wo: Burn

ning down my throat, one after the other like I w

ed men tonight to know when to keep quiet. Good for him. I didn'

booth, couples, maybe, celebrating something stupid like anniversaries or promotions. For a second, I almost turned to look, b

name again Sally. I let it ring until it stopped. Then I turned

not screaming or throwing things. It's just s

"time has passed" kind of way, but like something had been scraped out of me. M

her r

rtender

d without a word.

ll of expensive candles, the ticking of the damn clock on the wall that made everything

and let them destroy me. Because somewhere in my stupid heart,

't mean anything when

e burn sharper this time. "Cheers," I

ay looked at me like I'd grow

so fragile. For thinking love could fix the way people looked at me. I worked my ass off for tha

, but my throat t

e was right to let me go. Maybe the

lfway and set it down. The room was starting to spin a little, or maybe it was

muttered under my breath.

. Everything I did, every late-night code I wrote,

h a broken ring finger a

eak. I hated how fitting it was. I wanted noise, something loud enough to drown out

the whis

whispered before finishing it. "

. Someone walked in, tall, confident. I didn't care enough

k? No frea

he dim light. Derrick Statham. Of course.

ool, the one that made girls blush and guys want to punch

years? You look like hell

ile, but it d

s what betraya

faded a

gh n

"You could

o the stool

you're carrying a whole d

erything. Not neatly. Not clean. Just raw, broken sentences spilling out between swallows of whiskey. The lies, the

. No judgment. When I finishe

man. Tha

odd

People don't care how much you love

ful. "Then make them care. Make

cof

empty pockets an

hine learning tech. It's big, but I need someone who gets it. You were

second, unsure if I was d

re se

to stay here drinking or build an empire that'

here deep down, something flickered. Maybe it was anger,

ed. "Alright. L

and raise

revenge

ber liquid trembling unde

is time it didn't taste like defeat. It ta

g to me, the smell of smoke and alcohol thick on my skin. But I didn't car

thing from me.