We Were Delicate, Now Meet Me in The Afterglow (Stendy)

chapter four: ruins

Wendy's POV

In the quiet corridors of high school, I searched for Stan's familiar face, but he seemed to vanish, leaving me alone in a sea of indifferent gazes. The questioning of the delicate nature of our connection. He had become elusive, a ghost haunting my every step.

Days turned into an agonizing eternity I was left in the wreckage of our shattered relationship. My heart clung to the fragments of memories we once shared, and the void he left behind seemed insurmountable. Each unanswered message I sent felt like another crack in the fragile bridge we had built together.

Is it cool that I said all that?
Is it too soon to do this yet?

These questions replayed in my thoughts, tormenting me as I desperately sought an explanation for his sudden departure. The hallways, once filled with shared laughter and stolen glances, now echoed with the haunting silence of his absence. I became a mess of emotions, my worry and devastation etched across my face for the world to witness.

Is it chill that you're in my head?
'Cause I know that it's delicate...

His name lingered in my mind like a bittersweet melody, a constant reminder of the delicate balance we once held. The uncertainty hitting at my soul, leaving me to grapple with the harsh reality that he had become a stranger in the very place where I once felt we were invincible.

Unable to endure the silence any longer, I poured my heart into messages, hoping they would bridge the growing chasm between us. A desperate attempt to salvage what was left of us. Yet, the void persisted, and his silence spoke louder than any words he could have spoke.

As I navigated the school halls, I questioned every interaction, dissecting the past for clues to our break down of love.

I yearned for closure, for a single word that would shatter the deafening silence. The uncertainty cast a shadow over my days, and the ache in my chest grew with each passing moment. I grappled with the harsh truth that sometimes, the delicate threads of love are easily broken, leaving us to ride the ruins alone.

I stood at my locker, lost in the abyss of my own thoughts, grappling with the void that Stan's departure had left in my life. The halls echoed with the usual high school chaos, but it felt distant, almost as if I existed in a bubble of my own sorrow.

As I exchanged books for the next class, I heard a familiar voice approaching. Bebe, my closest friend, appeared at my side, concern all over her face. "Wendy, you've been drowning in this mood since Stan left. You can't let his despair drag you down too," she said with a gentle touch on my shoulder.

I glanced at her, my eyes revealing the pain within. "Bebe, it's not that simple. Stan meant everything to me, and now he's gone. How do I just snap out of it?" My voice wavered, mirroring the fragility of my emotions.

Bebe sighed, her gaze unwavering. "Wendy, I get it. But he was bringing you down with his own sadness. You're strong, independent, and you deserve better. You're better off without him."

Tears welled up in my eyes as I struggled to comprehend the idea of being better off alone. "B, it's not about being better off. It's about being with him, about us being together. I can't just erase that."

She leaned against the locker next to mine, her tone softened. "Wends, love shouldn't be a burden. Stan's problems were consuming him, and it was affecting you too. You deserve happiness, not to drown in someone else's misery."

I shook my head, unable to accept the bitter truth. "But I loved him. I love him. I wanted to help him through everything."

Bebe sighed again, her expression turning empathetic. "You can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved. Stan made his choice, and now you need to make yours. Choose yourself, choose your own well-being." She pulled me in for a hug, squeezing me tightly. "I'll meet you for lunch." She added before walking away, to her own locker I assumed.

This is shit. It's all shit.

Stan's POV

Lying on my bed in the suffocating darkness, the weight of despair presses down on me, chaining me to a world I can't bear to face. The pleading messages from Wendy fill my screen, but the words are a blur, lost in the haze of my own shattered existence. The mere thought of school sends shivers down my spine, a place I can't fathom stepping into, a world I can't walk through.

Wendy's messages, each a cry for understanding, pierce through the fog of my misery, but I can't bring myself to respond. The pain I've inflicted upon her, my love now reduced to a weapon against her, weighs heavily on my soul. I left her heartbroken, shattered, the fallout of my internal chaos wreaking havoc on the person I cared about most.

Love should bring warmth, but all it brought us was a bitter chill. I wanted to be the person Wendy deserved, but my mental health and the bottle became my demons, tearing apart the very fabric of our connection. The love I felt for her wasn't enough to overcome the hurricane within me.

As I lay motionless, I know I'm the architect of my own misery. Each sip of alcohol became a misguided attempt to drown the shadows, but all it did was deepen the darkness. Wendy became collateral damage in my losing battle against my own problems, and it hurts more than any wound I've ever inflicted upon myself.

In the silence of my room, the emptiness echoes louder than any words could. Wendy deserved more than this wreckage of a man, and the realization of that truth is an agony that refuses to be silenced. Love may be eternal, but mine feels like an eternal curse, haunting both of us with its broken promises.

The haunting silence of regret overshadowed me as I sat up, reaching for the bottle beside me - drowning my sorrows in the bitter taste of whiskey. Each sip brought a temporary escape from the the hurt I inflicted on her, the pain of our breakup carving a hollow void within me. The walls closed in, mirroring the isolation I felt, as the amber liquid failed to wash away the guilt that clung to my conscience like a relentless shadow. Tonight, the glass is my only companion in this melancholic symphony, playing the notes of a love lost and a heartbroken.