on Monday for my boxes. You two kids have fun."

I turned and walked toward the street.

About a dozen steps later, I heard footsteps rushing up behind me.

It was Dave.

He jogged over, panting slightly, and grabbed my arm.

"Charlie," he whispered. "I swear to God I didn't know she had a husband. If I knew, I never would have said yes to her. You have to believe me."

I looked down at his fingers wrapping around my forearm.

"Let go."

He didn't.

"Charlie, please don't blame her. This is all my fault."

I ripped my arm out of his grip.

"Dave," I said. "Do you know what I hate the most about you?"

He stared at me, wide eyed.

"It is not the fact that you like her," I continued. "It is that every single time you show up, you pull this exact routine. You know absolutely everything, yet you act like the most innocent victim on the planet. She chased you for three years. You didn't say yes early on, you didn't say yes later. You specifically chose to say yes yesterday. Do you know what yesterday was?"

His eyes darted away for a fraction of a second.

"Our wedding anniversary."

He stayed completely silent.

"All the flowers she sent you over the last three years, all the dinner dates she booked, all the bullshit excuses she made to see you. You happily took all of it. You expect me to believe you didn't know she had a husband? You didn't know she came straight from your place every time she went home?"

More tears spilled down his cheeks.

"Charlie, I really..."

"Do not say my name like we are friends," I cut him off. "I do not have a buddy like you."

I turned and walked away.

This time, he didn't follow.

When I reached the bus stop, my phone buzzed.

A text from Gina.

"I signed the papers. They are on the shoe cabinet by the door. Let me know before you come pick up your things. I will take him out so you do not have to see him."

I stared at that sentence for a very long time.

The bus rolled up.

I got on and found a seat by the window.

My phone buzzed again.

Her again.

"He suffered a lot these past three years. I will not let that happen anymore."