Two Years, A Cosmic Lie

Chapter 1

Word Count: 906 | Released on: 10/07/2025

ng the Are

avies's office. The room was cluttered with books and half

t... that's five years of total isolation. No conta

serious. He knew I had a girlfriend, Chloe, and that we had bee

o, until

firmer than I felt. I neede

most full. I had been saving every spare dollar from my part-time jobs and scholarships, putti

fore I hear

hat wasn'

ur ago, standing in the doorway of the apartm

ful face a mask of confusion. "Wh

ays. He clapped me on the shoulder, a wide grin on his face. "E

f panic crossed her face before she smoothed it over

, my voice fla

ood days, I finally got it." He opened it to show a ridiculously expensive-looking

said, her voice soft and full of

churned. The cheap promise ring I was saving for felt like a joke. The

said, turning aw

I pulled out my phone. My thumb hovered over her contact, then I went to our shared photo

and her friends at a fancy rooftop bar. I zoomed in. On the table, next to a bott

iggy

sing it as

arrying a bouquet of cheap daisies, the only flowers I could afford. I got to her do

ttle charity case who you really are?" one of

The look on Liam's face every time he sees me

t... commoner? He wears the

s so devoted. He's saving up for a ring in that ridiculous little pig. Can you bel

, each one cutting d

ent girlfriend and comes crawling back, I'll drop Ethan so fast he won't know what

erupted in

of nausea so intense I had to lean against the wall. A cold sweat broke out on my for

prop in her d

bank, my stupid, hopeful piggy bank, covered in ash. I felt a

ind a blank, howling void. By morning, the

went to see Pr

tion. No friends. N

e a punishment and

Chapter End

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Two Years, A Cosmic Lie

Tamarah Lupton Sci-fi

“I poured every spare dollar from my part-time jobs and scholarships into a scuffed-up piggy bank, dreaming of a future with Chloe and a promise ring that would seal our love. But then I heard her laugh-a laugh that wasn't for me. Just an hour after I ended things, saying "We're over," my best friend, Liam, walked up, clueless as ever, showing off an expensive watch Chloe had helped him pick out, a watch that screamed what a joke my cheap promise ring was. I ducked into a stairwell, my heart pounding, and pulled out my phone. In our shared photo album, I found a selfie of Chloe and her friends at a fancy rooftop bar. Zooming in, I saw it-my piggy bank, next to a bottle of champagne, being used as an ashtray. The memory hit me: overhearing Chloe brag to her friends about using me as "A tool, a pawn to make Liam finally notice me," all while calling me "a little charity case" and "so boring." My world shattered. Two years, all a lie, a game where I was just a prop in her drama with Liam. The cheap daisies I held for her surprise visit were crushed in my hand, my stomach churning with nausea. I spent the night walking, my mind a blank, howling void. The pain solidified into a cold, hard resolve: I had to disappear. Five years of isolation. No friends. No family. No Chloe. To me, it sounded less like a punishment and more like a rescue. I went to see Professor Davies and signed up for the Ares Project.”