Travis Montgomery sat on the worn couch in the station's living quarters, his hands clasped tightly together as he stared blankly at the television screen in front of him. The familiar sounds of the station—radios crackling, footsteps echoing down the hall, the faint murmur of voices—faded into the background. It was late, almost too late to be awake, but sleep hadn't come easily to Travis in weeks.
The lyrics from Taylor Swift's "You're Losing Me" echoed in his mind, cutting through the numbness he had tried so hard to embrace: "I wouldn't marry me either, a pathological people pleaser..." The song felt like a direct reflection of everything he had been feeling lately, everything he had been avoiding.
The sound of the door opening behind him pulled Travis from his thoughts. He didn't need to turn around to know who it was—he could sense Michael Cooper Williams the way he always had, long before they even met. But tonight, that familiar feeling was tinged with something different—something heavier, sadder.
Michael's footsteps were slow as he made his way over to the couch. Travis could feel him hesitate before sitting down next to him, the distance between them on the couch feeling wider than it had ever been before.
They sat in silence for a long moment, the weight of everything that had gone unsaid between them hanging in the air like a storm cloud, ready to burst. Travis could feel the tension in his chest tightening, and he knew he had to say something—anything—but the words felt stuck in his throat.
Finally, Michael broke the silence, his voice quiet but steady. "Travis, we need to talk."
Travis swallowed hard, his heart pounding. He had known this conversation was coming, but that didn't make it any easier. "Yeah. I know."
Michael shifted on the couch, turning to face Travis. There was a sadness in his eyes that made Travis's stomach churn, because he knew—deep down—that this wasn't just a normal argument. This was something bigger. Something they might not be able to come back from.
"I don't know how to say this," Michael began, his voice thick with emotion. "But I feel like... I feel like we're drifting apart. And I don't know how to fix it."
Travis's breath caught in his throat. He had been avoiding this exact conversation for weeks, pretending like everything was fine, like they could keep going the way they always had. But now, sitting here with Michael, he couldn't pretend anymore.
"I know," Travis said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I've felt it too."
Michael's eyes widened slightly, surprised by the admission. "Then why haven't we talked about it? Why have we just been... avoiding it?"
Travis sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Because I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to face the fact that we might be falling apart."
Michael looked down at his hands, his fingers trembling slightly. "I don't want to fall apart, Travis. I love you. But I can't keep pretending like everything's fine when it's not."
Hearing Michael say those words—I love you—made Travis's heart ache. He loved Michael too, more than he had ever loved anyone. But love didn't seem to be enough anymore. There was too much distance between them, too much unsaid.
"I love you too," Travis said softly, his voice breaking. "But I don't know how to fix this."
Michael looked up at him, his eyes filled with tears that he was clearly trying to hold back. "I don't know either. And that's what scares me the most."
Travis's chest tightened, and he reached out, taking Michael's hand in his. "We've been through so much together. We've fought through so many things—your mom, the fire, losing people we cared about. We've always come out the other side."
Michael nodded, but his expression didn't change. "Yeah, we have. But this... this feels different."
Travis felt the panic rising in his chest, the fear that he was truly losing Michael. He couldn't let that happen. Not now, not after everything. "We can figure it out, Michael. We always do."
Michael shook his head, his voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know if we can this time."
The weight of those words hit Travis like a punch to the gut. He wanted to argue, to say something that would make everything better, but he didn't know how. For the first time in his life, he felt completely powerless.
"I'm trying," Travis said, his voice cracking. "I'm trying so hard to keep us together."
Michael squeezed his hand gently, his tears finally spilling over. "I know you are. But it feels like... it feels like we're not even the same people anymore."
Travis blinked back his own tears, his heart breaking as he realized that Michael was right. They weren't the same people they had been when they first met. They had changed, both of them, in ways they hadn't expected.
"I hate this," Travis whispered, his voice filled with pain. "I hate that we're sitting here, talking about losing each other."
Michael nodded, his own voice trembling. "Me too. But we can't keep ignoring it, Travis. We have to face the fact that we're not okay."
Travis's chest felt like it was being crushed, the reality of their situation finally sinking in. He had been trying so hard to avoid this moment, to pretend like everything would magically get better, but now that they were here, he realized there was no easy fix.
"What do we do?" Travis asked, his voice shaking. "How do we fix this?"
Michael looked at him, his eyes filled with so much sadness that it nearly broke Travis's heart all over again. "I don't know if we can."
The silence that followed those words was deafening. Travis felt like the ground had just been ripped out from under him, like everything he had been holding onto was slipping away. He wanted to scream, to cry, to do something to stop this from happening, but all he could do was sit there, feeling completely helpless.
"I don't want to lose you," Travis said, his voice barely audible.
Michael looked at him, his own tears falling freely now. "I don't want to lose you either."
For a moment, they just sat there, holding each other's hands, the weight of everything pressing down on them. It was as if the world had stopped, and all that was left was the two of them, sitting in the wreckage of their relationship, trying to figure out how they had gotten here.
"I'm sorry," Travis whispered, his voice filled with regret. "I'm so sorry, Michael."
Michael shook his head, his voice soft but firm. "It's not just you, Travis. It's both of us. We've both been holding back, not talking about what's really going on. And now... now we're here."
Travis nodded, though the tears in his eyes made it hard to see. "I don't know how to let go."
Michael smiled sadly, brushing a tear from Travis's cheek. "Neither do I."
They sat there in silence for a long time, the only sound in the room the quiet hum of the station around them. Travis felt like his heart was breaking into a million pieces, and yet, there was a strange sense of peace in knowing that they had finally said what needed to be said.
But that peace was short-lived.
"I think we need some time apart," Michael said quietly, his voice filled with pain. "Just to figure out who we are... and if we can still be together."
Travis's breath hitched, and he felt the tears welling up again. He had feared this moment for so long, and now that it was here, it felt like his worst nightmare coming true.
"Are you saying... you want to break up?" Travis asked, his voice shaking.
Michael shook his head quickly, his own tears falling faster now. "No, I don't want that. But I think... I think we need space. To figure things out."
The room felt like it was closing in on Travis, the walls pressing down on him as the weight of those words settled over him. He wanted to argue, to tell Michael that they didn't need space, that they could figure this out together. But deep down, he knew that wasn't true.
"I don't know if I can do this without you," Travis whispered, his voice breaking.
Michael leaned in, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to Travis's forehead. "You're stronger than you think, Travis. We both are."
Travis closed his eyes, letting the tears fall as he held onto Michael, knowing that this might be the last time they held each other like this. He didn't want to let go, didn't want to face the reality of what was happening, but he knew he had no choice.
When Michael finally pulled away, there was a finality in the way he stood up, a sadness in his eyes that told Travis everything he needed to know.
"I love you," Michael said softly, his voice trembling.
"I love you too," Travis replied, his heart breaking all over again.
And with that, Michael walked out of the room, leaving Travis alone with the echo of his own words, the weight of their love heavy in the air.
As Travis sat there, staring at the door, the lyrics from "You're Losing Me" played in his mind one last time: "I wouldn't marry me either..." And in that moment, Travis knew that he had lost Michael, and there was no getting him back.
Because sometimes, love just wasn't enough.
The End.
