Chapter 6: Gone Without A Goodbye

Eliot had never felt hatred for silence like he currently did. The room was too empty. Too silent. It was too much like something had died. Maybe something did. 

Because Jaxon was gone. 

Just… gone. 

No note. No text. No “see you later.” Not even an emoji. 

Eliot's hoodie was drenched. It was a burden that made him feel like garbage, like his punishment. Raindrops were falling from His sleeves onto the carpet, he couldn't care less. He froze in the middle of the dorm room, in a pose as awkward as the expression on his face, staring at the unmade bed. The drawers had been cleared, the posters torn from the walls, and even the yellow mug Jaxon used to drink his morning coffee from was missing from the desk.

All of it… gone.

Eliot turned in a slow circle, like maybe it was a prank. Like maybe Jaxon would pop out laughing, saying, “Got you.” But there was nothing.

Just the shadow of what was here, once.

He collapsed onto the bare mattress, elbows on his knees, hands in his hair. His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was trying to claw its way out of his chest.

This can't be it.

No, no, no, this is not how their story was supposed to go out.

But deep down, Eliot knew. It was the end.

And it was his fault.

He blamed the wrong person. Snapped in front of everyone. Pushed Jaxon away when he was the only one who didn’t lie to him.

Now he was sitting among the ruins, all alone.

He reached for his phone and typed a message, knowing well it was pointless.

Eliot: Where are you?

No reply.

Eliot: Please.

Still nothing.

The read receipt stared back at him like a slap in the face.

He threw the phone down and let out a small, broken sound. Not quite a sob. Not quite a scream. Just the sound of someone breaking a little more.

A knock at the door made him jump. He scrambled to his feet, heart racing. Maybe...

He flung the door open.

It wasn’t Jaxon.

It was Theo. Jaxon’s old roommate.

Theo looked tired, like he hadn’t slept in days. He leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, not saying anything right away.

“You looking for Jaxon?” he asked finally.

Eliot nodded slowly. “Yeah. You know where he went?”

Theo sighed. “He left. Packed up last night. Said he needed to get out. Out of school. Out of town. Out of… everything.”

Eliot’s stomach twisted. “He just left? Without telling me?”

“He was messed up, man,” Theo said. “Whatever happened between you two, it hit him hard.”

“I screwed up,” Eliot said, voice quiet.

Theo looked at him for a second. “He really liked you. More than he wanted to admit. Maybe more than he should’ve.”

Eliot didn’t respond. He didn’t have anything left to say.

Theo gave a small nod and walked away.

Eliot didn’t stop him.

He just stood there.

Empty room. Empty heart.

**********

Eliot walked for hours after that.

He walked past his classmates whispering in the hallway, classmates pretending not to look, groups that stopped talking the second he came close.

He didn’t care.

He couldn’t care about anything.

His legs eventually led him to the football field. It was wet. Cold. The sky looked like it was holding back tears. Kind of like him.

He climbed the bleachers slowly, sat on the top row, and stared out into nothing.

Then… he cried.

Not the loud kind. Not dramatic sobs.

Just quiet, broken, wet tears that slipped out when you weren’t even trying to cry. The kind that hurt because they were real.

He pulled out his phone. One more message. One more stupid hope.

Eliot: I ruined everything. Please say something.

A notification beep came through.

But it wasn’t Jaxon.

It was from a number he didn’t recognize.

Unknown: You still don’t get it.

Eliot blinked.

Eliot: Who the hell is this?

Unknown: I told you from the beginning. Stop wasting your love.

His stomach turned cold.

Eliot: WHO ARE YOU?

Typing… then it stopped.

Then came a new message:

Unknown: Meet me. Tonight. Come alone. You want the truth, right?

Eliot: Where?

Unknown: Pool.

Of course. The pool. Where everything started. "He said to himself"

**********

On the night of the meeting, the campus felt dead, no people, just the sound of the quiet night breeze.

Eliot walked slowly toward the pool building, heart pounding in his ears. His palms were sweating, but he didn’t wipe them. He felt as if he stopped walking, he’d break.

The doors were unlocked.

Inside, it was dark.

Only the soft blue glow from the pool lights lit the room. The water shimmered like something alive.

“Hello?” Eliot called out.

No answer.

Then a splash and a laugh that sounded too familiar.

He turned sharply.

“Sasha?” Eliot whispered.

She turned slowly with an evil grin. Miss me, Elliot? "She chuckle.d"

She swam to the edge and pulled herself out, dripping wet. Her clothes stuck to her, making her erect nipple visible, but Elliot wasn't moved by that.

“What the hell is going on?” Eliot asked.

“I warned you,” Sasha said quietly.

“Warned me about what?”

“You think love is simple,” she said. “It’s not. It’s power. It’s control. It’s choices.”

“You messed with me.”

“You made it easy,” she said, almost bored. Then she reached into her wet pocket and tossed a phone at him.

“Watch the video.”

Eliot caught it. His fingers shook.

He hit play.

And there he was.

Jaxon.

He looked tired. Sad. Like he hadn’t slept. His eyes were red, voice was rough.

“If you’re watching this… then yeah. I’m gone,” Jaxon said.

Eliot’s knees went weak.

“I didn’t plan any of it. Not the kiss. Not the feelings. Not the mess. But I fell for you anyway.”

Tears burned Eliot’s eyes.

Jaxon looked down in the video. “You probably hate me now. That’s okay. Just know—none of it was fake. Not from me.”

Then he looked back at the camera. “If you want to know why I left… check your inbox.”

The screen went black.

Eliot looked up, breath catching. “Why are you showing me this now?”

Sasha gave a small smile. “Because you still think you were the victim.”

She walked past him, water dripping off her bare feet.

“Check your inbox,” she called without turning.

Then she was gone.

Eliot stood there in the dark, chest tight, heart racing. He pulled out his phone.

One new email.

From: Jaxon

Subject: In case you wanted the truth.

He tapped it open.

There was just one photo.

But it was enough to rip his heart out.

It was Sasha.

In bed.

Smiling.

Lying next to her, on the sheets?

The anonymous phone.

The one Eliot had been texting.

The one that broke everything.

The timestamp?

Three weeks before Jaxon left.

The caption?

“You trusted the wrong person again.”

Eliot stared.

Then he dropped the phone.

It hit the tile and slid straight into the pool.

He didn’t move.

Didn’t try to save it.

He just stood there, soaked, frozen, empty.

His phone was gone.

But so was the only person who mattered.

He looked up at the wall across the pool.

An old hockey banner hung there.

“University Tryouts Coming Soon.”

Eliot wiped his face.

He had nothing left.

No phone. No friends. No Jaxon.

Maybe it was time to stop falling apart.

Maybe it was time to fight back.

But first?

He needed to survive this night.

Alone.