“Oh my God, he didn’t.” I stare at the note and read it again in my head. “Asshole, don’t be nice to me, I don’t deserve it,” I say to myself, hoping that it will make me feel better for the way I am hurting him right now.

Opening the box, inside is a breakfast burrito like he makes for me at home. He knows I can’t resist this; it’s been my favorite breakfast since that first morning he cooked it for me.

“This makes no difference in what’s going on between us, but it’s a crime to waste such good food, right?” Taking my first bite, it almost feels like a kiss from Forrest, and that nearly undoes me. But I continue to hold strong as I chew my way through the food and drink my coffee. The caffeine is just what I needed, considering I didn’t get much sleep.

Taking the ribbon from the bag and slipping it into my office drawer, I hear something rattle in the bottom of the paper bag as I bump it.

I pull out a little envelope with a box of ibuprofen inside it. Written on the envelope are the words:

Take two, you will thank me later.

Forrest x

“Bastard.” I want to send him a picture of my middle finger in front of the box, letting him know what I think of his gesture, but I can’t. I promised myself this morning that I won’t be in communication with Forrest until I’m ready.

If he thinks I’m going to come crawling back to him because I can’t function without him, then he has another thing coming.

But as I sit here sipping my coffee, my heart hurts at how much I miss him already. It feels like he is so far away from me, and I hate that more than I thought I would. Now I just need to work out how I’m going to avoid seeing him when he is just a few streets away in his office, or God help me, when he is with Flynn and Felisha. Surely, they wouldn’t be that cruel to me and organize anything where I have to run into him. I mean, I just wouldn’t go. I’d be sick or book an important meeting, visit my mother, or there could be a sister crisis where I’m needed. I could come up with anything if it meant I didn’t have to see him. It’s going to take a while before I think I will be able to manage to do that.

* * *