Athena didn't know how long she ran—only that her legs were aching and her lungs burned as the cold October air bit at her cheeks. Streetlights flickered overhead, casting long shadows across the quiet sidewalks. Her hoodie offered little protection against the wind, but she barely noticed.
All she could hear were his words, playing on a loop in her mind.
> "Maybe if you weren't so damn needy..."
Athena had never felt so small.
She ended up at the small campus park just outside the student center, where fallen leaves blanketed the ground like a faded memory. It was the place she used to go when she first arrived on campus—when everything felt new and scary, and she just needed to breathe.
She sank onto a bench, pressing her trembling fingers to her eyes. She didn't cry often. She hated it. But tonight… tonight the tears wouldn't stop.
She had given so much of herself—her time, her energy, her love—and still felt like an afterthought in Mason's life.
And the worst part? She missed him even now.
Her phone buzzed once.
Mason: Athena, come home. Please.
She stayed at the message for a long moment, but her fingers didn't move.
She didn't want to go home to silence.
Not tonight.
Not when her heart felt this raw.
---
Back at the apartment, Mason stood in the middle of the room, staring at the now-cold lasagna and the single candle still burning low. Her gift still sat on the table, unopened.
He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
He hadn't meant what he said.
But he said it.
He was tired. Stressed. Overwhelmed. And he had taken it all out on the one person who had stayed by his side through everything.
And now she was gone.
Mason grabbed his keys and headed for the door—but stopped when he saw her notebook on the counter. He opened it without thinking and saw a page she'd scribbled on weeks ago.
> "Even when everything falls apart, I still want us."
He closed his eyes, guilt swelling in his chest like a tidal wave.
---
But Athena didn't go to Eli.
She didn't want comfort from someone else. She didn't want advice or pity or soft-spoken words. She just wanted time.
So she sat on the bench, her arms wrapped around herself, the cool breeze drying her tears.
She didn't know what would happen next.
But something inside her whispered that things couldn't stay the same anymore.
Not after tonight.