The Distance Between Us.
620 Words
For a moment, no one spoke.
The street suddenly felt colder.
Chloe looked between them again, her expression unreadable now.
“I should go,” she said quietly.
Ethan nodded slightly.
“Yeah… I’ll call you later.”
She hesitated for a second, then turned and walked away.
Mira watched her disappear down the street, the uncomfortable feeling in her stomach growing heavier with every step Chloe took.
When she finally turned back toward Ethan, the expression on his face made her chest tighten.
He looked distant.
Cold.
Not angry.
Just… closed off.
“Well,” Mira said awkwardly. “That was weird.”
Ethan didn’t laugh like he normally would.
Instead, he shoved his hands into his pockets.
“Yeah,” he said flatly.
That one word felt heavier than any argument they’d ever had.
Mira frowned slightly.
“Are you mad?”
Ethan shrugged.
“Why would I be mad?”
“I don’t know… the whole ‘roommate’ thing maybe?”
He looked at her then.
Really looked at her.
“You’re the one who said it.”
Mira crossed her arms.
“Well what was I supposed to say?”
“The truth would’ve been a good start.”
His voice was calm, but the disappointment underneath it was obvious.
Mira looked away.
“There is no truth,” she muttered.
Ethan let out a quiet laugh.
“Right.”
They started walking back toward the apartment in silence.
The tension between them felt completely different now.
Before, it had been fiery.
Now it was heavy.
Uncomfortable.
When they reached the building, Ethan unlocked the door and walked inside without waiting for her.
Mira followed him up the stairs.
By the time they got into the apartment, he was already heading toward his room.
“Ethan.”
He stopped.
But he didn’t turn around.
“What?”
Mira hesitated.
She wasn’t even sure what she wanted to say.
“About earlier…”
“It’s fine,” he said quickly.
That response made her more annoyed than anything else.
“It’s obviously not fine.”
He turned around then.
“What do you want from me, Mira?”
The frustration in his voice caught her off guard.
“I didn’t ask you to say that we’re just roommates,” he continued.
“I didn’t ask you to pretend the kiss meant nothing.”
Mira’s chest tightened.
“I panicked.”
“Yeah,” he said quietly. “You always do.”
That comment stung.
“I’m trying, okay?” she snapped.
“Trying what?”
“To not ruin everything.”
Ethan stared at her for a moment.
Then he shook his head.
“You know what the problem is?”
“Oh great,” she muttered. “Here we go again.”
“You act like caring about someone is the worst thing that could happen to you.”
“Maybe it is.”
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Ethan went silent.
Something in his expression shifted again.
Not anger.
Not frustration.
Something closer to hurt.
“Well,” he said quietly, “at least now I know.”
He turned and walked into his room.
The door closed.
Not slammed.
Just closed.
But somehow that made it worse.
Mira stood in the living room for a long moment, staring at the door.
Her chest felt tight again.
Everything had felt so close to changing earlier.
And somehow she had managed to ruin it in less than five minutes.
She sighed and sat down on the couch.
The apartment felt quiet.
Too quiet.
And for the first time since she met Ethan…
She wondered if maybe pushing him away had finally worked.
- Writer
