No more quiet mornings at the bleachers. No more small smiles. No more scribbling down notes while pretending not to notice me watching.
I ran both hands through my hair, tugging hard until it hurt.
“Fuck…” I muttered under my breath.
This was it. This was what I’d been preparing myself for, wasn’t it?
Her leaving. Her finally realising there was nothing left worth staying for. But still, it burned. I should’ve known she’d end it like this.
Clean. Distant.
No room for me to claw my way back in.
So I just sat there, staring at the field, the sound of players warming up echoing around me, and—
I didn’t want to play.
Because what was the point of winning when the one person I wanted to see it… was already gone?
That damn text was still sitting on the bench beside me, screen black now, but it didn’t matter.
The words were branded into my head.
I didn’t even hear Alex walk up.
Just felt the air shift, that familiar weight of him standing a few feet behind me.
The silence stretched until the whistle blew somewhere across the field and broke apart again.
He didn’t say anything.
He just sat down. Dropped onto the bench beside my phone, crossed his arms, and watched.
The bastard was calm.
Calm while I was unravelling.
He leaned forward on his knees, looking out at the players jogging laps.
“Guess that’s it, huh?” he said finally, voice low, almost casual.
No pity in it. No softness. Just fact.
I didn’t answer. Couldn’t.
He sighed. “You really did it this time.”
That one hit deep. Because it wasn’t angry, it was disappointed. The kind of tone only someone who’s seen me at my worst can pull off.
I stared at the grass, jaw tight. “Yeah,” I muttered. “Guess I did.”
Alex glanced over, stretching his arms across the bench. “You know,” he said slowly, “most people learn the first time they destroy something good. You just…keep swinging until there’s nothing left.”
My throat closed.
Alex shrugged, eyes back on the field. “Still—gotta admit, watching you finally lose your shit over a girl?” He exhaled a quiet laugh. “Can’t say it’s not satisfying.”
“Go ahead,” I said quietly. “Say it. I broke her. She’s done with me.”
