desertion

144

LYDIA

The notes were finally finished. Every lead, every observation Mason and I had meticulously pieced together was written up and handed over to the department. It was satisfying in a way I couldn't describe-like finishing a puzzle after hours of staring at scattered pieces. Mason and I exchanged a look as Officer Darden flipped through the notes.

"You two did great," Darden said, giving us a rare smile. "This is solid work. You should be proud."

Mason grinned, and I couldn't help but smile back. Proud didn't even begin to cover how I felt. For the first time, I felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be.

But as Mason and I walked out of the station together, laughing about some ridiculous thing Darden had said earlier, a nagging thought crept in. I'd been so consumed with this internship that everything else had fallen by the wayside-my friends, my family, even Miles.

When I finally got home that evening, the exhaustion hit me like a ton of bricks. I stepped inside, dropping my bag by the door, and froze when I saw Miles sitting on the couch. He stood up as soon as I walked in, his arms crossed and his jaw tight.

"Hey," I said, smiling weakly as I stepped toward him, arms out for a hug.

But he didn't move.

"What's wrong?" I asked, lowering my arms, the smile fading from my face.

Miles shook his head, his voice sharp. "What's wrong? Seriously, Lydia?"

I tilted my head, confused. "Yeah... seriously. What's going on?"

"What's going on," he repeated, his voice rising, "is that you've been ignoring me. Us. Everyone. You're so caught up with your little boy partner and your precious internship that you've forgotten about everything else."

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Are you serious right now? Mason is my coworker. We're working on cases, Miles. That's it."

Miles took a step closer, his eyes blazing. "Don't roll your eyes at me, Lydia. You don't get to act like I'm the one being unreasonable here. You've been shutting everyone out. You barely talk to me, you barely even come home, and when you do, you're too tired to care."

I threw my hands up. "I'm doing what I love! What's the big deal? You knew this internship was important to me. You knew how much this means to me!"

"And what about us?" Miles yelled. "What about me? Do I mean anything to you, or is it just the job now?"

"That's not fair," I snapped, my voice shaking. "You're making this about you when it's not. I'm doing this for me, for my future. I shouldn't have to apologize for that!"

Miles shook his head, his voice breaking as he said, "You don't care about me. You don't care about anything except that stupid internship."

I felt something inside me snap. "I'm done," I said, my voice cold and final.

Miles stopped, his eyes widening in shock. "What?"

"I'm done being the problem in everything," I said, my voice shaking. "I'm done with us, Miles. I can't do this anymore."

"You're seriously breaking up with me?" he asked, his voice low and disbelieving. "After everything I've done for you?"

I swallowed hard, my chest tightening. "I appreciate everything, Miles. I really do. But I can't keep going like this. It's not fair to either of us."

For a moment, he just stared at me, his expression a mix of hurt and anger. Then he sighed, his shoulders slumping as he turned toward the door.

"Fine," he muttered. "I hope the internship was worth it."

He opened the door and stepped out, hesitating for just a second before closing it behind him.

As soon as he was gone, I collapsed into the armchair, burying my face in my hands as the tears came.

This was the right thing to do.

Right?