Did My Girlfriend Lie About Having Cancer?

I met her — the woman I’ll call Chelsea — on a crowded dance floor. I’d been single for two months and felt unmoored. She was charming and chivalrous in that classic butch-for-femme way. She wore a masculine type of cologne that made her smell like whiskey, green grass, and campfire, and her quick wit and easygoing nature made me feel comfortable. We got in a cab at the end of the night and went back to my apartment. When we woke up the next morning, I was happy that I’d finally started the process of getting over my ex-partner after the breakup of a five-year relationship.

I used to fall in love quickly and ignore every potential warning sign, content that I had found someone. Then I fell for Chelsea, who helped me understand that not everyone is, in fact, good at heart.

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