I actually never thought of the narrator and the girl being a couple. I always thought the narrator was kind of a stalker. The narrator is, for some reason, obsessed with this girl and has been watching her, listening, learning as much as he can about her ("I've been listening and I don't forget"). That's the feeling I got because the things he knows about her are such superficial things, not the kind of stuff he should know if they had an actual relationship. She knows about his obsession and (rightfully) thinks he's a creep ("you think it's weird but it's not"), but he thinks collecting all this information is some kind of "sign" of his "love" for her ("it actually means I really love you").
Anthony is the boyfriend. The narrator has convinced himself out of desperation and desire that Anthony is an asshole and isn't treating her right. He believes she's bored with him and that she will be leaving him any day now. His observations on their relationship are very biased - he WANTS their relationship to fail - so it's hard to know, via this unreliable narrator, whether their relationship really is unstable at all. As a user above said, it appears her password was Anthony (as that seems to be the last thing he guessed) so that could be a clue that their relationship is in fact plenty happy.
He seems to be trying to break into her computer, perhaps after breaking into her house. He's trying to guess her password by typing in all the things he knows about her. He looks at it as a test ("I can pass the test") of his knowledge of her, to prove - to himself more than anyone else - that he loves her. He is successful and he learns a secret about her - that, when she claimed to be in Tulsa visiting Jane, she was actually elsewhere doing who knows what - which shocks the narrator into realizing that you can't really "know" somebody just by listening in on their life...there's a whole other side to her that he couldn't possibly have known about via his observations.
This is just what I always thought. The idea that the narrator is the girl's boyfriend seems likely as well. It did puzzle me that the revelation about Tulsa comes off as a betrayal - you can't betray someone you don't have a relationship with, so that's a clue that maybe the girl and the narrator are closer than I originally thought. Maybe this is the couple from "You Don't Know Me" :P
This is definitely a couple - specifically, about a couple, told from the man's point of view. she has already left him and he's trying to break into her email to find out why she's been distant. I saw someone mention that the password was Anthony but I think it was Barcelona. That worked, he saw the mails to Anthony, checked the timing of her non-trip to Tulsa and came to realize that he didn't know her at all. Now, he's so uncertain of everything that he doesn't even think he'll accurately remember her face.
This is definitely a couple - specifically, about a couple, told from the man's point of view. she has already left him and he's trying to break into her email to find out why she's been distant. I saw someone mention that the password was Anthony but I think it was Barcelona. That worked, he saw the mails to Anthony, checked the timing of her non-trip to Tulsa and came to realize that he didn't know her at all. Now, he's so uncertain of everything that he doesn't even think he'll accurately remember her face.
Even if they aren't a couple (I think it's more likely they once were a couple, and the narrator can't get over his ex), his obsession could easily make any action that goes against his desires seem like betrayal.
Even if they aren't a couple (I think it's more likely they once were a couple, and the narrator can't get over his ex), his obsession could easily make any action that goes against his desires seem like betrayal.
I actually never thought of the narrator and the girl being a couple. I always thought the narrator was kind of a stalker. The narrator is, for some reason, obsessed with this girl and has been watching her, listening, learning as much as he can about her ("I've been listening and I don't forget"). That's the feeling I got because the things he knows about her are such superficial things, not the kind of stuff he should know if they had an actual relationship. She knows about his obsession and (rightfully) thinks he's a creep ("you think it's weird but it's not"), but he thinks collecting all this information is some kind of "sign" of his "love" for her ("it actually means I really love you").
Anthony is the boyfriend. The narrator has convinced himself out of desperation and desire that Anthony is an asshole and isn't treating her right. He believes she's bored with him and that she will be leaving him any day now. His observations on their relationship are very biased - he WANTS their relationship to fail - so it's hard to know, via this unreliable narrator, whether their relationship really is unstable at all. As a user above said, it appears her password was Anthony (as that seems to be the last thing he guessed) so that could be a clue that their relationship is in fact plenty happy.
He seems to be trying to break into her computer, perhaps after breaking into her house. He's trying to guess her password by typing in all the things he knows about her. He looks at it as a test ("I can pass the test") of his knowledge of her, to prove - to himself more than anyone else - that he loves her. He is successful and he learns a secret about her - that, when she claimed to be in Tulsa visiting Jane, she was actually elsewhere doing who knows what - which shocks the narrator into realizing that you can't really "know" somebody just by listening in on their life...there's a whole other side to her that he couldn't possibly have known about via his observations.
This is just what I always thought. The idea that the narrator is the girl's boyfriend seems likely as well. It did puzzle me that the revelation about Tulsa comes off as a betrayal - you can't betray someone you don't have a relationship with, so that's a clue that maybe the girl and the narrator are closer than I originally thought. Maybe this is the couple from "You Don't Know Me" :P
This is definitely a couple - specifically, about a couple, told from the man's point of view. she has already left him and he's trying to break into her email to find out why she's been distant. I saw someone mention that the password was Anthony but I think it was Barcelona. That worked, he saw the mails to Anthony, checked the timing of her non-trip to Tulsa and came to realize that he didn't know her at all. Now, he's so uncertain of everything that he doesn't even think he'll accurately remember her face.
This is definitely a couple - specifically, about a couple, told from the man's point of view. she has already left him and he's trying to break into her email to find out why she's been distant. I saw someone mention that the password was Anthony but I think it was Barcelona. That worked, he saw the mails to Anthony, checked the timing of her non-trip to Tulsa and came to realize that he didn't know her at all. Now, he's so uncertain of everything that he doesn't even think he'll accurately remember her face.
Even if they aren't a couple (I think it's more likely they once were a couple, and the narrator can't get over his ex), his obsession could easily make any action that goes against his desires seem like betrayal.
Even if they aren't a couple (I think it's more likely they once were a couple, and the narrator can't get over his ex), his obsession could easily make any action that goes against his desires seem like betrayal.