An Exit Without Goodbye
As the door shut behind me, their laughter echoed, a stark contrast to the silence of my own heart.
The morning after the engagement party, I found myself staring at my phone screen. Chester sent over a plane ticket. Then, another message popped up.
[Stay safe out there. I'm waiting for you to come home.]
That extra bit of tenderness would have once had me replying in an instant, maybe even saving a screenshot to swoon over later, tucked away in my bed, eagerly anticipating his next caring check-in.
However, things changed. I barely gave the message a second glance before I hit delete and walked away, suitcase in hand, without a backward glance.