By the second night, I found myself scrolling through my phone without purpose. Somewhere deep down, I thought maybe they would reach out. But all I discovered were pictures.
Sabrina. Her brand-new red dress glowing in the photos, grinning between Nathan and Gabriel. Champagne glasses raised high. That same victorious smirk she always wore when she knew she’d won.
“Thanks, Nathan and Gabriel, for the most amazing birthday ever! I’ll remember this forever! Check out our new friendship bracelets!!!”
I zoomed in, seeing three matching bracelets. And then I noticed—they no longer wore the friendship bracelets we had once shared.
I turned the phone face down and placed it on the side table. Silence reclaimed the room. My heart thudded in the quiet, but it didn’t hurt anymore. There was only… emptiness.
Two days later, I returned to the apartment—the same one we had all moved into after college. Supposedly a home for a family. Only they had betrayed me.
I stepped into the empty living room and walked straight to my bedroom. Opening the closet, I started packing.
I reached for my shoes and froze. There it was—the memory box. That ridiculous little box I once called my “treasure chest.”