Before everything changed...
Day by day, Daisy was becoming someone James barely recognized. Not because she changed who she was, but because she was slowly drifting, pulling away like a current too strong to resist.
There was a distance growing between them.. a fragile wall built from silence, half-smiles, and excuses that stacked up like bricks.
Whenever James reached out, hoping to bridge the gap, Daisy would turn away, tired or busy or lost in thoughts she wouldn't share. Every invitation left hanging, every promise unkept, felt like a thread snapping quietly in the background of their life.
But James, stubborn and hopeful, wrapped himself in the belief that maybe this was temporary. Maybe it's just the weight of everything on her shoulders.
I have to be patient. I have to understand.
So he swallowed the knot of worry in his throat and chose to see only the love still there.
One night, the sky spilling stars like scattered diamonds, they sat side by side on the park bench where they had first dreamed aloud together. The air was cool and the world around them softened in the silver moonlight. James looked at her. Really looked.. and saw how tired she was.
Not just in her eyes, but in the way her shoulders sagged, like she carried the weight of an unseen storm.
His fingers reached out instinctively, brushing a stray strand of hair from her face, trying to be gentle, trying to hold onto what was slipping away. "You look so tired," he said softly, his voice barely louder than a breath.
Daisy smiled, but it was fragile, trembling like a flickering candle.
"Yeah… it's just… the customers have been nonstop. I've been working harder than I thought I could." Her words were careful, measured, but the exhaustion clung to them like a shadow she refused to name.
James closed his eyes briefly, his heart aching in a way that felt both sharp and heavy. He took her hand, holding it tight as if that small touch could anchor them.
"You don't have to carry it all alone. You're pushing yourself too hard. You need to rest—"
She cut him off with a shaky breath, eyes drifting far away beyond the quiet park. "I know, James. But sometimes… there's no other choice."
His brow furrowed with worry. "What do you mean? Is there something you're not telling me?"
Daisy's gaze fell, and she squeezed his hand with a desperation that made his chest tighten. "I want you to know that, no matter what, I still care. I always have."
Those words, so simple, were a fragile lifeline and yet, they carried a sorrow that made James' heart feel like it was cracking. "You're not alone," he whispered, voice thick. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."
Her smile was soft but haunted, as if she carried a secret too heavy for words. "Thank you, James."
The silence between them stretched, filled with things unspoken. James felt it the invisible wall, the distance she was trying so hard to hide. But still, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as if to shield her from the weight she bore.
He pressed his cheek to her hair and spoke with all the tenderness he had left.
"Daisy, I love you. Whatever's coming, we face it together. You don't have to be afraid. Promise me you'll tell me when it gets too much."
Her eyes closed, soaking in the warmth of his embrace the only safe place she could find in a world that was starting to unravel. She wanted to tell him everything, to let the walls fall down, but fear swallowed her words before they could escape.
Instead, her voice broke in a whisper. "Thank you…"
James breathed out slowly, fighting back the rising ache in his chest. "I don't want to lose you. If there's trouble, I'll carry it with you. I won't leave you alone."
Tears glistened in her eyes, threatening to spill. "James… I'm scared."
His hand caressed her cheek, steady and warm. "Don't be scared. Whatever it is, we'll face it side by side."
She blinked hard, swallowing the tears that burned. "I can't explain it now… "
His eyes held hers, unwavering. "I don't need the reasons today. Just know I'm here. You are never alone."
Her eyes shimmered with fragile hope. "Thank you… I want to be strong. Like you."
James smiled softly, a quiet strength folding between them like a promise. "We're strong because we have each other."
For all the storms they couldn't see, they had this moment.. and sometimes, that was enough.
---
That morning, James woke slowly, the faint glow of dawn spilling through the thin, cream curtains that barely shielded his tiny apartment from the outside world. The soft light painted gentle strokes on the worn wooden floorboards and danced across the peeling wallpaper reminders of the life he had built.
But as his eyes fluttered open, a cold wave of emptiness crashed over him. The side of the bed where Daisy lay was empty void of her warmth, her steady breathing, the quiet rhythm that had been his comfort every night.
For a moment, James thought she might still be there, somewhere just beyond his view, maybe in the cramped bathroom or the kitchen just stepping away for a moment.
He turned over, heart tightening. Nothing. The sheets were cold, untouched.
His chest constricted with a rising panic.
"Maybe she just went to the bathroom," he whispered, trying to steady his voice. His hand reached out instinctively to where hers would be, but met only cold air.
Minutes slipped by like dripping water. Quiet filled every corner of the apartment, pressing down on his lungs.
Still, she did not come back.
James sat up slowly, the thin mattress creaking beneath him. He rubbed his eyes, willing away the dread that was starting to root deep inside him. His fingers trembled as he grabbed his phone from the bedside table and dialed her number.
