The Start of Something Wonderful. Jane Lambert

my jacket, helmet, and bag.

      Grabbing my wrist, he mumbles, ‘I still care about you, Em. You’re like family to me … I can only move on with my life if I know you’re going to be okay. Maybe in time, we could even be …’

      ‘Oh, pur-lease, don’t say it! Let go of me! What an idiot I was to even think of getting back with you.’

      I stagger out of the restaurant into the street, finding it hard to breathe. I unchain my bike from the lamppost, hands trembling.

      ‘Don’t be like this,’ comes a voice in my ear. ‘At least let me give you a lift home, Em, please.’

      ‘Not necessary,’ I hiss, jamming on my helmet and flicking on my lights.

      ‘There’s just one more thing you should know,’ he blurts out, face ghostly in the silvery beam of the streetlight. ‘Maddie’s pregnant.’