After five months of loneliness and confusion, Holly’s boyfriend Adam came home. He’d gone off to basic training without telling her and now that he had graduated his friends were throwing him a party. Holly went of course, to see him and ask him if they were still together.

Holly arrived before Adam did so she talked with her friends. An hour later she went out to have a cigarette. It was a cold night and the stars were out over head. She took a drag and heard the sliding door open and close. She turned around and saw Adam but didn’t move.

“Who are you?” She asked coldly.

“You know the answer to that.”

“No. I don’t think I do. I’m here to see my boyfriend. Are you a friend of his?”

“Don’t act like this,” he said as he moved closer to her.

“Don’t tell me how to act.” She shot back angrily as she moved away. “How am I supposed to act? You ask me out and then leave, not telling anyone except Rob and telling him not to tell me. Not answering one of my letters. You don’t know how much that hurts. Did you think I was lying when I said I loved you?”

“I’m so…”

“No. You don’t know what the past five; almost six months have been like for me. I’m amazed I held on this long. Our relation isn’t on life support, it’s completely brain dead.”

“Holly, plea…”

“Stop. I don’t care what you have to say. There’s nothing you can do or say to make this better. I can’t believe you even remember my name. Did someone remind you before you came out here? I just, God.”

Holly walked past him and into the house. She sat down on the couch next to her friend Chris and tried not to cry. She thought of how much time she had wasted waiting for Adam to come back. Chris noticed her eyes fill with tears.

“Are you ok?”

“I just need to be alone.”

She got up and went out to the front porch. She sat on the steps and hugged her legs. The cold night wind blew around her as she let her tears fall