The phone rang and rang, but there was only silence on the other end. No message, no vibration, no sign that she'd heard him call.
He paced the small room, the walls closing in on him. Outside, the city stirred with its usual noise distant car horns, footsteps on the pavement, the hum of life but inside, the silence was suffocating.
Hours passed. The sunlight climbed higher, bright and unforgiving, as James felt the cold truth settling in.
Daisy was gone.
He dressed slowly, each movement mechanical. His feet touched the worn floorboards and then the cracked pavement outside as he stepped into the city's relentless rhythm.
The coffee shop where he worked welcomed him, but it offered no comfort. Every sound the hiss of the espresso machine, the chatter of customers, the clink of ceramic cups felt hollow without her beside him.
Across the street, James's gaze fixed on the diner where Daisy worked. His heart raced, but his eyes found only an unfamiliar face behind the counter, someone who wasn't her.
The warmth he'd known was gone, replaced by a stranger's cautious smile.
"Was this what all those strange moments meant?" James wondered bitterly, his thoughts twisting in every direction.
"Why did she leave without even a word? Was it something I did? Something I said?"
The weight of unanswered questions crushed him, making his chest ache.
Evening draped the city in shadows, and James's world felt darker still. The silence of the apartment awaited him when he finally returned empty and cold, just like the bed.
On his way back, he bumped into Mike, who noticed the haunted look on James's face immediately.
"Yo, Jam! You look so down, Jam. What's wrong?" Mike's hand landed on his shoulder, an attempt at casual concern.
James swallowed hard, his voice barely above a whisper. "Daisy... she vanished. Last night she was here, sleeping next to me. But when I woke up, she was gone. Just... gone. Have you seen her around?"
Mike shrugged with a hint of disbelief. "Really? Have you checked her place? Called her?"
James nodded, feeling like the question was an echo in his mind, relentless and exhausting.
Mike patted his shoulder again, trying to sound reassuring. "Maybe she just needed some space. Don't carry this like it's your burden alone, dude."
But James couldn't shake the emptiness. His mind was a whirlwind of memories and doubts, looping over and over.
"I just want her back," he confessed, voice cracking with raw emotion.
Mike rolled his eyes and patted his shoulder again. "If she's meant to come back, she will. Don't act like you're holding the world."
James nodded, feeling like the question was an echo in his mind, relentless and exhausting.
Mike nudged James's shoulder, voice low but cutting like a knife. "Look, Jam... I gotta be real with you. Maybe Daisy's not just 'gone.' Maybe she's out there chasing something else. Someone who can give her what you couldn't."
James blinked, eyes narrowing, feeling the sting but holding back.
"What exactly are you saying?"
Mike's lips curled into a cold smirk.
"I'm saying maybe she got tired of waiting. Waiting for a guy who's still figuring things out, while she wanted the spotlight, the life, the easy ride."
James's jaw tightened, but he stayed silent.
Mike leaned in, voice dripping with scorn.
"Some girls... they don't stick around just because they love you. They stick around if you can keep up. If not, they find the next option someone who can pay the bills, flash the cash, show the promise."
James's hands clenched, but his voice was steady. "And you think Daisy's that kind of girl?"
Mike shrugged. "Call it what you want. But when she's gone without a word, leaving you in the dark, it says more than any sweet talk ever could. Maybe she's one of those who'd sell the dream for a quick win."
James looked away, a bitter flame rising inside. "Sounds like you've got her all figured out."
Mike laughed darkly. "I don't need to figure her out. I just see what she is. And I'm saying... you deserve better than that kind of 'love.' Don't let her memory chain you down."
James swallowed hard, the weight of Mike's words sinking deep, twisting like a knife in his chest. He wanted to shout, to argue, to defend Daisy fiercely.. but the silence between them felt louder than any roar.
"Maybe you're right," James whispered, voice hoarse. "Maybe she did get tired... tired of waiting on someone who's barely holding it together."
Mike smirked, satisfaction flickering in his eyes. "That's the truth. She moved on because she wanted more."
James looked down at his hands, trembling. His mind raced through memories. The laughter, the promises, the nights they dreamed aloud. Were they all just lies?
From that moment, a cold distance settled between them, invisible yet impossible to ignore. Daisy vanished without a single word, leaving behind a storm of questions swirling in James's mind, questions that had no answers, only echoes in the hollow spaces of his heart.
She left him alone, abandoned in a sea of disappointment and silent pain that wrapped around him like a suffocating fog. It wasn't just the absence of her presence , it was the shattering of a world he thought was theirs.
A world where every hope, every dream, suddenly felt fragile and broken.
And just like that, everything changed.