Shattered Ties

Nicole stood frozen, her body stiff as she watched Andrew disappear down the dimly lit hospital corridor. Her fingers curled into fists at her sides. She wasn't sure if it was out of anger, hurt or exhaustion- maybe all of them at once. His retreating figure was a haunting echo of everything she had feared: that she would always reach for him, and he would always pull away.

A warm hand touched her shoulder. Violet stood behind her and she saw everything from the distance.

"Let's get you home." Violet murmured.

Nicole didn't argue. She just nodded, feeling like a ghost as she followed Violet outside, the cold night air slamming into her chest.

Andrew's feet dragged against the pavement as he walked, his mind a storm of regret and self-loathing. He had seen the hurt in Nicole's eyes. It had been so clear, so raw. But instead of offering her comfort, he walked away- again.

He shoved his hands deep into his pockets, jaw clenched. A part of him wanted to turn back, to find Nicole and explain, to hold her and tell her everything. But another part of him, the part that had been screaming at him for months, told him that he was not good for her.

And so, despite the war in his heart, he kept walking.

When Nicole stepped through the front door of her house, the suffocating silence hit her first. It wasn't peaceful- it was thick, heavy, like grief had seeped into the very walls.

Her mother sat in the dimly lit living room, staring blankly at an untouched cup of tea on the table. Her father stood by the window, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. They had both cried, Nicole could tell, but now they were trapped in the quiet devastation of loss.

Then came a storm.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Her older sister's voice cut through the silence like a blade. Nicole barely had time to register the rage in her eyes before she continued, her voice rising.

"Do you even care that she's gone? That grandma is actually gone?"

Nicole flinched. "Of course, I care…"

"Then why do you look so empty?" Her sister snapped. "Don't you feel anything at all?"

Their mother let out a choked sob, but she said nothing. Their father remained silent; his grief unreadable.

Nicole opened her mouth, but nothing came out. What could she even say? How could she explain that she wasn't just grieving her grandmother, but also the growing distance between her and Andrew? That she felt like she was losing everything all at once?

Her sister scoffed at Nicole's silence. She turned and stormed upstairs, her door slamming behind her.

Nicole bit her lip hard, forcing herself not to cry. Without another word, she went to her room.

She knew that, that's how her sister handled grief, but she felt like this was all too much for her.

The moment she was alone, Nicole collapsed onto her bed, burying her face in the pillow. She thought she had nothing left inside her, but the tears came anyway, spilling from her eyes faster than she could stop them.

Then suddenly, her phone buzzed beside her. She ignored it at first, but then saw Violet's name, with shaking hands, she answered.

"Hey."

"Nicole, talk to me," Violet said softly. "You don't have to pretend with me."

Nicole swallowed hard. "I don't know how much more I can take."

Violet didn't rush her, didn't fill the silence with empty words. She just waited.

Nicole exhaled shakily. "Andrew left again."

"I know."

"I don't know why I keep holding on."

"You do," Violet said gently. "You just don't want to admit it."

Nicole's breath hitched. Maybe Violet was right. But before she could say anything else, her phone vibrated again- this time with another name on the screen.

Andrew.

Her heart stopped.

Nicole hesitated, her finger hovering over the answer button.

Finally, she pressed "answer" and brought the phone to her ear.

Silence.

"Andrew?" She whispered, almost afraid to hope.

On the other end of the line, she could hear his breathing. Slow. Hesitant.

He wasn't speaking. He was just there.

Nicole's throat tightened. "Why did you call me?"

More silence. Then finally, in a voice so quiet she almost didn't hear it, Andrew said:

"I don't know."

The line went dead.

Nicole stared at her phone, her heart pounding in her chest.

And just like that, the cracks between them widened even further.