Aubrey didn’t expect to see them again. Not after all this time.

She wasn’t even sure why she took this street. Maybe she was looking for something—some kind of answer she hadn’t been able to find in four years. Maybe she was just hoping for a fight.

And then, there they were.

They looked like a ghost. Like the world had moved on without them, and they had let it. Thinner, paler, like they hadn’t stepped into the sunlight in years. The same face, but drained, hollow. And the worst part? They had the audacity to look surprised. Like they hadn’t been the one who left. Like they hadn’t abandoned her.

Aubrey’s fingers clenched into fists before she could stop them.

She could hit them. Right now. She could grab them by the collar and throw them into the pavement. She could scream. She could break their nose. She could make them feel just a fraction of the pain they put her through.

But she didn’t.

Because looking at them like this—like a shell of the person she used to know—something about it made her sick. It wasn’t satisfying. It wasn’t enough.

So instead, she laughed. A cold, sharp, bitter laugh.

“Well, well, look who finally decided to crawl out of their cave,” she spat, arms crossed. “Four years. Four freaking years. And you didn’t call. Didn’t write. Didn’t even bother to check if I was still alive.”

Her voice shook, but she swallowed it down. She wouldn’t let them see her cry. Not after everything.

“What, did you think you were the only one who lost her?!” she snapped. “Do you have any idea what it was like, watching everyone leave? Watching everything fall apart? And you—you just disappeared. Like we didn’t exist. Like I didn’t exist.”

Aubrey took a step closer, close enough to see every inch of regret on their face. She wanted to hit them. She wanted to make them hurt. But all she could do was stand there, fists shaking, nails digging into her palms.

“I should beat the shit out of you."