He braced himself as he walked up her driveway and knocked on the door. It was obvious she knew something was wrong the moment he turned his head away when she tried to kiss him.
"Jake," Mariella said with concern, "are you ok?"
"Yeah," he whispered in reply. "Well, no… I - kind of. This will be good for you, Mary. Good for both of us."
Mariella inclined her head at his words, looking confused.
"You're breaking up with me?" she asked.
"I have to. We live so far apart. It would never work."
"Jake, please don't do this!" she said, a little more forcefully than he expected, grabbing onto his shirt.
"I'm sorry, Mary. It's the only way," he said, a little scared now as he delcately peeled her hands off his chest.
"But what about your Dad's birthday dinner?"
"Oh, yeah, look it's probably better if you don't go to that."
"But I was looking forward to meeting your family -"
"Let's not make this any more awkward than it needs to be. Goodbye."
With that, he turned away and left.
"Wait, Jake! Wait. Please!"
But Reese just kept on walking, a sly grin on his face. That would show his brother for that dead rat on his pillow last year.
