Ellie sat on the edge of the bed, the room dim except for the faint glow from the cracked window. Her hands trembled slightly as she replayed every moment leading up to this. the lies she told, the look in her girlfriend’s eyes when she believed the kid was just missing, not… dead.

She hadn’t known how to tell her the truth. How could she? The world was already so brutal, so unrelenting. Maybe if she said the worst right away, her girlfriend would break, and Ellie didn’t know if she could handle that.

Then came the day it all fell apart.

You were sitting not that far away, Ellie could tell that you wanted to say something but neither of you knew how to start the conversation.