Chapter 23 The Empty Space He Left Behind
607 Words
The first week after Ethan left was the hardest.
Lily didn't realize how much of her life revolved around him until he was gone.
Every morning she still reached for her phone hoping to see a message from him. Every time she walked past the school building she remembered something they had done together. Every joke reminded her of him. Every quiet moment reminded her that he wasn't there anymore.
The worst part was how normal everything looked.
The sun still rose every morning.
People still laughed.
Life still moved forward.
Only Lily felt stuck.
A few days after graduation she found herself sitting in her room scrolling through old photos from the goodbye party.
There was one picture she couldn't stop looking at.
It was the photo where she and Ethan were standing beside each other smiling at the camera
Anyone looking at it would think it was just two friends.
Only Lily knew how much she had been hiding behind that smile.
Her phone buzzed.
Sophie.
"Still staring at old photos?"
Lily sighed.
"Maybe."
"You need help."
"Probably."
Sophie laughed from the other end of the call.
"He's not dead, Lily."
"I know."
"Then stop acting like he disappeared forever."
Lily looked down at the photo again.
The problem was Ethan wasn't gone forever.
He was still there.
Just not here.
And somehow that hurt more.
The days passed slowly.
Sometimes Ethan texted.
Sometimes he called.
But it wasn't the same.
A message could never replace sitting beside him.
A phone call could never replace hearing him laugh in person.
One evening Lily went to the small café near her house. She and Ethan used to stop there sometimes after school.
The moment she walked in she regretted it.
Everything reminded her of him.
The corner table where they sat.
The window seat he always preferred.
Even the hot chocolate he used to order.
She ended up leaving ten minutes later.
That night she couldn't sleep.
At around midnight her phone lit up.
Ethan.
Her heart immediately reacted
Ethan: Still awake?
Lily smiled despite herself.
Lily: Unfortunately
Ethan: Same
Lily: Can't sleep?
Ethan: New place. Everything feels weird
For some reason that made her feel a little better.
Not because he was struggling.
Because she wasn't the only one finding this difficult.
For the next hour they texted about random things.
His new neighbourhood.
His new house.
The boxes he still hadn't unpacked.
The terrible takeaway food he had ordered.
Lily found herself laughing for the first time in days.
Maybe things would be okay.
Maybe distance wouldn't change everything.
Then another message appeared.
Ethan: I walked past a football field today
Lily: Okay?
Ethan: It reminded me of school
Lily smiled.
Ethan: Then it reminded me of you
Her heartbeat stumbled.
Just like that.
One sentence.
One stupid sentence.
And suddenly she was staring at the screen again.
Lily: Why me?
Three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Finally his answer came.
Ethan: Because you were always there
Lily looked at the message for a long time.
Long after the conversation had moved on.
Long after they had said goodnight.
Because for some reason those words stayed with her.
You were always there.
Maybe that was the problem.
For years Ethan had become part of her everyday life.
And now there was an empty space where he used to be.
An empty space nobody else seemed able to fill. As Lily finally closed her eyes that night, she told herself things would get easier.
Eventually.
One day.
She just didn't know that before things got easier...
They were about to get much, much harder.
- Writer
