I stared at the rope in my hands. At the ceiling light fixture that seemed completely incapable of supporting a person's weight. The walls of the rented apartment felt as though they were closing in around my mind, while hysteria rolled through me like the final line of a tragic play.

Now there was only silence and the rope in my hands.

It rested carefully on my shoulders before tightening just above my throat. A final tear slipped down my cheek. I tightened my grip on the rope around my neck.

At that moment, I thought of him.

The name that stubbornly refused to leave my mind.

Simon.

The way he used to choke me, always asking if I was okay with it, if I liked it. Now those memories felt like some absurd story from another life.

I closed my eyes.

And then my phone rang.

It was him.