45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYEZ55bc6N1
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCuHhsk9Ik
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr42uDrS3ch
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfyv1L42e0T
The sun hit my face before I was ready for the day to begin.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0bpIckunSR
I reached out instinctively, half-asleep, expecting to feel Maddox beside me. His warmth. The soft rhythm of his chest rising and falling. Maybe even his raspy voice murmuring something sarcastic, like he always did when I slept past noon.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgCmU5njlBJ
But there was nothing.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecSGs3cQHi
Just a cold pillow.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ616zkUQnEL
My eyes blinked open. The apartment was quiet — too quiet. The kind that presses on your ears and makes your heartbeat feel loud. My fingers stretched across the sheets, across the floor where we sat hours ago, where he kissed me like he meant it. Where he made me laugh and feel… safe.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVocjIDNHjH
My stomach turned as I sat up.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24jwg0cV6A
The blanket was still wrapped around me, tucked like someone wanted me to feel cared for. But the way it was done… it felt like a goodbye. A silent one.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuOFbUUCSZk
I stood up quickly, heart racing as I scanned the space.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlrV9oHVt2S
“Maddox?” I called out, even though I knew he wasn’t there.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡanm1aQUwGa
I checked the kitchen. The bathroom. Even opened the front door like he’d maybe just stepped outside for air or a blunt.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZXUagSPnt
But the street was empty.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWai9bqDNX
No Maddox.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5gXviwh8kL
No note.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡISQyw2yCES
No trace of him except the soft scent of his cologne lingering in the air and the memory of his voice telling me I deserved better.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNRd6lXmb9t
I sat back on the edge of the bed, eyes locked on the wall where we talked about hanging pictures. The room felt hollow now. Like he was the thing that gave it life. Like he was the reason I believed for even a second that I could have more.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5lOzglqOKy
My hand tightened around the edge of the sheet. My throat burned.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj7vD726OcT
He didn’t even say goodbye.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQXbFuE5Eww
He loved me enough to get me out of hell, but not enough to let me fight for him the way I wanted to. He chose for me. Took away the only person who ever looked at me like I mattered, like I was worth something more than the broken pieces I came with.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgEnYVJFWMh
A tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxWG5UAvkDZ
“You coward,” I whispered, voice cracking. “You beautiful, stupid, selfish coward.”
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQcEeMndRP
But even as I cursed him, I missed him.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOdEQk6XfRc
Because he gave me a home… just not him in it.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyDw5ucVB91
And deep down, I knew the truth.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhaa3XtE361
Maddox was gone. For good.
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVW34v2ncu8
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXG8n4m0CrC
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgfrsOxv8Gw
45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmGFw2pohJ
