Her Mistakes

in a warm, golden haze. Dust motes floated in the quiet air like suspended thoughts, and th

bed, her phone clench

my

thunderclap across the quiet calm of her day. Fo

se

n that name pop up on her phone since the day everything between them had fallen apart. Not sin

re, he was here d

y

d flooded with questions, emotions, fragments of old wounds she

elf, her voice laced with disbelief. "

open behind her

oice called softly.

s too busy trying to breathe through t

tle against the floorboards. "Hey, you o

r eyes still locked on t

d sat beside her.

und to show her the messa

ened. "Wait... Mo

odded

aloud. "'Hi, my baby'? Wow. That's... bold

rmured. "I don't eve

ment, then cleared her throat. "O

ed sharpl

.. well, I didn't know if it mattered. He looked... I don't know. Like

wed her ey

ed. "I gave hi

nked. "Y

sincere. Desperate even. And I know yo

ne onto the bed. "That's not th

d yourself to sleep for th

ouldn't. The silence bet

y. "Just reply. Even if

again. Her fingers hove

w can I

nstantly, like h

't have t

ses, what do you want? Why

onds pass

I just need to know

essage. Her breath

iss

the unanswered calls, the ghost

age that never came. All the birthdays. All morning she

ks for checking

r cross again. Letting him in, even just a cra

ing to push away the feelings that surged like a

lf but hearing from him stirred something she

osed h

uth wasn't tha

never stopped wait

had no idea what to do with the