A week after I bought my boyfriend his Tesla, he suddenly had a "carpool buddy." He’d pick her up and drop her off, rain or shine. In return, she took it upon herself to redecorate the car's interior, like she was the lady of the house. She put in her favorite air fresheners and even threw out the flats I kept in the passenger-side map pocket, replacing them with her own. One night, during a torrential downpour, I waited an hour at my office curb. He finally rolled up with her in the passenger seat. She turned around, smiling sweetly. "Mia, I'm so sorry. I’m such a slow eater, I made Leo late picking you up. Please don't be mad at him." Before I could answer, Leo playfully flicked her forehead. "Mia's mature. She gets it. Not like you, needing to be coaxed just to finish your lunch. You're such a kid." 1 It was a nightmare outside. Thunder, lightning, the works. I stood under the flimsy awning of my office building, frantically checking my phone. Getting an Uber in this weather was impossible; my coworkers were all complaining about 30-minute wait times. My own car was in the shop, but I wasn't worried. I'd just bought my boyfriend, Leo, a brand-new Tesla Model 3 last month. Tonight, that felt like a brilliant move. I waited. And waited. One by one, my colleagues got picked up until I was the only one left. Finally, his car glided silently to the curb. The window lowered. "Mia! Sorry, you've been waiting long?" He hit the button to open the rear door. "Hop in!" I leaned down and saw her. A girl with long hair and round cheeks was sitting comfortably in my seat. The rain was turning to sleet, so I just got in the back and folded my dripping umbrella. "Whoa, water!" the girl in the passenger seat yelped, twisting around. She pointed at my umbrella. "Hey, can you stick that in the door pocket? You're getting water all over the floor mats. This car is brand new, and the seats are vegan leather." Her tone—like she owned the place—set my teeth on edge. I’m not known for my patience. "Miss," I said, my voice dripping ice, "it's my boyfriend's car. If the floor mats get wet, it's our problem. Why are you so worried about it?" She flushed. Leo, settling into the driver's seat, chimed in. "Mia, come on. She’s just trying to help, looking out for our car. Don't be rude." I stared at him. "So, who is she?" "Oh!" Leo fumbled with his seatbelt. "This is who I was telling you about. My carpool buddy, Chloe. She works in my building and lives in our complex. It's totally on the way, so I just give her a lift. No big deal, right?" The car behind us honked. Leo cursed, struggling with the seatbelt buckle. Chloe leaned over, her body close to his, and clicked it in for him. She turned back to me, her voice sickeningly sweet. "I'm really sorry, Mia. We shouldn't have been this late. It's all my fault, I’m such a slow eater. I made Leo wait, which made you wait. You can't be mad at him." "What are you talking about?" Leo reached over and tapped her on the nose. "Mia's way more mature than you. She's not a little kid who needs to be entertained at lunch." "I was just on my period and didn't have an appetite!" Chloe whined. She playfully reached up and ruffled Leo's hair. "And I told you, don't call me a 'little kid' in front of other people!" 2 Chloe wasn't overweight, just soft, with a "baby face" that made her look perpetually innocent. When she pouted, Leo reached over and pinched her cheek. They were flirting. Right in front of me. I went numb, Chloe’s words echoing in my head: "in front of other people." That’s what I was. Other people. No, I was the clown. Leo had mentioned his "carpool buddy." "Mia, no time for breakfast, gotta run. Chloe's waiting downstairs." "Chloe's working late, so I'm gonna wait for her. Be home a little late, 'kay?" "Babe, Chloe loved the sandwiches you made. She said she wants to try more of your cooking. Can you make an extra one tomorrow?" Chloe. Chloe. Chloe. I never, ever imagined "Chloe" was a girl. For a month, Leo had been her free chauffeur. More reliable than Uber. And tonight, in this awful weather, knowing I was waiting in the cold, he still let her finish her dinner at her own pace before moseying over to pick me up. 3 "Mia, you're quiet," Leo said, glancing in the rearview mirror. "Everything okay?" "Mia," Chloe chirped, "are you frozen? I checked the weather, it's, like, 35 degrees out. You must be so cold. Oh my god, if you get sick, I'll feel so guilty." As if on cue, I sneezed. "You really are cold," Leo fretted. "Your immune system is shot. This is what happens. I keep telling you to go running with me in the morning, but you never listen." "I have some Vitamin C!" Chloe said, digging in her purse. She held up a fancy-looking bottle. "Here! Leo got this for me. He said it's great for boosting your immunity. Take a couple." Leo was a health nut. He'd tried to get me to join his 6 AM runs, but I value my sleep. And yes, he always bought me Vitamin C. But I stared at the bottle in her hand. It was one of those $60 imported wellness brands. The Vitamin C Leo bought me was always the $2.99 CVS-brand bottle. When I'd complained, he said the expensive ones were "a scam for suckers." Apparently, my boyfriend didn't mind being a sucker for someone else. 4 I didn't take the bottle. I looked around the car. My eyes landed on the pillows. I liked a minimalist aesthetic. The simple, charcoal gray cushions I’d bought were gone. In their place were four, bright blue, fuzzy Stitch pillows. "Where are my gray cushions?" I asked. "Oh... those." Leo cleared his throat. "They're in the trunk." "What?" Chloe chimed in, wide-eyed. "Those were yours, Mia? They were so ugly, I thought they were just some free swag the dealership threw in! I tossed them in the dumpster yesterday." ...It's amazing, the little laugh that escapes you when you're completely, utterly speechless. I'd been so busy with a project that I hadn't been in his car for weeks. Now, I saw it. The entire interior was... different. The passenger seat I was supposed to be in had a cheap, cartoon-character air freshener clipped to the vent, pumping out a sickeningly sweet vanilla smell. The little charm I’d hung from the rearview mirror was now wrapped in a colorful hair tie that wasn't mine. Even the Tesla's system name, which I'd set as "Mia's Ride," had been changed. It now read: "Leo & Chloe's Tesi." This was a total violation. Every corner of the car screamed her presence. I was the intruder. 5 Just then, Chloe glanced at the navigation. "Ugh, this rain is making traffic insane. And we had to go so far out of the way to pick you up. My feet are killing me in these heels." "So change them," Leo said, not missing a beat. "Your flats are in the back, aren't they?" Chloe nodded, pointing over her shoulder. "Mia, can you grab those white flats for me? They're in the seat-back pocket." I looked. And there, in the pocket of the passenger seat, was a pair of white flats. My face went cold. "Where are my black flats?" "Oh, those were yours?" Chloe said, performing surprise again. "I was wondering where that big, old-fashioned pair of shoes came from! I’m so sorry, Mia. I... I accidentally threw those out, too. But don't worry! I'll have Leo buy you a new pair. Exactly the same!" Okay. That was it. I had planned to wait until we got home, to have this fight in private. But I could not believe the audacity. If I let this slide, I was a doormat. "You want to change shoes," I said. I pulled two tissues from the box, leaned forward, and picked up her flats like they were toxic waste. Then I wound up and threw them as hard as I could, right at her face. "Fine! Change! CHANGE!" "AHHH!" she screamed. The hard sole of the shoe caught her on the chin. "Chloe!" Leo slammed the car into park, right in the middle of the street. He unbuckled and lunged over to her. "Are you okay? Let me see!" Chloe burst into tears, her hand flying to her face. "Leo, am I bleeding? Am I scarred? It hurts!" He saw the red mark on her chin and turned on me, his face purple with rage. "Mia, what the HELL is wrong with you? She just asked you to pass her shoes! Are you insane?"
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