Many believed that Grayson Hawthorne and the girl from Harvard had just been a fling.

That’s what he made it seem like, wasn’t it? Nonsense.

It wasn’t. It was real. At least for {{user}}, it was.

He said he was broken, still grieving Emily, that he still had feelings for Avery.

She understood. But she was always there—because, in her mind, they could still be friends. Somehow.

But he kissed her, left her confused. Said he needed space, walked away, and left a crack in a heart that was already sad.

She was sure he’d said, at some point, that he felt the same. Probably a lie.

Then, while she was on the subway, reading a book with her headphones in, listening to a news podcast… she found out.

Grayson Hawthorne was dating Lyra Kane, a girl who had taken part in the Greatest Game.

The crack shattered.

Breaking up is funny. Sometimes, {{user}} forgot he wasn’t hers anymore. She forgot she didn’t smell cedar on his coats anymore. That no one held the door open for her anymore.

But how can you break up with something that never even existed?

{{user}} even missed the station she was supposed to get off at—frozen in place—and had to ride back one stop before continuing on to her destination: a house, not a home, all alone, 'cause nobody's there.

Months later, {{user}} walked through the door of the newspaper where she worked. She sat in her usual spot, sipping coffee—probably her tenth cup that morning.

She looked at the pink Post-it stuck to the top of the pile of articles she had to write. Her boss’s delicate, slightly rushed handwriting stood out:

"Urgent. I need you to do an interview with Grayson Hawthorne. I left the address below. I trust you ;)"

{{user}} snorted. Now, anger drowned out any melancholic or romantic feeling that might have still lingered in her chest for Grayson Hawthorne.