He didn't look at her face, much less her eyes that day- he couldn't. The moment she saw him, she knew something was off. The pain, the dread- it was all visible in his eyes even though never did he avert his eyes from the grounds.
"Hey! Sorry I'm late. Konan had some troubles with her boyfriend, so I had to help", she said as a start of a casual conversation. She wore the smile he often termed as "beautiful", but it went unappreciated.
He merely replied, "It's okay", eyes still fixated on the ground, which caused her to stare at him in confusion. He shifted, she stared. He sighed, she still stared.
At last, taking a sharp intake if breathe, he said, "Listen... we need to talk".
She nodded, even though he didn't see it. She had an uneasy feeling about this. He too looked uncomfortable to say it. So much pain and anxiousness were gathered in his face and she wanted nothing more than to wipe it all away.
"I can't do this anymore", came a soft continuation, yet it sounded like it was shouted from the mountains, echoing. It was unexpected, yet very much expected.
She didn't respond. He waited for a reaction, but he got none; she was still numb!
He continued, "I'm sorry. You know I love you. Trust me. I do. But lately, you don't act like you do. You don't talk to me in school, you don't text me back for hours, you ditch our dates to "help" your friends. You make me feel like a choice, a subsidiary, and I hate that. Even today, first date in six months and you're an hour late. I'm sorry, but I can't keep up. I just can't!"
It was the longest she heard him talk. He usually said very little words, and she always wanted him to talk more. But the irony was that, when he did, she didn't have the courage to reply back a single word.
She knew he was unhappy with the way things were at that moment. It was apparent from the way he sent sad gazes along her way. He hated it when she bailed on him or when she didn't stop her friends from hitting on him. She noticed everything and yet she pushed it all away as a minor detail, never giving it half-a-thought. And it was that negligence in her part that pushed him to the limits. She had taken him for granted and never thought he would leave her. She had gotten too blinded in her goals that she could not see the path.
She knew she was guilty, and that he deserved better. That was probably why she couldn't say anything to him. She couldn't beg him to stay. She couldn't ask for another chance.
It was all her fault.
