farewell (18+)

27. The Whole Scoop

"How could you lie to me like this?" Max asked me.

I had dragged him to the sidewalk, while Darya went inside to give us some privacy.

"I didn't lie to you," I said.

"Oh really?"

"No, I just... Omitted."

He snorted, looking away. I hated the look of disappointment in his face, so I was almost glad when he turned his back to me.

"Baby, please..."

"I asked you about this," he said. "I did something I hate and asked you about a past relationship, and you up and lied to me."

"I didn't--"

"You told me you guys had hooked up, and that that was it!"

"Because it was it!"

"Then what's that about 'all these years'?"

"I didn't date him, okay? We hooked up from time to time, but we never had a relationship."

"And what the hell do you call this?"

"We're friends, Max. Just friends."

"Anna, I don't know..." He ran a hand through his hair. "This is fucked up, and the fact that you kept it from me... Do you still have feelings for him?"

"Max, please! I've never had feelings for him! It was just physical!"

"Then why did you hide it?"

"Because... I don't know! I didn't think it mattered at the time. It was just a detail!"

"A very important one."

"You know what? I'm done apologizing to you!"

"Do you really call this bullshit an apology?"

"If you want to be mad, Max, then stay mad! Okay? I'm done talking to you!"

He howled, curling his fingers in frustrated anger. "You're unbelievable!"

I watched as he marched out of the entrance gate and disappeared in the distance, shouting profanities.

***

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Darya asked me.

"Spare me, okay?"

"He's out there in the unknown, and he can't speak a word of Portuguese."

"If he wants to throw a tantrum like a freaking kid, he can go ahead and get lost downtown."

"It's a pretty small town, though," Rodrigo said. "He'll be fine."

"Thank you for your valuable input, Rodrigo," Darya signaled sarcastically then turned to me. "The point of the matter is that you let him go like that when you were in the wrong."

"I tried to explain myself to him, okay? But it didn't matter. He wants to be mad about this shit. If he doesn't want to make peace with me, it's his problem."

We all went silent for a moment until Rodrigo said, "You did cut the argument short before you had the chance to solve this."

I pushed my fingers into my eyes, gathering the strength not to strangle him.

"Why didn't you tell him?" Darya asked.

"It didn't seem important at the time... He had just told me that he loved me. We made love on the couch, and then I let him ask me anything he wanted. It really seemed like just a detail. Does it really matter how many times I had sex with Vlad?"