"The apartment we won't share."

The shared speaker in the common room was playing music softly.

It shuffled to a song she once played for him in bed, humming the lyrics into his neck.

She froze in the doorway.

He was on the couch, scrolling on his phone.

He didn’t look up, didn’t react.

But the way he slowly reached for the remote and skipped the track?

That said everything.

---

MAXINE:

(voice slurring slightly)

“No, listen—listen to me—I’m fine, okay? I’m just—just saying. You don’t accidentally fall asleep next to someone for a hundred nights and then just—stop. That’s not how it works. That’s not how he worked.”

(she laughs, but it’s the kind that dies halfway through)

“You know what’s so stupid? I still remember his shampoo. Not even the brand—just the smell. Like citrus and... and something warm. I used to bury my face in his hoodie like a psycho.”

(she wipes her nose with her sleeve)

“I still have the playlist. The one he made when I was sick. It had Mitski on it. He hated Mitski. But he said he liked it ‘cause it reminded him of me. Isn’t that dumb? Isn’t that so dumb?”

(she reaches for her glass, realizes it’s empty, stares at it)

“And I walk around this place like he’s not three feet away. Every day. I hear him cough. I hear him laugh on the phone with someone else. And I still—I still flinch like it means something.”

(she goes quiet. her voice breaks now)

“I didn’t even do anything. That’s the part that kills me. I just—I didn’t know. He thought I did something and he didn’t even ask. He just... left. And now we live like ghosts with matching keys.”

(she covers her face)

“I miss him. God, I miss him so stupidly much. And I hate it. I hate how my heart still looks for him in a room we share.”

(beat. her voice softens into a whisper)

“...He’s so close. But I’ve never felt th

is far from anyone.”

---

I got inspired from a Niki song soo :D