Loneliness
461 Words
Later that day at the office...
The usual hum of fluorescent lights buzzed above the cubicles. Fingers danced across keyboards, interrupted by the occasional ring of a phone or the muted laughter of co-workers catching a breath between deadlines. Seren sat at her desk, her focus drifting in and out of her monitor. She had been trying to work, really trying, but something about Delaney's earlier look kept her on edge.
Her reading glasses rested lower on her nose as she adjusted the tab on her screen, halfheartedly scanning a report. That's when she heard it, low voices behind the frosted glass divider near the break area. It was Delaney. And Rowan.
Seren didn't mean to listen. She told herself that. But Delaney's voice was cracked at the edges, like a porcelain cup someone had tried to glue back together too quickly.
Delaney (whispering, voice tight):"I didn't know what to do, Rowan. He locked the door. He locked it. He said these creepy things, like he was playing a game but also wasn't." Seren's fingers froze on the keyboard.
Rowan (softly):"Hey... hey, it's okay. You're okay now. You're out of that room. He didn't touch you, right?"
Delaney:"No, but he said he'd ruin me. My family. I don't even know how to think about what that means."
Rowan: "I'm here, alright? I'm here. I'm not gonna let him get away with anything. You're not alone, Delaney. You've got me."
There was a pause. Seren could hear the sound of Delaney letting out a shaky breath. Delaney: "I was so scared, Rowan."
Rowan (softly, almost a murmur): "I know. Come here."
Seren blinked, her throat tightening. She didn't need to see it to know what was happening. She imagined Rowan pulling Delaney into his arms, the kind of comforting embrace Seren hadn't felt from him in weeks. Maybe months. Rowan had always been kind. Protective. But something about the tenderness in his voice, so full of care, laced with quiet emotion, hit Seren like a slow-moving arrow. Not because it was wrong. But because it wasn't for her.
She sat there, staring at her screen, words blurring. She didn't know why it hurt. He hadn't cheated. He was being a good person. A good friend. He was just helping Delaney through something terrifying. But still... Seren felt it. That hollow weight in her chest.
The absence. The realization. He wasn't hers in the way he used to be.
And as Rowan's voice murmured quietly again in the distance, soothing Delaney like a worn lullaby, Seren reached up and gently took off her glasses. She blinked a few times, swallowing the lump in her throat, and returned to her screen. No one had done anything wrong.
And yet, she'd never felt more alone.
- Writer
