She Traded Me for a Ride

Summary

On payday, I took the long way home specifically to pick up the graphics card I’d spent months daydreaming about.

I set the box on the dining table, walked into the bathroom to wash my hands, and when I walked back out barely three minutes later, the box was gone.

Panic flaring in my chest, I asked Lauren, who had just stepped through the front door, if she’d seen it.

She didn't even look up from her phone. Her voice drifted over, entirely weightless:

"Oh. Brandon drove me home. He saw it on the table on his way in and mentioned he really liked it, so I told him he could take it."