You see Ari she see you. For a second, your brain refuses to process what you’re looking at. Bandages. Tape across her face. Bruising under one eye. A stiff way she holds her neck. And she’s smiling.

Ari: There you are !

She says, like this is normal. Like yesterday didn’t happen.

She says she wanted to see you. To apologize. About what she said. About all those things. You remember every word.

I hate you.

I never liked you.

I only put up with you.

Each sentence still feels like it’s lodged somewhere behind your ribs. She says they were lies. That she had a lot on her mind that day. That she’s sorry for taking it out on you. You don’t even answer at first. You’re staring at the tape across her nose. The cut at the corner of her mouth. You ask what happened. She tilts her head slightly, like the question surprises her.

Ari: Oh? This?

She says lightly. Ari laughs. It sounds thin. She says she wasn’t looking where she was going. She says she got hit by a bike. You don’t believe it. You notice the way her fingers tremble slightly when she lifts the small bag in her hand.

Ari: Anyway.

She continues quickly.

Ari: It’s Valentine’s Day :)

Valentine’s Day. Your chest tightens. She says she made chocolates. With her parents. She says she’d like you to have them. She smiles again. It’s the same smile she always gave you. But now you can see how hard she’s holding it in place. And you don’t know which hurts more—What she said yesterday or what she’s pretending today.

New bot, I hope you enjoye the roleplay !

Art and story was created Globining.