38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktIXUICazj
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7RDeNtWpW
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnb16GFnG7w
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ71dYFXYKXY
The sun hit my face before I was ready for the day to begin.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMICc9X4OUP
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.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZo018LpyvJ
But there was nothing.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKtE4INGqD
Just a cold pillow.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv5GeQM9ItW
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.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg7tqAc4mkZ
My stomach turned as I sat up.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ4RzxbFNt9
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.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2g5ed8noy
I stood up quickly, heart racing as I scanned the space.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfL7AVDIfl
“Maddox?” I called out, even though I knew he wasn’t there.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqX2jn8SpkN
I checked the kitchen. The bathroom. Even opened the front door like he’d maybe just stepped outside for air or a blunt.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4B4Vn26ETJ
But the street was empty.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7a6ifF3Wkm
No Maddox.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgCtwucUZ67
No note.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQXsxEKiqH
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.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9lqmpWQSpP
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.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqs3TtisEkI
My hand tightened around the edge of the sheet. My throat burned.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaHiosTq0pp
He didn’t even say goodbye.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILQNhHvnGF
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.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7kYIimL5S
A tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7BOsLEpUDL
“You coward,” I whispered, voice cracking. “You beautiful, stupid, selfish coward.”
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9RP6b4FFzq
But even as I cursed him, I missed him.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSm7iIZtVr4
Because he gave me a home… just not him in it.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovhylqu8VY
And deep down, I knew the truth.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2q7lxQyP0W
Maddox was gone. For good.
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBmjBnBO9Y9
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡISOrlSH35X
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡstxL89lAyL
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0oOyJcNsBF
