Ace hums under his breath. Diggs shifts.
“The intro?” I keep going. “Eerie piano, real stripped. Haunting. Pretty in a way that hurts, like the beginning of a liethat feels good, the numb at the peak of a high, the lust you were chasing. Then the first verse kicks in. Drums and guitar barely breathing. A dull heartbeat in the distance.
“You’re standing on cracked pavement, staring at Jess. Every direction? Mirrors. Her reflection in every one. Her shadow in every space between. She built that room for you, then trapped you both inside.”
Her glass house of cravings.
Thought she could have it all?—
her highs and lover, her fix and savior.
But all she did was make him watch her fall apart from every angle.
What’s mad?—
half of him liked it.
He once said it felt like purpose,
the reason he stayed in it so long.
“The pre-chorus sneaks up on you. You don’t even know it’s happening. The piano slips out the back. Guitar loops slow, a thread pulling tighter with every bar—stacking andstacking. Mirrors start cracking. One by one. Truth shattering in sequence. And on the other side of ‘em? A dark storm.
“The riff climbs to a breaking point, then?—”
I snap my fingers.
“Gone. Cuts out. A knife through noise.”
‘Then—”
I slam my palm against the table.
“The drums explode—violent.
“Last mirror shatters.
“And this is it. Your chance to walk away.
“Your exit.
“She falls, knees first, hands shaking.
“Flesh and bone on broken glass?—”
Diggs breaks through, voice raw,
“I hear you scream but don’t turn back.”
I nod, goosebumps hitting cold.
My throat knots tight.
He walked away from the love of his life
because he decided he loved himself more.
I always figured walking away was for quitters, for cowards.
