Thanks be to EBT.
I was surprised, but I wasn't.
Ben and I had been spending more time together since Bella had asked him to sit at our lunch table. He had asked me out for pizza and a movie a few weeks ago, but I said no.
I didn't want someone else to end up getting hurt in this mess I'd helped create.
Bella was enough. I couldn't do that Ben.
No matter how much he liked me.
And no matter how much I liked him.
So when he asked me out, I told him that I wanted to but couldn't.
He was hurt, I could tell, but he was… trusting.
He didn't ask me why.
He didn't ask me when I'd be ready.
He didn't get mean.
He said he'd wait.