empty space

2

           The wall stared at her with a blank expression. All of the framed pictures that lined the wall were gone, along with his collection of rare guitars that used to hang solely as a display. He did not allow anyone to touch them, including her. She made her way through their empty apartment, noting that he made sure to leave nothing behind. In the bedroom, she found all of the furniture, even the dresser, gone. Her clothes were left in a messy pile on the naked floor. The bathroom was bare as well, except for some of her toiletries. 

          With a shaky breath, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. She managed to keep her frizz tamed now that the midsummer air was embraced by humidity. The heavy bags under her dark eyes carried her exhaustion and pain. She had not slept in days after Dominik left. It took her a whole week to gain the courage to return to their apartment. The letter he left in their apartment repeatedly played in her head, like a broken record. Then, at least there was still some life left in their home before the movers came and took everything.

                Ara, I am leaving for Italy. Alone. After a lot of consideration, I have concluded that it is not the best idea for you to join me. We have not been in a good place in a while, and to be frank, I think we have different priorities. It might be because of the age gap or the fact that you do not know what you want. Regardless, it is time for us to go our separate ways. It is in the best interest of the company and you, that with the termination of our relationship comes.  the end of your time at ARTIFEX. I know you will find your footing. 

          D.

P.S. Due to the nature of our relationship, I thought it would be best that I ended my lease and moved out. I am sure your mom would be more than happy to have you back at home. 

       The day she found the letter, Chiara broke Dominik's most cherished guitar. It was an acoustic Les Paul that he received from a musician he used to be a publicist for. He took the thing that most mattered to her, and she did the same. He praised his material possessions more than he did the people close to him. But he was ambitious and successful which is what drew her to him in the first place. Dominik was not like this when she met him in a speakeasy bar in Rome when she was studying abroathe He pushed her out of her confusing life and into the PR industry, where she flourished. She made her way up slowly and was about to be offered an opportunity to intern with the possibility of promotion in Madrid. It was the one thing that would finally help her stand up on her feet without Dominik having to carry her through life. Then, she could finally overcome her regrets and stop being a failure. She felt like she was still one, but now her heart was torn in half. Again.

        But, as Chiara stared at her gaunt reflection in the mirror, she felt her life shatter around her. Dominik terminated her position, which invertedly meant that the internship was declined on her behalf. Now, he is already getting settled into his big promotion in Madrid, and she was a college dropout who was homeless, possibly jobless, and heartbroken.

       But she had to get herself together and attempt to save her job. Turning the sink faucet on and letting it run for a bit, she splashed herself with ice-cold water. Chiara hoped it would wake her up from this nightmare. Unfortunately, she was living in it.

    The only thing Chiara could do was call her boss. 

                                                       ----------------------------------------------

"David, I am sorry I have not called in a week. I was not feeling-"

       "Chiara...Hi. Ah, Dominik called us and said you wanted to take some time to think about your career. He said you decided not to go with him to Spain. Since we did not hear anything from you we assumed that Dominik, as your manager, terminated your contract on your behalf."   She sucked in a deep breath to keep herself from shrieking.            

         "No, no. I did not tell him anything like that. I still want to work. I wanted...I need the internship. I can still do it. I still have time-"

       "I am sorry Chiara. I signed off the contract from our company already. Victoria took the internship. You can try calling and see if they have any open interviews. I will text you their phone number."

            He hung up and left her speechless. Even though Chiara expected Victoria to steal her internship at any sign of trouble, it still stung. Despite being in a higher position at the company than Chiara, Victoria always made it a motive to take any opportunity that came up. Especially if she could steal it under someone's nose. Or preferably behind their back. After stabbing them with a knife, of course. But now that she did not have an apartment that she could afford, no job, and a ticket to Spain, there was only one choice.