We didn't stop.
Clothes fell. Breaths quickened. His skin was hot against mine, his kisses desperate—like he was trying to burn every memory of Jason from my body.
And maybe… maybe I wanted him to.
Afterwards, I lay tangled in Ethan's sheets, my body aching, my heart louder than ever in my chest. He lay beside me, silent, arm draped over my waist like I already belonged to him.
But I didn't.
Not fully.
I didn't even know who I was anymore.
I stayed the night. Not because I planned to. Not because it was right. But because I couldn't move. Couldn't think. Couldn't breathe without him.
When I finally got home the next morning, the storm was already waiting.
Jason was at my door.
The moment he saw me—hair a mess, clothes wrinkled, skin still warm from another man's touch—his face fell. All the color drained from it. And then something darker settled in.
He didn't have to ask where I'd been.
"You were with him," he said. Not a question. A statement.
I opened my mouth. I don't even know why. What could I possibly say? That it meant nothing? That it wasn't what it looked like?
He laughed. But there was no humor in it. Just bitterness. Rage. Hurt.
"Of course it was him," he said through clenched teeth. "It's always the quiet ones, right? My own goddamn roommate."
"Jason…" I stepped forward, but he flinched like I'd burned him.
"Don't. Just don't."
His voice cracked, and for a moment, he looked like a stranger. No longer the sweet, dependable man who used to cook me breakfast and kiss me goodnight. He looked like someone betrayed. Someone broken.
"I gave you everything, Vanessa," he said. "Everything."
I didn't respond. Because no amount of words could erase what I'd done.
"You know what the worst part is?" he added, eyes shining with fury. "I would've forgiven you. If it had been anyone else… I might've tried. But him? My own friend?"
I swallowed hard, chest tight with guilt and something worse—shame.
And then, before I could say anything, he turned and walked away.
Slamming the door shut behind him.
And with that sound, the last piece of whatever we had… shattered.