ZANDER
Lance is sitting on the edge of the mattress, face buried in his hands. In front of him is luggage. I look around and notice his things are gone. “Lance?”
He takes a deep breath. “I wanted to say goodbye.”
“Oh. D-did Alex tell you we wanted to live together?”
He shakes his head. “I overheard your conversation.”
“I was gonna tell you tonight.”
“Yeah,” he sniffs. “I’m going, then.”
The cloud of uneasiness following me around these past few days finally poured. Tiny pins prick on my skin and crawl all over my body. I touch his arm as he passes by. “Won’t you stay tonight, at least? Alex won’t be coming till this weekend.”
“I can’t keep forcing myself to be somewhere I’m not needed.”
The uncomfortable tingle ignites into whipping pain. “I need you.”
It took considerable effort
