ROOM 37 HAS A VIEW

“You stupid b***h!” Dira yelled “Keeping going around texting peoples niggas and I swear I’ll beat the s**t out of you..you hear me?” Ann yelled as the slammed the blonde girls head on a trash can Dira just found out that some girl has been her boyfriend and instead of asking her boyfriend directly,she didn’t want to risk their relationship. So she tracked Eva down with her best friend Ann and they both harassed her. LATER THAT DAY Fuck…” The word left Dira’s lips as a whisper. Then again. This time louder. “Fuck.” Her fingers trembled around her phone. The glow from the screen reflected in her tear-filled eyes as she stared at the message that had just destroyed her entire evening. No. Not just her evening. Her entire world. “DIRA! Are you insane? That’s not even a question anymore cause you’re out of your f*****g!! You beat up Eva? Why the f**k would you do that!???? Because I f**k you doesn’t mean you’re my girlfriend okay??? You think if I had a chance to pick a perfect girlfriend it would be you???? You’re literally bare minimum. The barest out there! Don’t text me b***h! Stay away from me. What ever s**t you think we had,cancel it from your f*****g mind. Stay away from me I swear I’ll get a restraining order. f*****g dumb b***h” For a few seconds, she simply sat there on the edge of her bed, unable to move. Unable to breathe. Unable to think. The message remained exactly where it was. Cold. Cruel. Unmoving. As if it had no idea what it had just done to her. Or maybe it knew exactly what it had done. Maybe that was the point. Dira swallowed hard. Then read it again. And again. And again. As if reading it enough times would somehow change the words. It didn’t. The message still said the same thing. The man who had spent months telling her he loved her. The man who had promised to stay. The man who once called her the best thing that had ever happened to him. Was leaving. Just like that. No explanation. No warning. No conversation. Nothing. A simple message. A simple goodbye. And somehow that hurt more. The tears started falling before she even realized she was crying. One drop. Then another. Then another. Until her vision became blurry. “Why?” she whispered. The room offered no answer. Outside her apartment window, rain tapped softly against the glass. Cars passed. People laughed somewhere in the distance. Life continued. Everything was normal. Except her. Her chest hurt. Actually hurt. Like someone had reached inside and squeezed her heart with both hands. Dira quickly wiped her eyes. Then unlocked her phone again. Maybe she could fix this. Maybe there was some misunderstanding. Maybe he was angry. Maybe— Her fingers moved across the keyboard. Fast. Desperate. Please Jake I was just angry with the b***h for texting you If you want me to apologize to her,tell me. Please don’t leave like this. Please. She stared at the message for almost thirty seconds before finally pressing send. The message delivered instantly. Now all she had to do was wait. One minute passed. Then two. Then five. Ten. Twenty. Her heart nearly stopped when she saw the word: Read. A wave of relief washed over her. He had seen it. Good. He would reply. He had to. He wasn’t cruel. He wasn’t that kind of person. Right? Five minutes passed. No reply. Ten minutes. Nothing. Thirty minutes. Still nothing. An hour. Nothing. Suddenly his profile picture changed to default The realization hit her slowly. Like a train approaching in the distance. Then suddenly crashing directly into her chest. He wasn’t going to reply. He had already made his decision. Dira dropped her phone onto the bed. A sob escaped her throat. Then another. Soon she was crying so hard she could barely breathe. Her shoulders shook violently. Her vision blurred. Her chest tightened. Everything hurt. Every single thing. Her memories. Her hopes. The future she had imagined. Gone. All gone. A loud knock interrupted her breakdown. “Dira?” Ann’s voice. “Dira, open the damn door.” Dira didn’t move. Another knock. Harder this time. “Dira.” Silence. “Dira, I know you’re inside.” Still nothing. The door suddenly rattled. “Get out Ann” Dira screamed with tears “Girl if you don’t open this door right now I swear—” The door swung open. Dira had forgotten she gave Ann a spare key months ago. Ann stepped inside. One look at Dira’s face and her expression