Reach

What you thought was going to be the easiest option turned out to be the hardest. Tilting your head, and casting your prickling eyes onto the concrete and walking away never seemed so gut wrenching.

All you could think was, ‘I did this to myself’.

Weeks went by where unanswered calls piled onto one another. It was getting harder to avoid Ari, and reasoning with yourself to go and talk to them. You had no idea what to do, so when a knock on your door compelled you to answer and there stood Ari you stood there frozen.

“You’ve been ignoring my calls.” They frown, “Are you okay? What’s been going on with you? It’s as if you dropped from the face of the earth.”

You look at Ari, mouth open trying to push some sort of word out, though any noise catches at the barbed wires engulfing your throat.

“Really? You can’t even talk to me right now? I’ve been trying to get through to you and when I finally show up at your dorm you can’t even look at me?” Ari’s broken tone is breathy, their eyes searching.

The silence is deafening and clawing words rip your throat apart, but your lips are pursed, afraid of what they might reveal.

“I… I don’t know if it’s something I did or something I have no control over but, I’m sorry. Please, talk to me when you’re ready.”

Then they do the unbearable, and wrap their arms around your trembling frame.

You have 1 choice: