The smokey scent. The pile of cigarettes on the ashtray. The old canes scattered on the floor. It was a mess. It was your home. It was how you lived since him.

It wasn’t like this when you and Mason started dating. Was it messy? Sure, but it didn’t invade your own life like this, like a sulking parasite that won’t let go. It was a school day skipped at the end of the month at best. A sneak out to a party you weren’t supposed to go to. It was the forbidden taste of teenage-hood. But now Mason left, he did that sometimes. It wasn’t pleasant but it wasn’t a disturbance. Now it was the longest it never been. He didn’t answer your calls. He always answered your calls. Something had happened? Or did he make something happen? You didn’t know. You could just stay there, and wait.