Everything changed after that.
Not all at once.
But slowly.
Quietly.
Painfully.
Tamika stopped texting first.
Stopped sitting next to me in class.
Stopped looking at me the same way.
At first, I told myself I was overthinking it.
That maybe she just needed space.
But then—
She started avoiding me completely.
And that's when I knew.
This wasn't space.
This was distance.
Intentional distance.
I spotted her across campus one afternoon, laughing with a group of people.
For a moment—
It felt normal.
Like nothing had changed.
Until she saw me.
Her smile faded.
Just slightly.
But I saw it.
And instead of walking over—
She turned away.
Like I wasn't even there.
That did something to me.
Something I didn't like.
I walked up anyway.
"Hey," I said.
The group went quiet.
Tamika looked… uncomfortable.
"Hi," she said.
That was it.
Just "hi."
No smile.
No teasing.
Nothing.
"Can we talk?" I asked.
"I'm busy."
I glanced at the group.
"You don't look busy."
Her jaw tightened.
"I said I'm busy."
Silence.
Awkward.
Tense.
"Right," I said slowly. "Got it."
I turned to leave—
Then stopped.
"Is this because of what I said?" I asked.
She didn't answer.
"Tamika."
"Just let it go, Felix," she said quietly.
"No," I said. "I'm not letting this go."
Her eyes finally met mine.
And what I saw there—
It wasn't anger.
It was fear.
"You should," she whispered.
"Why?"
"Because this is how it starts."
My chest tightened.
"What does that mean?"
She shook her head.
"Please," she said. "Just… stay away from me."
The words hit harder than I expected.
"Do you mean that?" I asked.
Silence.
Then—
"Yes."
I stared at her.
Trying to figure out if she was lying.
If this was another one of her deflections.
But her expression—
It was too real.
Too painful.
"Fine," I said finally.
And this time—
I walked away.
But something told me—
This wasn't the end.
It was just the beginning of something worse.