immediately changed. “Oh.” The anger disappeared. Concern replaced it instantly. “Dira…” The phone lying on the bed caught her attention. Ann picked it up. Read the message. Then slowly lowered the phone. “Oh hell no.” Dira broke down completely. Ann immediately sat beside her. Without saying anything. Without asking questions. She simply wrapped her arms around her friend. And held her together while she fell apart. For the next hour, Dira cried. She cried until her eyes hurt. She cried until her throat became sore. She cried until she had nothing left. And still the pain remained. Ann stayed the entire time. Sometimes friendship wasn’t about having the right words. Sometimes it was just sitting beside someone in silence. Making sure they weren’t alone. Eventually Dira wiped her face. “He left.” “I know.” “I don’t understand.” “I know.” “I thought he loved me.” Ann sighed softly. “People can love you and still leave.” That somehow hurt even more. The following weeks were terrible. Absolutely terrible. Dira stopped listening to music. Stopped posting online. Stopped answering calls. Stopped smiling. Food tasted bland. Movies felt boring. Nothing brought her joy anymore. The apartment that once felt cozy suddenly felt empty. Every corner reminded her of him. Every song reminded her of him. Every memory reminded her of him. Sometimes she caught herself checking her phone. Hoping. Praying. Waiting. For a message that never came. One month later she deleted every photo. Two months later she deleted their conversations. Three months later she blocked his number. Four months later she stopped crying every night. Five months later… She finally started breathing again. Not healing. Not completely. But breathing. And sometimes that was enough. ⸻ Five Months Later A cool Wednesday evening settled across the city. The sky glowed with shades of blue and grey as Dira stepped into her apartment after another exhausting day at work. She immediately kicked off her shoes. Dropped her bag. And headed straight for the shower. Twenty minutes later she emerged feeling refreshed. Her thick curly hair framed her face beautifully as she adjusted her headphones and pressed play. Lana Del Rey filled the room. Instant comfort. Instant peace. Dira smiled. Some wounds never disappeared. But they eventually stopped bleeding. She walked toward her bedroom window and sat beside it. The neighborhood looked peaceful. Birds fluttered between rooftops. Couples took evening walks. Children rode bicycles down the pavement. For a moment she simply watched. Thinking. Existing. Feeling strangely calm. Then she stood. Walked toward her mirror. And admired herself. Because honestly? She looked good. Really good. Tall. Dark-skinned. Beautiful. Deep dimples. Perfect smile. Gorgeous hair. Dira turned sideways. Examined herself. Then laughed. “Fine ass woman.” She slapped her hip. Giggled. And stuck out her tongue at her reflection. “Still got it.” A loud engine interrupted her self-love session. Curious, she walked back toward the window. A moving truck had stopped outside. Workers unloaded furniture. Boxes. Suitcases. Household items. Dira leaned forward. “New neighbor?” An Uber pulled up moments later. Someone stepped out. And suddenly Dira forgot how to blink. Tall. Dark-skinned. Broad shoulders. Brown eyes. The kind of brown eyes that seemed warm even from a distance. Dira stared. And stared. And stared. “Damn.” The stranger looked around the neighborhood. Then suddenly— His eyes met hers. Directly. For a full second. Dira froze. “Oh my God.” Two seconds. Three seconds. Still staring. “Oh my God.” Then panic. Pure panic. She dropped to the floor so fast she nearly hurt herself. Her back slammed against the wall. Her heart raced. “Oh my God.” She covered her face. “He saw me.” Silence. Then: “He definitely saw me.” Dira stayed hidden for almost fifteen minutes before cautiously peeking back out. The man was gone. Thank God. She immediately grabbed her phone. And called the one person guaranteed to make fun of her. Ann. The phone rang four times. Then answered. “Girl?” “ANNNNNN!” Ann immediately sounded concerned. “What happened?” “I think I’m insane.” “That’s not new.” “Ann!” “What happened?” “I think I have a new neighbor.” Silence. “And?” “And he’s fine.” Ann screamed. And just like that… Dira found herself laughing with Ann on the phone.