It was 11 pm when I left Chris's office. I was jagged and broken, battered like I was in a fight which I lost.
I didn't want to go home. I felt ashamed to do so. I feel like a disgraced daughter coming home. So I found shelter somewhere else.
I took a Lyft to Jersey City in New Jersey. I'm going to William's apartment.
When I arrived at his apartment building, I hauled out the key to the apartment that was kept under a flower pot beside the door.
I entered his studio, dropped my luggage to the floor, and settled on the couch.
I lay down begging for sleep, wishing it would ease my broken heart.
I cried myself to sleep.
•••
I woke up in an unfamiliar room, a stranger's bed but I was too weak inside to care.
I lay on my back staring empty at the ceiling, my heart still bruised. Chris is no longer mine.
I felt irritation in my eyes but that didn't stop my tearsduct from producing more tears.
