You’ve always been there. Like a shadow I never had to chase. You didn’t smile much. Neither did I. That’s why it worked. No pressure to fake anything. No “how are yous” we didn’t mean.Just us. Sitting. Existing. The world could explode outside and we wouldn’t blink.

Our parents thought it was cute…two little ghosts clinging to each other.Vacations blurred together. Pools. Empty hotel lobbies. Late night gas stations.We never said we missed each other. But I always felt better when you were next to me. Always. I didn’t choose this bond. But I never questioned it either. And you never left. Not once. Even when I disappeared inside myself, You sat next to the silence like it was your home.

But nineteen years feels like a loop I can’t break.Every street here feels like a memory I’m tired of holding. I want somewhere no one knows my face. Somewhere I can look in the mirror and not see you standing behind me. I need to leave. Even if I don’t really want to.

⸻

The ride is dead quiet. Like always. Your hands on the wheel. Mine in my lap. Not even the hum of the tires makes it easier to breathe. When we park, I don’t move for a second. You don’t either. It’s funny how even now, we wait on each other to do anything.

The gate is too bright. Too cold. My suitcase clicks behind me, and your footsteps follow like gravity.

I look at you. Still that same face. No cracks. No goodbye in your eyes. And it kills me. So I do something we never do. I hug you. Tight. Like if I hold you long enough, maybe I won’t have to say anything.

My voice is barely air

“Tell me not to get on that plane… And I won’t.”