A Monster's Final Goodbye

l architecture competition win went viral, he finally called-not to congrat

m in my post. She was also the one whispering in his ea

real nightmare began when Brittney sent me a video o

hoto of his l

l with an ashtray. Carter, the man I once loved, shoved me away, cal

r. He alway

door, I made a vow. I would make them pa

pte

ore

g before my eyes. Winner. The single word felt impossibly heavy, impossibly light. My design, the o

s explosive joy. I reached for my phone, my thumb hovering over his contact. But then, it stopped

n. "Looks good," he' d typed, nothing more. Two days later, a silly meme I thought would make him laugh. No reply. Th

wered calls I' d eventually given up on making. He was always busy, always with Brittney, always deali

. Each one started subtly, a missed call, a forgotten promise, then escalating into days of strained silence. I could

che, a profound indifference. I didn't want to tell him. I didn't care if he knew. The realization hit me

e ghost of our shared past, and opened a new app. Instagram. I needed to

The light from the window caught my hair, making it gleam. I looked good. I felt strong. I typed a caption,

lations, Elinore!" "So proud of you!" "An inspiration!" Each notification was a little balm, soothing the

dd had tagged Carter Mack in my post. Her comment read: "OMG, Carter! L

t to stir things up, to assert her presence in our decaying relationship. But before I co

. I took a deep breath, steeling myself. This wasn't

gh the phone, sharp and laced with fury. It wasn't the exc

flat, devoid of emotion. The surprise, the anger, none of it was

?" He spat the words out, each one a dagger. "Brittney

even. But this was embarrassing? "You haven't contacted me in five days, Carter," I said, my voice d

he point is, I'm your boyfriend! Your long-term boyfriend! This is huge! Y

mouth. "How convenient. Maybe if you spent less time with her and more time with

e's trying to make you look bad..." Brittney's voice, sickly sweet

prompt. "She thinks it's weird too. You're trying to m

re. You haven't cared about anything I've done in months. You're upset be

osed to put me first! This is a total disrespect! What kind of girlfri

re your joy with." Those words, a distorted echo of his current accusation, used to cut

s finally bubbling up from a place of deep, icy

The silence hung heavy, pregnant with the weight of my finality. It was d

innocent this time, cut through the silence.

ng to him, her eyes wide and wet like a scared little bird. That manip

d steady. "Everything is perfectly okay.

as finally slamming shut. The weight of it, the truth of it, settled over me. It felt like both a relief and a terr