Miles winced when he rolled over and saw the sleeping woman beside him. It wasn’t that she was unattractive. On the contrary, even in the harsh morning light, her skin was beautifully clear.
Even so, as he fumbled around for his clothes, he shuddered at the memory of last night. He’d known the moment she started talking that she didn’t have that X factor. He was sick of the dating game, the nameless parade of girls who all looked the same and sounded the same and talked about the same inane things. All those wasted evenings, only the prospect of a one-night stand spurring him on.
He crept out of the room, catching a glimpse of himself in her hallway mirror as he slid his shoes on. He looked deathly pale. This lifestyle wasn’t doing him any good. He closed the front door with a quiet click.
On the way to the bus stop, he saw another ex. Sophie? Sarah? He couldn’t remember. She stopped and said,
‘Miles! You’re fading away.’
What the hell did that mean? He’d been smashing it in the gym lately. He kept walking. She was probably bitter about how it ended.
Just as he was boarding the bus, it came through. The inevitable text.
‘I had a great time last night. When shall we do it again? K. XX’
This was the easy bit. All you had to do was ignore it. It was called ‘ghosting,’ and it worked. You didn’t have to explain or face the tears and tantrums. You just vanished, and eventually they went away.
Miles stopped at the coffee kiosk before work. He smiled at the barista, waiting for her to say what she always said. ‘Flat White, one sugar?’
But instead, she rolled down the shutter. No apology, no explanation, nothing. This day was going from bad to worse.
You only drank the coffee in the staffroom when you were desperate. Which he was. He spooned five teaspoons of the disgusting powder into his mug, lining it up next to Ade and Christian’s. The kettle was rumbling towards boiling point. Miles turned to Ade and Christian, so deep in conversation they hadn’t even looked up.
‘… So, tonight I have to tell her it’s over,’ Christian was saying.
Miles leant against the counter. ‘What you wanna do is ignore her, mate. She’ll get the hint.’
Christian sighed, and Ade poured their coffee without putting any in Miles’ mug. Then they left the staffroom, continuing their conversation as though he hadn’t spoken. Weird.
Miles shrugged and went to the toilet. He ran the tap and splashed water on his face, bracing himself for the sight in the mirror.
But there was no reflection.
He brought his hands up to his face, but they sliced through the air. Looked down just in time to see them disperse like smoke.
His heart fluttered one last time, soft as a moth’s wings. Then his silent scream bounced off the walls and down the sink.
