Like he wasn’t already planning to fold on ours.
Carrie was all in. She loved the idea online dating, the pitfalls, the wins, the devastation.
Because let’s face it, online love could be beautiful, or it could be bloody.
You walk in hoping for connection, and sometimes you leave hollowed out unseen, unheard, just a pixel on someone else’s screen. You think the butterflies are real, but they’re warning signs. You ignore the red flags because you’re lonely and they text good morning. You build a kingdom in your head and get exiled without warning.
You think you’ve found love.
Turns out, you were just something to pass the time.
I once was his home...
Now I’m just a place he used to sleep.
Carrie stood, her tone lighter, like she was trying not to scare me off. “Wanna grab a drink?”
I looked outside. It was dark now.
Had I really sat here all day?
“No,” I said, rubbing my temples. My brain felt like static. “I’m just gonna head home. I’m—”
I searched for a word.
Tireddidn’t cut it.
Dead insidefelt dramatic.
“Shattered,” I landed on. Whispered it like a confession.
Carrie watched me closely, like she wanted to break down my walls and sweep the rubble away.
But I couldn’t. Not yet. Not while I was still bleeding.
I raised a hand before she could speak. “Please. Not tonight.”
She didn’t push. Just nodded.
I walked past her, leaned in, kissed her cheek.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She squeezed my shoulders gently. “I’m always here, Penn. Even when you don’t want me to be.”
“I know..”
And then I left. Called a car.
Headed home to the house with two toothbrushes and only one heartbeat left in it.
To the closet still full of his hoodies.
To the bed that still smelled like him.
I walked in, dropped my bag, and grabbed a beer.
Kicked off my shoes. Walked the wooden floors we once danced barefoot across under fairy lights.
