Three days of silence stretched between Austin's ultimatum and my decision. Three days of staring at the box of his belongings I'd collected from my dorm room—his favorite hoodie, the watch I'd saved up to buy him for Christmas, a framed photo of us from last summer when we still looked happy.
Jessica had watched me pack it all with growing concern. "You don't have to do this today," she'd said that morning, her dark eyes soft with worry. "Take more time to think."
But I was done thinking. Done analyzing every conversation, every excuse, every moment I'd chosen to believe his lies over my own instincts. The memory of my birthday—of bleeding hands and Austin's arms around Thea while I stood invisible in the smoke—had crystallized something inside me.
I deserved better.
The walk to Austin's off-campus apartment felt longer than usual, the cardboard box growing heavier with each step. My ribs still ached from where I'd fallen down the library steps weeks ago, a dull reminder of how I'd been stumbling through this relationship, always off-balance, always hurting.
I climbed the stairs to his second-floor apartment, my heart hammering against my chest. This was it. No more ultimatums, no more chances for him to manipulate me into staying. I was ending this.
I raised my hand to knock, then stopped. Voices drifted through the thin door—Austin's low laugh and something else. Something that made my blood turn to ice.
Thea's voice. Breathy and intimate. "You're terrible at this game."
"Says the girl who's losing," Austin replied, his tone playful in a way I hadn't heard in months.
My hand trembled as I reached for the spare key he'd given me last year, back when I thought we had a future. The key turned silently, and I pushed the door open just wide enough to see inside.
They were on his couch—our couch, where I'd spent countless nights studying while he played video games. Austin sat with his back against the armrest, controller in hand, while Thea was curled against his side, her legs draped over his lap. She wore one of his oversized button-downs, the blue one I'd bought him for his last birthday, and nothing else that I could see.
The sight hit me like a physical blow. She looked so comfortable, so at home, like she belonged there more than I ever had.
"Your turn," Austin murmured, pressing the controller into her hands. His fingers lingered on hers, and she leaned closer, her short hair brushing his jaw.
"I thought we were just friends," I said, stepping fully into the apartment.
They both jerked apart, Austin's face cycling through surprise, guilt, and finally settling on defensive anger. Thea, however, just smirked, making no effort to move from her position on his lap.
"Val," Austin said, his voice carefully controlled. "What are you doing here?"
I held up the box, my hands steadier than I felt. "Returning your things."
"You should have called first," he said, standing up so abruptly that Thea had to catch herself from falling. "This is awkward."
Awkward. As if I were the intruder. As if I were the problem.
"Is it?" I asked, setting the box on his kitchen counter with deliberate calm. "Because you told me you and Thea were just friends."
"We are," he insisted, but his eyes wouldn't meet mine. "She came over to play video games. That's it."
Thea stretched languidly on the couch, the movement making Austin's shirt ride up her thighs. "Don't mind me," she said sweetly. "I can wait in the bedroom if you two need to talk."
The bedroom. My vision went red around the edges.
"How long?" I asked Austin, my voice barely above a whisper.
"How long what?"
"How long have you been sleeping with her?"
"I'm not—" He ran his hands through his hair, that nervous tell I'd learned to recognize. "God, Val, why do you always have to make everything so dramatic?"
"Dramatic?" The word exploded out of me. "You're sitting here with another woman wearing the shirt I bought you, and I'm being dramatic?"
"She was cold!" he snapped. "And you're the one who broke up with me, remember? You walked out."
"You gave me an ultimatum!"
"I asked you to be more understanding!" His voice rose, and I saw something ugly flash in his eyes. "But you can't, can you? You're too selfish, too jealous to see that Thea is important to me."
I stared at him, really seeing him for the first time. The boy I'd loved was gone—if he'd ever existed at all. In his place stood a stranger who could look me in the eye and call me selfish while betraying everything we'd built together.
"You're right," I said quietly. "I can't be understanding about this. I won't."
"Then we have nothing more to talk about," he said, stepping closer with his jaw clenched. "You need to leave. Now."
"Austin—"
"Now, Valeria!" He shoved me, hard, his hands hitting my shoulders with enough force to send me stumbling backward.
My hip caught the edge of his coffee table, and I went down hard, pain exploding through my ribs as I hit the floor. The impact knocked the breath from my lungs, and for a moment I could only lie there, gasping.
"Oh shit," Austin breathed, his anger immediately replaced by panic. "Val, I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"
I looked up at him from the floor, tasting blood where I'd bitten my tongue, and saw it clearly: the fear in his eyes wasn't for me. It was for himself. For what he'd done. For the consequences he might face.
Behind him, Thea watched with undisguised satisfaction, her lips curved in a small, triumphant smile.
I pushed myself to my feet, ignoring the sharp pain in my ribs, and met Austin's gaze with steel in my own.
"We're done," I said, my voice carrying a finality that seemed to surprise even me. "Completely done. Don't call me. Don't text me. Don't even look at me if you see me on campus."
"Val, wait—"
But I was already walking toward the door, my spine straight despite the pain, my head held high despite the tears threatening to fall.
"Have a nice life, Austin," I said without turning back. "Both of you."
I walked out into the hallway and closed the door behind me, cutting off his voice mid-sentence. Only then did I allow myself to lean against the wall and breathe, my whole body shaking with adrenaline and something that felt dangerously close to relief.
It was over. Finally, completely over.
And for the first time in months, I could breathe again.
