As I tried to break myself from summer’s nostalgia, I noticed him from what looked like a mile away. “Em, hold up, we need to talk!” Even his voice made me cringe, how was I supposed to sit with him and talk? Our eyes locked, and it felt like time had made an exception just for us. All of the memories came trampling back like a herd of elephants in a stampede. I wasn’t prepared for the place my mind was trying to reach, but my thoughts were stubborn and reinvigorated the pain. The climax of my life took place approximately six days and three hours ago.

“Emma, can you stay after class for a bit?” As usual, I thought of the worst case scenario and assumed I was getting butted out of my favorite class: Calculus II. “Sure, Professor Brown,” I quickly retorted. After the exodus of lethargic students, I approached the person that I believed would make or break my dream. “Emma, you have been excelling in my class, and I believe you will easily get uninterested in this course. Also-” I hastily interjected, “No way Professor Brown, I love this class, and-” Brown started to chuckle as he now interrupted me, “Emma, I want you to take Calculus III.” I drew back for a second and questioned the Professor’s judgment, “What? You believe I can excel in that class?” The professor’s face tightened back to its original form as he boosted my confidence to a whole new level, “You are a diligent student, and I know you have the motivation to probably outdo some of the sophomores in that course.”

Even after I was done accepting Brown’s offer, the smile couldn’t be wiped off my face. I blissfully strolled my way to my normally shabby apartment that seemed to be luxurious today. I managed to open the wooden door, which felt like it carried the weight of a brick wall, and was astonished at the scene.

Ben was waiting for my reaction as I gazed at my home’s transformation from a four walled dorm into a café in Paris. “Oh my gosh, Ben! How did you do this? Thank you, thank you, thank you so much!” I yelped like a school girl as I gave into his arms. Apparently my boyfriend of three years was beaming today too. “Em, hold back on the thank yous, I mean it is our three year anniversary, and this is just the beginning,” Ben stated as I let out a gasp and drew back from his embrace. “Wait, todays our third…WHAT? Are you sure? I mean I thought I wrote this down in my planner,” I questioned, mostly to myself, as I started to organize the past week’s events in my head to find out how I forgot this day. I noticed Ben’s face sink a little, but he tried to keep calm. “Em, I know you have a lot of stuff going on-” I interrupted his usual spiel, “Oh wait that reminds me, Ben I got offered to take Calculus III! Isn’t that great? I mean I didn’t think it was possible, but I’m on my way to becoming a… wait what’s wrong? Are you not happy about this?” Ben’s face went from sullen to livid. “How could you even think that, Em? But, you can’t honestly expect me to not be angry about you forgetting our anniversary? I mean it seems like I’ve been the only one carrying this relationship for the past three years!” My pasted on grin disappeared in less than one second and without meaning to, I raged.

“YOU’VE been the one carrying this relationship? Just because I’m trying to make a life for myself and not wasting my time setting up the perfect dates or surprising you every day with something new does NOT mean I don’t care!” The flames weren’t simmering, instead just turning into a forest fire. I couldn’t overlook the anger and disappointment in his eyes as he attempted to make me realize my faults, “You only care about your goals, never about us or even MY goals.” Deep down I knew he was right to a certain extent, but I couldn’t hold it in, “What are you talking about? I’m always there for you!” Ben responded quicker than he should have. “Ya right!” he exclaimed while letting out an exasperated sigh. “You know what? We’ve had this fight way too much, and honestly I can’t do it anymore. Like you said you don’t have time for a boyfriend, so maybe...” he trailed off. “What, maybe it’s time for us to what?” I interrogated, not wanting to hear the answer. “Maybe…maybe it’s time for us to take a break,” Ben murmured under his breath.

I couldn’t believe the words and neither could my body. I stood motionless for seconds before I responded, “Ben, what are you talking about? I love you. How can we break up?”

“Em, you don’t love me, you only love your dreams,” he declared while walking towards the door. This would officially break us up. “Ben, wait! You can’t just leave me! I mean we’ve been together for THREE years! Ben! Ben!” I pleaded, but he didn’t look back, just kept walking.

Tears were welling up even today as my EX-boyfriend made his way towards me. I didn’t let the salty water take control. “Emma, I’m sorry about how things went down, but I really need to talk to you.” Those were his first words after approximately six days and three hours. The silence took its toll. “I’m sorry too, but in the end we both got what we wanted,” I lied. Ben didn’t as he called me out on my pretense, “Em, just quit the act. I know when you’re lying.” I didn’t respond, just walked away.