ghosting - awesamdude

1.

six months later

Khai was struggling.

She was not a strong person. In fact, quite the contrary.

She was weak as all hell.

This is why it was significantly hard to lug the cardboard box up the stairs, Khai flashing a glare at the 'Out of Service' sign on the elevator on every floor.

She almost fell to the floor in relief when she reached the fifth floor, opening her front door and dragging the box inside. The apartment was full of boxes, but it already felt like home. For the past four months she had been living with her cousin in New York while trying to find an apartment, and now she had a home. It was hers. That was... massively overwhelming.

She closed to door behind her and collapsed against it. She had never been the best at processing her emotions, so she hadn't really sat down and comprehended that she lived on her own in her own house. For six years she had lived in various relatives houses, absolutely refusing to move back in with her parents. She was done with them. With that chapter of her life. She had officially moved on.

Of course, she wasn't going to completely cut off everyone she knew, but maybe space would be good. It had been hard to spend time with her friends anyway lately, what with their growing fame and the added struggle of avoiding Sam.

Now, she lived across the country, and she was starting fresh. No Sam, no guilt, nothing.

It hurt more than it should.

She pulled out her phone and sent Jas a quick text, letting her know she had all her stuff and would probably spend the next week unpacking, before turning off her phone and turning to the first box. She opened it up. Books. She sorted through them, inspecting each one and then setting it down. It was nostalgic. A fun break.

Until she pulled out her high school yearbook.

She ran her hand down the spine of the book before opening it and flipping through the pages. Looking for something.

Looking for him.

She flipped a couple more pages until she found their class, frowning as she ran a finger over the small picture of herself. She looked different. Then, she turned to Sam's picture.

She slammed the book shut without thinking, closing her eyes. She hated it.

She grabbed a garbage bag and threw all the yearbooks into it.

Moving on means not looking back. She had to learn that.

But Khai was a sentimental person, and as she threw the books out she felt a pit form in her stomach. She knew she would regret it. Still, she tore herself away and started unpacking.

It was four in the morning and Khai was downing a monster when she turned her phone back on, the living room completely unpacked. It looked nice, too. It felt like her home. That was a good feeling.

She scrolled through the notifications on her lock screen, a specific one catching her eye. A text from Sapnap, which was strange because he only ever used Discord. Her brow furrowed as she clicked into it.