Lost in the dark

The world stopped

I shouldn’t have gone there that afternoon.

But I did. The sun was low, golden, warming the streets as I walked, and I told myself it was just another visit—another ordinary afternoon with Daniel. My heart was light with anticipation. I wanted to see him, to hear his voice, to hug him tightly,to kiss him,to dance with him,to laugh at the little jokes that made my chest ache.

When I arrived, he was in the middle of something, muttering about needing the bathroom. He left, door closing behind him, and I was alone in the quiet room.

That’s when my eyes fell on his phone.

It was lying there, screen glowing faintly. Something inside me—a mix of curiosity, fear, and unease—made me reach for it. My fingers trembled as I picked it up, turning it over in my hands. I didn’t know why I did it, and part of me already knew I shouldn’t.

The phone slipped from my hands.

And when I tried to catch it, panic made me fumble. My mind raced. My chest thumped. I grabbed it desperately, and in one awful, sudden motion, it was gone—flushed. Into the toilet. My own hands had done it.

I froze.

Then I saw it.

The messages. Notifications, still faintly visible through the clouded water. My stomach dropped. My hands shook so badly I could barely comprehend what I was seeing.

Two other girls.

His laughter, his words, his promises—they weren’t just for me.

I felt it immediately. Heartbreak. Anger. Confusion. Rage. All of it colliding at once, crushing me.

I wanted to cry.

I wanted to scream.

I wanted to disappear.

I didn’t know where to put my hands. My legs felt weak. My stomach churned. I wanted to sink into the floor and vanish, because suddenly the world had vanished for me.

I couldn’t see.

I couldn’t hear.

I couldn’t breathe properly.

All I could hear was the faint gurgle of the water flushing, as though the sound itself was mocking me.

Tears streamed down my face, hot and unrelenting. I pressed my hands to my mouth, trying to stop the sobs that broke free anyway.

How could he do this? How could he look at me and say the things he said, laugh at the little things we shared, while this—this betrayal—was happening all along?

My chest ached. My mind spun. I couldn’t even think clearly enough to feel anger properly. It was just a blur: shock, sadness, disbelief.

The world had stopped. And I was standing in the middle of it, alone.

I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to throw things. I wanted to scream until no one could hear me. I wanted to disappear from existence itself. But all I could do was stand there, frozen, letting tears fall and fall until the hot sting in my eyes blurred everything else.

I realized something then—my trust had been foolish. My devotion had been foolish. And I didn’t know if I could ever feel safe again, not with him, not with anyone.

The phone was gone, but the betrayal remained. And somehow, that felt worse than anything else in the world.