Echoes from the Past || Harlow

Escapism

September 17, 2018

Atlanta, Georgia

(Flashback)

The living room was filled with a tense silence as the last rays of the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a golden hue over the room. Samaya could feel it—something was off. Jack had been distant for months, and she couldn't ignore the gnawing feeling in her gut any longer. She watched him as he stood near the window, his back turned to her, staring out as if he could find the words he needed somewhere out there.

"Jack..." she finally said, her voice soft but firm. "What's going on boo?"

Jack sighed, still not turning to face her. "Samaya, we need to talk."

Those words sent a chill down her spine. "Talk about what?" she asked, her voice laced with worry.

He turned slowly, finally meeting her gaze. His expression was conflicted, torn between what he knew he had to do and what he felt deep down. "About us."

"What about us?" she pressed, taking a step closer to him. "We're good, no?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at the floor as if it held the answers. "I don't think I can do this anymore, Samaya."

Her heart skipped a beat. "Do what? What are you talking about, Jack?"

"I mean us... this relationship. I just... I don't know if it's right anymore," he confessed, his voice barely above a whisper.

Samaya felt like the ground was slipping out from under her. "What do you mean you don't know? We've been together for years, Jack. You can't just... decide it's not right outta nowhere."

"It's not out of nowhere," Jack said, frustration creeping into his voice. "I've been thinking about this for a while. I've changed, Samaya. We've changed."

"Nah nigga you're the only one who has changed," she shot back, her voice rising. "You've been pushing me away for months now! I've tried to talk to you, to figure out what's wrong, but you keep shutting me out. And now you're just going to walk away? After everything we've been through?"

"It's not that simple!" Jack protested, finally looking her in the eyes. "I care about you, Maya, but something's not right. I don't feel the same way anymore."

Her chest tightened as his words hit her like a punch to the gut. "OH! You don't feel the same way?" she echoed, disbelief and hurt intertwining in her voice. "What happened to the guy who planned our future together.  The one who said he couldn't imagine his life without me?"

Jack flinched, the weight of his guilt evident in his eyes. "I don't know, okay? I don't know what happened. I just know that I can't keep doing this, pretending that everything's okay when it's not."

"Pretending." Samaya's voice cracked. "You think I've been pretending? Jack, I've been here, fighting for us, even when you started acting like I was just some distraction. Do you even realize what you're throwing away?"

"Don't you think I've thought about that?" Jack snapped, his own emotions boiling over. "This isn't easy for me, Samaya! But I can't keep lying to you. I can't keep lying to myself."

"So, what then?" she demanded, tears welling up in her eyes. "You just leave? You just walk away from everything we've built? From me?"

Jack's jaw tightened as he tried to find the right words. "I think... I think it's better for both of us if we end things now before it gets worse."