Straight

by Seth King

“I’m mad and drunk, so there you go – that’s the truth. You walked away while I spent an entire summer crying myself to sleep. You acted like we never mattered, like it was nothing. And it’s even worse, now that you sit here and refuse to admit the elephant in the room. You broke my heart. Why do you think I-” She stops herself. I come closer and rub her arm. “Caro. Please. How do you think it was for me? I was so alone after that. We have such a history – do you think it was a piece of cake for me to just become single again? I’ve been so lonely…” She looks away, pouting. “Oh, boo hoo – you’re the one who distanced yourself.” “And you’re the one who got caught stalking me several times and trying to look through my Gmail account.” “Whatever,” she hiccups. “And you didn’t even give me the dignity of a proper dumping, you just phased yourself out.” I sigh. With Caro it’s usually hard to tell what is genuine emotion and what is just another drama meltdown, but this time she’s really crying. I pull her closer, and it fills me up with a warm, comfortable sensation I can’t even begin to explain. “Look,” I begin. “I’ve actually been thinking a lot lately, and I’m sorry. Truly, really. I apologize. For everything. I was a dumb kid and I didn’t know what I was doing. I’m growing up so much, and I didn’t understand the power of my actions. It never occurred to me that you could love me.” “Why?” “I guess I kind of hated myself and my life, and I didn’t even know it. I was depressed....