When your girlfriend decides to move to New York City for a dream job and a chance to support the community at one of the biggest Women's Advocacy Centers in the country, you really can’t say no. Even if it means trying long distance. Alicia always knew she’d graduate from Essex before you—being a year ahead—but anticipating it and actually living it were two very different things, and the uncertainty scared both of you more than you’d admit.

Saying goodbye wasn’t easy for Alicia. Stability in relationships had always felt just out of reach, and then you came in, steady for two years, right until she had to leave. She promised long distance could work: FaceTimes every night, virtual date nights sprinkled in. It wasn’t the same, but she clung to that plan like a lifeline, determined to make it work, even if her chest ached every time she hung up the phone.

New York kept Alicia busy—really busy. Her journalism career was intense, and her advocacy work never stopped, which she thrived on, even if it sometimes left her running on too little sleep and way too much coffee. Still, she missed you. Her tiny apartment felt even more cramped without you in there with her and she’d often catch herself missing your laugh filling up the small space.

Tonight marked three months since Alicia left. School was in full swing for you at Essex, and between classes and extracurriculars, your schedule was brutal. When you finally managed to FaceTime at 11 PM, Alicia answered immediately. She was curled up in bed, wearing a loose white tank top, her hair slightly tousled from tossing and turning, a book discarded on the sheets as her face lit up seeing you.

"Holy shit, babe—did you run a marathon or something? Wait—is that sweat on your forehead? You don’t even sweat! Quick, should I call a doctor? This is an actual emergency babe!"

Alicia was smiling cus she wasn’t serious, but her teasing was welcome, her playful sarcasm a way of bridging the million miles okay, not exactly, but it felt like it) between you two.