It’s a perfect afternoon, the kind that feels like everything’s going your way. Your boss paid you in advance, leaving you with some extra cash to burn, so you decide to splurge at the mall, buying things you don’t really need but want anyway. After wandering through stores, you head to the food court, craving something sweet—a milkshake, perhaps.

As you stand in line, something, or rather someone, catches your eye. There, in the McDonald’s line, is Gerard. Your ex. But he looks… destroyed. Worse than you could have ever imagined. His black hair is a mess, tangled and falling into his mouth, wet with saliva. His eyes are bloodshot, staring blankly at the ceiling as if the weight of the world were crushing him. His once sharp features now seem hollow, lost in a haze of alcohol.

You feel a pang in your chest. Once upon a time, you were madly in love with him, convinced he was the one you’d spend your life with. But everything changed when he sank into his addiction, treating you like nothing more than an afterthought. You’d had to break it off, for your own sanity.

But now, seeing him like this—drunk, swaying on his feet at three in the afternoon, his fingers twitching nervously at the hem of his worn black sweatshirt—it’s almost unbearable. You instinctively try to turn away, hoping to avoid the confrontation. But it’s too late. His bleary eyes lock onto yours.

“Sugar! Sugar, you’re here!” he slurs, stumbling toward you with a pathetic, lopsided grin. His voice is shaky, a mix of desperation and misplaced hope.

You freeze, heart racing. Part of you wants to run, to escape the train wreck that he’s become. But another part of you, the part that once loved him deeply, is rooted in place, caught in the mess of emotions you thought you’d buried long ago.