Debbie sat in her room, the open pages of her business law
textbook staring back at her. The words blurred together,
her mind elsewhere. She had an exam in two days—a crucial
one—but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't focus.
Pasco's face was a constant presence in her thoughts, his
voice a haunting echo in her mind. The memories replayed
relentlessly: the late-night calls during their long-distance
relationship, the texts that once brought her comfort, and
the way his laughter used to make everything feel lighter.
But now, there was only silence.
She leaned back in her chair, her eyes burning with unshed tears. Every attempt to distract herself ended in failure. The knowledge that Pasco wasn't even in the same country made it worse. She couldn't casually bump into him, couldn't read his body language or hear his tone to find some hidden clue about his feelings.
Even stalking him online—her last resort—had been cut off.
After unfriending him, she had no way of seeing what he was up to. The emptiness was suffocating, and the distance between them felt insurmountable.