One Night, No Names
It surfaced when I least expected it, standing in line for coffee, hearing a familiar phrase Gina used to say; scrolling past a photo of something they once loved together; catching myself almost reaching for her phone before remembering no one on the other end could be trusted with my voice.
The bitterness wasn’t loud. It didn’t rage. It settled instead, a low-grade ache that colored everything it touched.
And the lies were the worst part. Not just the ones Gina had told, but the ones I now had to dismantle within myself. The lie that closeness guaranteed care.
The lie that history protected you from harm. The lie that if you were patient enough, understanding enough, you could prevent betr