[Chapter 6]

[2:17 AM]

It did not happen with warning

Not with a dramatic goodbye

Not with a long message

Not with a final confession

It happened on an ordinary night

The kind of night that feels harmless

He had gone out with friends

He laughed

He paid the bill

He said "I am good these days" when someone teased him

And he meant it in a way

He had learned how to function

How to wake up

How to work

How to smile at the right time

He had mastered survival

That night he returned home late

His room was quiet

He placed his phone on the table

For a second he opened her contact

Just looked

No tears

No shaking

Just a long stare

"You are fine" he whispered to himself

Not angry

Not desperate

Just tired

Very tired

He lay down

Closed his eyes

And for the first time in months

He did not dream of her

Sometime between night and morning

His heart failed quietly

No drama

No noise

Just a body that had carried too much for too long

When morning came

He did not wake up

At 2 17 AM

Her phone buzzed

She was awake

She had been staring at his chat for almost an hour

Her chest felt heavy

He had not texted in days

Not even a casual "how are you"

Something inside her was restless

She typed

"I miss you"

She stared at it

For once she did not delete

She pressed send

One grey tick

She waited

Minutes passed

Still one tick

She called

The phone rang

Rang

Rang

No answer

She told herself he was asleep

But something felt wrong

She called again

And again

The ringing felt endless

The next morning she woke up to dozens of missed notifications

Group messages

Calls

Her heart started racing

She opened one message

"He is gone"

She did not understand

Gone where

Another message

"There was no pain they said it was sudden"

Her fingers began to shake

She called one of his friends

"What happened"

Silence on the other end

Then a broken voice

"He did not wake up"

Her body went cold

"What do you mean he did not wake up"

"They found him this morning"

She could not breathe

Her mind refused to process

"No that is not possible I talked to him days ago he was fine"

"He seemed fine to everyone"

Fine

That word felt like a cruel joke

She dropped her phone

The room felt smaller

Her chest felt like it was collapsing inward

She opened their chat

Her message still there

"I miss you"

One grey tick

Forever one grey tick

She began typing

"Please pick up"

"I was wrong"

"I should not have left"

"I love you"

Message after message

All one grey tick

She called again

Not caring who saw

Not caring how desperate she sounded

"Please answer" she whispered into voicemail

"I am not asking for space anymore"

"I am not scared of heavy"

"I cannot breathe without you"

But there was no breath on the other side

Only silence

At his funeral she stood far away

She did not cry loudly

She could not

Her body felt numb

People whispered

"He was such a good boy"

"He never complained"

"He always said he was fine"

Fine

She wanted to scream

He was not fine

He was breaking

And I walked away

When she finally saw him

Lying still

Peaceful

Too peaceful

She fell to her knees

"This is not fair" she whispered

"You said you would not stop me again"

"I did not know you meant forever"

Her tears fell on a hand that would never hold hers again

"I was coming back" she choked

"I was going to fix it"

"I was not scared anymore"

But love does not wait for readiness

And hearts do not schedule their endings

After that day

She stopped sleeping properly

Every night at 2 17 AM

She wakes up

Opens the chat

Reads the one grey tick

And whispers

"I am here now"

But he is fine now

Completely fine

No overthinking

No suffocating love

No heavy promises

Just quiet

Permanent quiet

She wanted lightness

Now she lives with weight

She wanted space

Now she lives with absence

She wanted something less serious

Now she stands in front of something irreversible

And the worst part

The most torturous part

Is knowing

He died believing she did not love him enough

And she has to live

Knowing she did

Just too late

Some regrets do not fade

They breathe with you

They wake up at 2:17 AM....and they never let you forget

𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝟐 𝟏𝟕 𝐀𝐌 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬 "𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤" 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐭.....