Title: Crashing Down
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me
Beta credit goes to SallyJetson :)
All mistakes are mine and no one else's
He stood with his back against the door of his bedroom, arms folded across his chest. His heart sank with every breath he took as the scene in front of him unfolded.
His gaze zeroed in on their…his bed, and the half-filled suitcase lying on it.
She glanced at him over her shoulder as she tossed a pile of clothes into her suitcase and went back to the dresser for more. He could hear her sniffing and her breath labored, as if she was holding back her tears.
He didn't know how something so beautiful, so perfect, could end up like this.
Seven months…
Seven wonderful months of pure, sheer happiness and it all crashed down to this.
People said things happen for a reason, but what reason could he possibly have for this? Neither logic nor science could explain any of it. They had talked about spending 'forever' together, for God's sake!
She snatched up her hairbrush, makeup and perfume and crammed them into the suitcase. The crystal butterfly-pendant necklace he had given her for their 3-months' anniversary lay on top of the dresser. She left it there. On purpose.
He couldn't fathom how it all had started. One day they were in love, the next day they were shouting and cursing, and then…silence. They were like two robots living under the same roof; each going about their normal daily routine and when it's all done, the switch would turn off. Fuse burnt and then gone.
She slammed shut the top of her already bulging suitcase; after ruthlessly stuffing her undergarments into it, and finally managed to latch it. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, tied her hair into a short ponytail, and tucked her stray wispy curls behind her ear. She took a deep shuddering breath, her eyes narrowed and wandered around the room, looking to see if she had missed anything.
Deep down, he knew it had been coming. He just hadn't known when. He thought when it happened, he could take it with stride. He knew that this was for the best. Living like this…it was torture. It was hell. For both of them.
But he did not expect the hurt and the pain he would have to endure while watching her actually doing it.
She grabbed her purse, hefted the suitcase off the bed and headed for the door. She stopped in her tracks when she reached him. She stood eye-level with him; her eyes glistened so beautifully with crystal clear tears that she willed not to shed.
"Tell me to stay," she whispered. "I don't want to leave. And I know you don't want me to. But you have to say it because I need to hear it."
"I -"
Her hopeful and expectant gaze bore deep into his. It killed him to do this, knowing that this would be the last time he would be able to be this close to her, close enough to smell her, close enough to look into her beautiful, soulful brown eyes and drown in them. Close enough to touch her. As if he had the right to.
He tore his eyes from hers and looked down on his shoes. "I'll see you tomorrow at work, Lindsay."
The tears that she fought so hard to hold, fell to the ground.
And just like that, she was out of his life.