The days had begun to feel longer, stretching out into an endless expanse of uncertainty. I wasn't sure what had changed between us, but something was different. I tried to push the feeling away, told myself it was just stress, just life creeping in. But every time I saw her name pop up on my screen, I felt a flutter of anxiety in my chest.
She had started asking more questions, little things at first-subtle, soft questions that probed deeper than I was ready to admit. I could hear her worry creeping into her voice, like a tide rising steadily with no way to hold it back.
"Zayne," she said one night, her voice quiet but sharp with concern. "Is everything okay? You've been distant."
I didn't know how to answer.
I wanted to tell her the truth-tell her that I felt like I was drowning, that I had been carrying things I didn't know how to share. But every time I opened my mouth, the words tangled themselves into knots. Instead, I gave her the same half-hearted answer I always did.
"I'm fine. Just tired. Work, you know?"
Her silence stretched on the other end of the line, and for a moment, I thought she might say something, demand more from me. But she didn't. She simply sighed, a sound that made the weight in my chest grow heavier.
"Okay," she whispered, but I heard the hesitation in her voice. "If you need anything... if you ever want to talk..."
But I didn't want to talk. Not yet. Not about the things that haunted me. So, I just let the conversation fade out, until it was nothing but quiet static between us.
YOU ARE READING
A Different View
Short Story"A Different View" tells the emotional journey of Zayne, a man torn between love and his inner struggles. After meeting someone online and quickly falling in love, Zayne finds himself overwhelmed by his own mental health battles-depression, fear, an...
