The Drift Between Us    

[EVE]

Days turned into weeks, and before I knew it, the inevitable arrival of classes loomed over me. My schedule had been so relentless—meetings, assignments, and personal obligations—that I hadn't even realized how much Cole and I had drifted apart.

At first, I thought nothing of it. Cole was always busy with work, and I had convinced myself that this was just how things were meant to be.

But as I took a rare pause, the realization hit me like a tidal wave. We weren't the same anymore. The little things—the comforting routines and the shared moments—were now glaringly absent.

He rarely stayed over at my apartment anymore. The mornings I used to wake up to the smell of his cooking were gone. We didn't share meals or laugh over something trivial. Even the simplest act of just being together, doing nothing but talking, seemed to have vanished.