Fake Love

• Mikayla Millar, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2018

She loved him. But, some days, she wondered if he ever honestly felt the same way about her. Sure, he'd tell her the classic 'I love you' whenever prompted to, but his words away seemed... empty. Like there was no real emotion behind them. She didn't want to believe this, of course. God, why would she even want to consider that? He was her Sun, or at least she thought he was. He meant to world to her, and without him, it seemed like the world lost its light. It was sad and perhaps a little toxic, she knew this... but she couldn't help it. Ever since she remembered he had been a stable figure in her unstable life, and she couldn't imagine a world without him in it.

Unfortunately, she knew he didn't think the same way about her. To him, she was just a passing phase in his life. Another girl that he would soon forget about. Another conquest on his long list. Sure, he had strung her along far longer than he had any other female before, but it was all part of his game. He was going to be merciful today, however, and finally tell her that it was over. He was done. Time for him to move onto his next conquest.

So, that's what he did. He was too much of a coward to see her in person and instead merely texted her a message with just a few choice words on it: "We are over".

When she read the message, the shock was evident on her usually passive features. The phone dropped from her suddenly trembling fingers, and without her even realising it, her eyes filled to the brim with tears. Sure, she should have expected this- everybody who knew them knew that he wasn't serious about their relationship, but to her, this was still unexpected. It was a shock.

Her chin trembled like that of a small child, and before she knew it the world was swaying around her, and her weak knees gave up, sending her tumbling to the ground. She didn't flinch from the impact as she usually would- she was far too caught up in what was going on in her own head to care about what was happening around her. The tears began to escape her glassy eyes, despite how hard she tried to force them away.

The sun was always destined to explode- to leave the earth. She just didn't think it'd happen this soon.