I stare at her, aching all over.
“If I wasn’t broken,” I whisper, my voice barely holding together, “if I ...would you ever forgive me?”
She looks at me as if she’s remembering every version of us.The one that existed among lyrics, melodies, and danced barefoot in living rooms.The one that cracked wide open and never got put back together.
Her face folds like she’s breaking all over again.
“No,” she says, barely audible.“I don’t think I could.”
And there it is.
The final note.
The closing line of our song.
I nod once.I don’t say goodbye.I can’t.
I just step back.One foot.Then the other.Each inch of space between us feels like it’s slicing through muscle.
I walk out of the store without touching her again.
Without looking back.
Because I know if I do, I’ll beg.
And I already ruined her once.I can’t do it again.
I have to let her go.
Eventually, I have to understand that this is over.
But no matter where I go—no matter who I try to love next—she’ll always be the reason I pause.
The memory that won’t fade.
The melody I’ll always play.
The quiet space I still carry in a world that won’t stop moving.
The love of my life.
ChapterFifty
Private Message | EchoZone Internal Chat
From: DeadStrings
To: StringTheory27
Date: May 15th, 1997,10:02 PM
Subject: Ambiguity
Isn’tit funny that you go from having a great fucking day to wanting to disappear from the face of the earth?
That might sound dramatic, but it wasn’t a great day.I have to reevaluate what I’m doing with my life.All of it before I fucked up everything I’ve worked so far to build.
Any top five that announces the end of an era?
