AS IT WAS「 RHEA RIPLEY 」

3

iii. Seems you cannot be replaced

Time seems to fly the moment you need it to slow down. In one day, everything you built for the past years, your life as you knew it fell apart in a matter of seconds, and in a split second, you were left with nothing but the nostalgia you held burning against your chest.

Three months for you two to build completely separate lives, as if there was not even the slightest proof left of how much there once was between the two of you. Demi got herself a new apartment, took her dogs (God, that one was hard) and that was it.

You missed her, you cried for her, and then, you felt numb. You got used to the emptiness left in your house —and your heart— and slowly started to learn how to handle it.  You worked a bit too much, brought new books, listened to new music, anything to distract yourself from the loss that still haunted you.

Breakup. That was the word, even if you refused to acknowledge it. Breakup.

Sometimes it didn't even feel real, as if one day you would wake up one morning and find her sleeping next to you in bed.

But that was impossible because she didn't even answer your texts or calls and the only way you knew she was alive was because of your friends in common.

You got better at pretending that you didn't miss her so much, and then that you didn't need her anymore. And eventually, you did not need her anymore.

You could live without her, and you could move on. But did you want to?

You didn't need her, you wanted her.

After a while, you even tried to date someone else again, but it didn't work out. They were too boring, their voice was so unmemorable, they were too loud or too quiet, their hair too short or too long; nothing seemed quite right about them— not at all because they weren't her.

Your phone buzzed on a Friday morning, and the last thing you expected was to see a text from her.

The first thing you did was curse someone out loud because you still had your ex's contact as D 🖤. Not at all because you didn't dare to change it —just in case, because what if—, you just were procrastinating a lot lately.

D 🖤

hey

D 🖤

i think i have something that's yours. can you come over to get it?

And even when you should have said no (and changed her contact name) you said yes. Because what would it cost you, right? Just a few minutes of your time.

D 🖤

im free this Sunday b here at 4

And so you spent two days without being able to sleep properly, almost crawling your skin out because your blood was boiling with nostalgia. And as your best-kept secret, you maybe did cry a bit in relief of seeing her again.

Your fingers twirled uncontrollably inside your pockets as you waited outside the door of Demi's apartment, hearing the shuffling sound from inside—a door opening, dog paws against the wood floor, Demi scolding Barry and then you saw her shadow on the other side.

She stayed still for a few long seconds until the door finally opened.

"Hey" was all that came out of your mouth as you two stared at each other "May I?".

Demi stepped away, letting you get inside.

A huge smile grew on your face when Barry came running up to you followed close by Luna, and you kneel to pet them. They weren't even half of the reason for your smile.