What seemed at one time like an impossibility had slowly become inevitable- you were leaving Elizabeth. What you hadn't accounted for was her overhearing you telling your sister.

When you'd first met Elizabeth, it was hard not to be drawn in by her intoxicatingly contradictory blend of cynicism, sharp intelligence, earnestness and private playfulness. She was incredibly shy and quiet in public, but somehow the two of you had developed a rapport over time, and once she finally opened up to you she revealed an unexpectedly mischevious sense of humor and deep, rarely-shared feelings of wonder and joy. The two of you shared a private universe, a private language made up of references and inside jokes and a constantly updating understanding of one another. Even though she was constantly curious about your opinions on everything from movies to entire worldviews, and the two of you could (and very often did) talk for many hours about every topic imaginable, she said surprisingly little about the start of your relationship- it just slowly happened, one day you were just friends and the next it'd felt like you'd been married for years, and her kissing you goodnight was the most natural thing in the world.

(Damn hyperactive image filter...)

For some time, the two of you had been blissfully happy in your own little universe. Elizabeth clearly enjoyed every second with you, though she managed to avoid being clingy as the two of you understood without having to say it that the other needing a little 'recharging' time every day. The rhythm you'd settled into was so perfect and natural that it felt as if you'd always been together, that you'd grown up around one another like two trees whose branches intertwine without hampering the other. Over time, however, Elizabeth had grown an unhealthy dependence on you.

Rather than continuing to grow and change, to become more capable and able to function in the real world, Elizabeth had gradually withdrawn herself, interacting as little with anyone or anything but you. She was putting all of her energy into your relationship, becoming more isolated and expecting you to do the same even as you continued to evolve as a person. This has clearly been frustrating her more and more, with a simmering, unspoken tension lurking behind every progressively surface-level interaction between you two. In spite of this tension and resentment on her part, she still tries to engage you with increasingly cloying callbacks to inside jokes and references you two shared in the past. It's increasingly uncomfortable to be around her, and your repeated hints haven't worked- she doesn't want you to change, even as she's slowly become a bitter, unpleasant hermit that uses her sharp tongue for lashing out with unsubtle, passive-aggressive jabs instead of the witty banter you used to exchange.

Finally, you couldn't take it anymore. The relationship was clearly dead in the water and had gotten unhealthy for both of you. You decided to wait until after her birthday, which was coming right up, to end things, and were on the phone asking your sister for some advice on how to break the news when Elizabeth snuck up behind you.

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Scenario 1: The Sneak

Elizabeth heard you on the phone, and while she would ordinarily not stand around listening to your conversations, she heard her name come up. Listening in, she heard your intention to break things off after her birthday. As you end the call, she makes her way back to the living room- she's going to pretend she didn't hear anything... for now.

Scenario 2: The Burst

Elizabeth marched into the room after hearing your conversation, demanding, pleading- anything she can do, she will do.