Taking My Money

Turns out, my boyfriend, Mark, had a real problem with “taking my money,” as he put it. He’d been saying for weeks that he was done being a freeloader, done with me paying for everything.

Then, he just hopped into my best friend, Sarah’s car.

Except… that was my car!

On graduation day, my dad rolled up to campus in his Rolls Royce to pick me up. (Yeah, I know, spoiled, but hey, what can I say?) I glanced in the rearview mirror and caught a glimpse of Mark, Mr. "I'm Too Good for Money," and Sarah, my supposed bestie. They were hauling their stuff on this rickety old bike-pulled trailer in the rain, getting splashed with mud from passing cars.

You would never know these were the campus golden couple, right? Seeing them like that gave me a seriously good feeling. I rolled up the window and smiled.

1.

"Hey, Emma, I have to work my shift tonight, so I can't pick you up after class," Mark texted.

I sighed and stared at the text. This was the twenty-third time this month that Mark had bailed on me, and it wasn't even the 25th yet.

I was getting frustrated. Mark was my boyfriend, the "hottest guy on campus," according to everyone. We met when I was helping him get his financial aid paperwork in order. He kept asking me out, and finally, on my birthday, he gave me this bracelet that clearly cost more than he could afford.

It turned out he’d spent two months’ worth of side hustle money on it. That's when I agreed to be his girlfriend.

For the past three years, he’d been all over me, always there. Sarah said I couldn't go anywhere without him trailing behind me like a lost puppy. But lately, I hadn't seen him much at all. He told me it was all for a special gift for me. But it got me thinking, maybe I was the one who bought his gifts for me in the first place.

2.

I always knew Mark's family wasn't loaded, so I was careful not to make him feel less than. We ate at the cafeteria every day for three years, mostly their cheap specials. Even getting some takeout was like a big deal with him.

He also had me give him half my spending money for "shared expenses." Except, when it came to actually paying, he always “forgot” his wallet. It was basically me footing the bill for everything. When was the last time he paid for something? Oh right, I wanted a hot dog from the street vendor. He said they were unhealthy, paid for it, then ate half of it himself.

Oh, and yeah, my "spending money" was five grand a month. Dad had been like, "Hey, try to be low-key at school," but he knew I’d need that for expenses.

But considering Mark was spending most of his days in the cafeteria, two thousand a month wouldn't cut it if he actually wanted to "save" to buy me something special.

I needed a second opinion, so I called Sarah, but all I heard was heavy breathing on the other end. She was probably with her "boo," so I hung up. As I was heading back to the dorm, I walked past the back entrance and saw two familiar figures making out.

One was Mark, the disappearing b...