Quiet Confessions

Coming Home

Ember stares at the blocked contact information on her phone. Her ex, Evan kept harassing her and she hadn't heard anything from him in two days now. She breathes a sigh of relief as a pit forms in her stomach thinking about the messages that aren't coming through. If she were to unblock him, what would come pinging on to her phone screen? Dread washed over her just thinking about it. She locks her phone and puts it on her bedside table.

She looks around the room to decide which box to unpack next and sees a few more than she was hoping for. Her whole life was packed away in these boxes and, until that point, she didn't realize how busy she'd been to collect so many memories. Instead, she groans and flops onto her bed. The boxes could wait another day.

This is going to take forever.

The room had been pretty empty prior to the hoard of moving boxes bombarding the small space. All that was there before them was Ember's old bed, dresser and bedside table. Ember's mom, Janelle, had made sure to clean things up-sweeping, dusting, making the bed. She even left a nice candle in there for her to burn. The off-white walls made the room feel bigger and brighter, especially in the daylight. Ember felt a sense of nostalgia with the bitter sweet realization that her life has driven her right back to the same bedroom she left behind to have a better life.

Home sweet home, I guess. It was so weird seeing my room empty for he first time since I left, with the clutter, I suppose it feels more my own, though.

She looks at her handiwork so far and feels slightly dissatisfied with the way she'd arranged her shelves. She'd already organized them twice, doing it a third would be torture right now. A pang in her chest hits as Ember's eyes land on a particular photo in one of the boxes. It was a photo of her at a New Orleans cafe eating a beignet. She went on that trip for her and Evan's three year anniversary. It was such an amazing trip, but the happy, perfect feeling she and Evan had would soon be squandered.

I don't want to think about this now. I can't think about this now. That's not my life anymore, and it won't be ever again.

Her phone pings, and immediately she pounces on it, half of her hoping it's Evan, apologizing this time, somehow finding a way to message her the other half was terrified for the same reason. One by one, more messages flood in from her best friend Iris. She decided to turn her phone on silent and ignore her for the time being.

I can't imagine why he'd message me. I'm not worth the trouble. He said so himself.

Ember had been home for a week, but hadn't felt like talking to or seeing anyone. And that's exactly what Iris wanted- the details of the breakup. Overall, there'd been 24 new messages and 4 missed calls from her. If it were anyone else, Ember would've considered them clingy. Or crazy.

I wonder how much shit he's been talking about me. I'll bet every single one of his friends hates me right now. I'll never be able to face them if I ran into them again. What if he told people down here about me? What if-

Another incoming call from Iris. She ignores it again, throwing her phone on the bed.

"Nice try, bitch! I'm outside your window," a voice shouted from outside. Hard and fast knocks ring from one of her windows making Ember's head swivel in its direction. Iris.

Why can't she just leave me alone?

Ember lifts up the blinds, "Go to the door, you dummy. I'll be there in a sec." She rolls her eyes and goes to open the door.

"About damn time! You've been ignoring me all week!" Iris storms in and past Ember to her bedroom. It was good to see her again, in person for the first time in months, but the anxiousness of knowing why she was there vibrated through Ember's body.