Forward, Without Him

Taylor flies to New York to surprise her boyfriend Ethan and best friend Lexi, only to overhear them confess they have been dating behind her back. They admit to altering her college application, causing her to miss the deadline and take a gap year. Ethan promises to keep their relationship secret and stay with Lexi all summer.

Taylor recalls last May 1st, Lexi's birthday, when she discovered her Columbia spot was gone. The admissions office revealed someone had used her account to decline the offer and cancel the deposit. Devastated, she chose a gap year to reapply, while Lexi and Ethan comforted her on FaceTime—a kindness she now knows was part of their plan.

Taylor scrolls through Lexi's old texts and realizes Lexi had been bragging about the same boyfriend—Ethan. Lexi presses Taylor on how far she and Ethan have gone, then mocks her in a dramatic voice note. Too buried in applications to notice then, Taylor now stands outside the apartment, dizzy at the sight of them together.

Taylor fights nausea and replies, asking Ethan for a hospital photo. Lexi complains about Taylor taking up her time, and Ethan produces a staged hallway picture. Lexi presses him to go public, but Ethan insists Taylor must never find out. After reading every word, Taylor tells her parents she is choosing MIT over Columbia.

Taylor tells her parents over the phone that Lexi and Ethan are together. Her father, barely containing his anger, reveals they have been paying all of Lexi's private high school and Columbia tuition. He declares they are done being her ATM next semester. Taylor recalls how she once begged her parents to take Lexi in, only to be repaid with betrayal.

Lexi boasts that Ethan booked a two-thousand-dollar hotel suite for her and mocks Taylor. Taylor recalls begging Ethan to come home before the application deadline, only for him to refuse, claiming he could not afford a forty-dollar train ticket. Seeing the contrast, Taylor does not reply to Lexi's message.

Lexi schemes to replace Taylor in Ethan's mind while still needing Taylor's parents to cover her tuition. Ethan sends Taylor a message claiming his volunteer program restricts phone use. After reading it, Taylor blocks both Ethan and Lexi for good.