[In the first three chapters, a country boy pursues his depressed, widowed sister-in-law. This is chapter 4, though all chapters stand alone.]
Drew was angry after his sister-in-law, Arya, turned him down. He was sick to his stomach for weeks.
For the first few days after Arya turned down Drew, he was annoyed and unbelieving.
And confused. "That idiot isn't thinking straight. Or she was tired. She'll find me tomorrow."
Soon it was, "She's a fucking bitch if she walks away from me." "Does she like being alone?" "No guy likes a tease." "The real world will eat her alive."
Drew decided to punish her by avoiding her.
But he didn't need to. Ever since Arya's husband (Drew's brother) died, she preferred to be alone and hardly spoke.
And yet, it still made Drew feel better to choose to avoid her even if he didn't need to.
Drew became angrier at Arya and himself when she didn't react. He hated the concept of obsessing about someone indifferent.
"Fuck her then," he decided.
And he stuck to that decision for at least 72 hours. Or 70. Maybe 64.
Drew's next idea was to bring a trashy blonde to his dad's place, hoping to catch Arya coming home from work.
Arya walked in with her headphones on. She didn't register the blonde in her father-in-law's kitchen. When she saw her brother-in-law, she wasn't concerned with any more details.
Drew eventually understood that Arya would not get jealous. And for some reason, Drew decided that his next best move was to spy on Arya.
A few evenings after the trashy blonde's appearance, Drew's dad told him that someone had picked up Arya.