Scared shitless, that’s what I was. The fact that I hadn’t fainted yet was a miracle for me. Only Kim could think that throwing herself from the cliff of a mountain is fun. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the walk surrounded by aromatic pine trees. But when she said that she had booked us a trip for our anniversary I thought it would be something more romantic than bungee jumping. Oh boy, had I been wrong.

“Scared, Chris?” said a masculine voice next to me.

Ah yes, I had almost forgotten about him.

Almost.

I turned to face him and forced myself not to glare at the man in front of me. After all I had no reason to dislike him, at least not a solid one.

“Ah, just a little shaken up” I said smiling the best I could.

Brandon snorted and raised a thick eyebrow.

“You look pale,” he said in a rather mocking tone. “You can go back down and wait for us with Erika. Kim and I can do it together.”

He must be saying it to be friendly, Chris. Don’t act out. Just because you’re a little jealous doesn’t mean that he is trying anything.

“Is something wrong?” Kim and Erika had stopped looking at other people throwing themselves into the oblivion to finally come join us.

“It’s nothi-”

“Chris is scared.”

Kim looked at me wide-eyed, scanning my face for what seemed like minutes. I shifted my weight between my feet uncomfortably.

“Oh,” she finally said.

“It’s fine, I can do it.”

“You did tell me once that you’re scared of heights,” the embarrassment of her voice was palpable. “But don’t worry, honey. You can go back down and wait for us.”

I closed my mouth as soon as I realized I had opened it. There it was again, this weird feeling I’ve been getting for the last couple days… no. The last couple of months. Ever since Kim met Brandon in her new job, she’s been acting all sorts of weird. First, she started missing our dates because she said she was too busy working. That’s cool, I always loved that Kim is so dedicated to her job anyways. Then there is that time when I went to pick her up at work so that she wouldn’t have to drive after pulling an all-nighter on a project, and I caught her and Brandon hugging in the parking lot. She told me that it was a friendly hug. It’s fine, a relationship it’s nothing without trust. But then there are also the late-night texts I happened to see once of Brandon calling her pretty and telling her how much he missed her. She later forgot our anniversary. And at last but not least, to make it up to me she reserved a trip to Norway. I thought this would be a chance for things to be normal again, until I found out that she also invited Brandon and his girlfriend.

“It’s fine, Kim. I can do it.”

“Oh, but Erika is so scared too,” Kim said. “You two should head back down, maybe find a place to eat.”

I look at Kim without saying anything. I try to convince myself once again that I’m paranoid and I don’t want to be that type of boyfriend who is so insecure that he can’t stand for his partner to have friends. But this is getting a little too much.

“We’ll head back down,” Erika finally intervened.

“Wonderful!” Kim was practically beaming.

It’s all in my head. She’s just worried about me.

I snap out of it when I feel Erika practically dragging me downhill. After walking in silence for a while she finally speaks.

“So have you noticed it?”

I blink a couple times, confused.

“Noticed what?”

She gave me a stern look that made dread start to build inside me.

“We’re getting cheated on.”

I didn’t stop walking. I didn’t even spare her a glance.

“So, you did know…”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Kim is not like that.”

She snorted and now I did stop walking. As I faced her I felt myself frown.

“I saw them kissing, you know.”

I looked her blue eyes for signs that she was lying, but why would she even lie about that? I felt my stomach drop, but nothing else. I’m not shocked. I guess I did know, but I didn’t want to admit it. I let myself lean on a pine trunk for support before asking her when this happened.

“Oh, several times. But if you’re asking for the first time I saw it I guess it was around a month ago.”

This is where the anger finally starts to build up. I’m angry at Brandon for stealing my girlfriend. I’m angry at Kim for betraying me. I’m angry at myself for being so stupid.

“So what are you gonna do?” she asks.

“Break up with her,” I say matter of fact. “Why haven’t you done it yourself if you already knew?”

“What’s the fun in that?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking,” her voice a soft whisper. “Revenge.”

I raise an inquisitive eyebrow.

“I have a plan, but I need your help.”

I don’t decline right away. I weight my options. The best I could do I just move on with my life, after all that’s the right thing to do. Don’t they say that the best revenge is a life well lived? But then again, I did what most people say is the right thing to do in a relationship and it only got me cheated on. I move away from the pine trunk and walk closer to Erika, her blue eyes sparkling with mischief.

“Count me in.”