This is the second part of the story. It's been years since I wrote the first, and I can definitely see how my writing style has evolved. Still, I've chosen to leave the original as it is. I hope you enjoy this continuation!
The morning after, we're all gathered for breakfast. I haven't even washed my face yet when Phil looks at me with a sad smile. My mum's voice cuts through the quiet clatter of cutlery--What happened to your face?
I shrug. -Fell asleep with a hydrating mask on. Still need to rinse it off.
Phil says nothing. He won't even look at me. Instead, he busies himself with his food, acting like I'm not even there. Meanwhile, my mum is in the best mood I've seen her in years. I don't understand it.
She suggests a girls' day out, her tone almost... hopeful. But I can't do it. I won't. The resentment sits too deep, too heavy. I just can't bring myself to spend time with her.
Every night for a week, I hear them together having sex, moaning, existing in a world that doesn't include me. And every night, I lose a little more of my mind.
I want it to be me. It should be me. I could be better, I would be better, if he only let me.
But he doesn't.
So while they have the time of their lives, I lie awake, rubbing my clit, fingering both my holes, biting back sobs, drowning in shame and frustration, until exhaustion finally pulls me under.
The final straw comes when my mum drops a bombshell, they're trying for another baby.
I feel like I can't breathe. Desperate. Hollow. Shouldn't she be in menopause by now? Why would they even want another kid? I can't do this anymore.
One morning, I call my dad. I'm coming to New York.
Surprisingly, he sounds... pleased. Our relationship has always been distant at best; birthday calls, the occasional Christmas message. He's not struggling, but he's not thriving either. He moved across the Atlantic the second my mum told him she was pregnant with me, and we've barely seen each other since.
Mum is thrilled about my sudden decision, so much so that she buys me a one-way ticket. Phil, on the other hand, isn't. He keeps questioning my mum, asking if she really thinks this is a good idea. Even pulls me aside--twice--to ask when I'm coming back.
I don't know. I have no answer.
-If you want me to stay, just say it. It's my last shred of hope. The last thing I have to offer.
His answer? -No.
So I go.
I don't know why I still wait for him.
Even here, thousands of miles away, I still check my phone like a stupid girl with a crush. Only it's worse than a crush. It's wrong, and I know that, but it doesn't stop the pull. I hate it. I hate him for starting this and leaving me to bleed in silence every time he snaps back to being normal.
It's been three days since I landed in New York. My dad's barely been home, some finance thing in midtown every night, and honestly, I'm grateful. I don't want him to see me like this. Quiet. Fidgety. Wrecked.
Then Phil texts me. Like he's sensing it. -Still alive? I feel the heat rush to my face. Alive? I want to scream. You made sure I never feel like it for long.
-Yeah. Just tired.
-Of what?
-Nothing. Jet lag.
-You're a terrible liar.
Then nothing.
For hours.
Until he calls.
I answer because I'm weak.
"You sound different," he says.
"You mean tired?"
"No. Distant."
I chew the inside of my cheek. "Well... I am on another continent."
"You don't have to be," he says. "You could come back early."
I roll my eyes. "Why? So I can watch you pretend nothing's going on again?"
A sharp pause. "Don't start." I blink.
"I'm not the one who started anything." Another pause.
Then, colder: "I didn't make you feel this way."
My breath catches. My chest burns. "That's cruel.""No, it's true."
His voice sharpens, cuts. "You're not a child. You knew what this was. Don't act surprised now that it's messy."
Messy. That's what he calls it.
"I needed space," I say quietly.
"You needed a reaction," he snaps. "You think flying to New York would fix what you don't understand?"
My mouth goes dry. "I understand more than you think."
"Really?" he says, and suddenly his voice drops, that slow, dangerous tone he uses when he's about to break all the rules. "Do you understand what it's like to have you look at me like that, every single day? Like you're starving and I'm something you're not supposed to touch?"
"You let me--"
"I didn't let you do anything." But the heat in his voice betrays the lie. Then, as suddenly as he snapped, he goes soft.
"You don't know what you're doing to me, do you?"
Yes. I do. And it destroys me.
"I'm coming," he says.
"What?"
"To New York. I booked the flight this morning."
I don't know what to say. My hands are shaking.
"I'll text you when I land."
He shows up with snow still clinging to his coat, his eyes scanning me like I'm something he's already owned. Something he's furious to want again.
"You look older," he says.
"It's been three days."
"Still," he mutters, stepping closer. "You're not a little girl anymore."
The words twist inside me. It should feel like a warning. It doesn't.
We walk. He talks about art like he cares about it, but his eyes never stop flicking down to my lips, my legs, my neckline.