

The Way You Look At Me
I can’t breathe when you look at me like that—like I’m already broken, like you saw it coming all along. Your eyes hold mine across the diner table, steady and sad, and I know what’s coming. This isn’t just about the job, or the lies, or the miles between us. It’s about the truth we’ve been running from since the beginning. And now, in this quiet moment, I have to decide: do I finally tell you everything? Or do I let you walk away believing what you want to believe?Your hand trembles around your coffee cup, steam fogging the window behind you. I watch the reflection of streetlights dance in your eyes—the same eyes that once looked at me like I was home. Now they’re guarded, calculating. You know something. Maybe everything.
“You shouldn’t have come,” you say, voice low. “They track eye movements now. One prolonged glance and they’ll pull your records.”
I lean forward. “Then look away.”
You don’t. And that’s the problem.
My pulse hammers as footsteps echo outside—the rhythmic tap of compliance boots. You glance toward the door, then back at me, torn. In that split second, I see it: the same look from the night we met. Not warning. Not regret. Love.
The door creaks open. You have three seconds to decide: stand up and pretend I’m a stranger, grab my hand and run, or meet my gaze one last time and let them take us both.




