At some point, the apartment stopped feeling like a home.
Isaac moved through its silent rooms like a ghost, touching nothing, speaking to no one.
Days merged into nights, and the hours blurred together.
Every meal was left untouched, every knock at her door went unanswered.
Every muffled sob that leaked through the walls, each one was a needle in his chest.
He had tried to help her, to protect her, to keep her safe, but now he knew that was impossible all along.
The words of the stalker haunted him.
– I did it all for you… we can be happy now… you'll finally see me
He remembered the twisted smile, the way she claimed to love him even as she ruined the life of the person most important to him.
Every detail he recalled made his stomach twist and bile rise in his throat.
He had defended Aria, yes, but he had also failed to act when it mattered.
He had hit the stalker in a moment of rage, and yet he had walked away without managing to clear up even a single one of the accusations against Aria.
'If I'd said something sooner… If I'd listened to myself back then…'
Each regret cut into him like a knife; everything felt like his fault.
He had been her safe place, her lifeline, and now? He was nothing but the reason for her pain.
Bzzt–!
A notification came from his phone, and his chest sank.
Isaac had been avoiding his phone, ignoring every message of pity and worry sent his way.
But he couldn't pull his eyes away from his screen as he read the notification.
It was a message from the college group chat.
He opened his phone cautiously.
In the group chat, there were photos and a video, all tagged with Aria's name; the intent was clear.
Although the video was blurry, it was clearly someone with a similar appearance to Aria sitting on someone's lap, kissing.
The video appeared to have been recorded secretly, from angles that hid the person filming, but it was enough.
"Fuck!"
A scream echoed throughout the apartment.
– Ahhhhh—!
Her voice was raw, fractured and terror-stricken.
He ran to her door.
Knock knock
"Aria? Please… talk to me. I'm here."
– I'm sorry… It wasn't me… I'm sorry… I didn't do it…
"I'm here for you, okay? I'm on your side."
Her sobs made his chest tighten painfully.
He knocked gently, then louder, until he heard her phone vibrate through the door.
Vrrrrrr… Vrrrr…..
– Noooo!!!!
Aria's sobbing grew louder as the phone continued ringing.
Vrrrr…
– I can't do it! Why me? Why…? What did I do?
He wanted to help her, he was desperate to fix everything… but how?
Vrrrr… Vrrr…
This time, his phone rang.
He looked at the name and quietly backed away from her door, back into his room, before answering.
"Listen, sir, it wasn't her. She hasn't left her room in weeks."
– [Hello…?]
It was a woman's voice.
– [It's Aria's mother… I heard from my husband that you were living with Aria…]
"Yes, I am."
– [Would it be possible for you to put my daughter on the phone, please…? She won't answer me.]
"I'm sorry, but that seems unlikely…"
– [Then could I ask you to pass a message on to her?]
"...I'll try my best."
– [Her father is coming over. She'll be coming home with us. We'll cover this month's rent, so please be prepared to move out next month. I'm sorry, Isaac.]
"...Right."
– [Thank you.]
Click
'For fuck sake...'
Isaac sank against the wall, his hands clutching his hair as if trying to tear the guilt from his mind.
Every choice he had made, every misstep, every second he hadn't acted, all of it had led here.
Knock knock
"Aria… I just got off the phone with your mother…"
Clatter!
"She told me to tell you that your father is coming over… and that he's taking you home…"
– Noooooo!!!!
He sank to the floor, his voice breaking.
"...I found out who did all of this," he whispered, pressing his knees to his chest. "It was the girl… the stalker. I'm so sorry. It's my fault…"
A heavy silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity.
– It's… your fault…?
"...Yes," he murmured, his voice breaking.
– Why…?
He tried to explain, to justify, to make it right, but every word felt hollow.
Tears streamed down his face, his apologies tumbled out, but they didn't reach her.
She remained behind her locked door, the distance between them increasing as her trust frayed with each passing second.
Isaac stood slowly, weighed down by the helplessness in his chest, and sank onto the sofa.
The front door opened, and heavy footsteps were heard.
Aria's father ignored Isaac entirely, walking past and knocking on her door.
The next moments passed in a blur.
The man ignored Isaac and knocked on Aria's door.
"Aria, it's me. You need to come home."
– …
"Please," he said gently.
– …No.
Her voice was thin, lacking the small spark of defiance it had once held.
"I'm sorry, but you have to," her father insisted.
– …I didn't do it.
"If you don't come out, I'll have to open the door myself."
– …It wasn't me.
"Alright then…"
Click
The screwdriver clicked in the lock, and the door swung open.
There in the dimly lit room was Aria, her body small and broken, a bedsheet draped over her trembling shoulders.
"Aria, we're going home," Her father said, stepping closer.
"No…" she whispered, and for a brief, defiant moment, she lifted her arms and tried to push back.
Her voice was hoarse from crying, and her arms held marks revealing the trauma she had endured, the same type that the girl who had caused all of this had.
Her voice quivered, strong for just a moment.
"I… I don't want—"
Then she saw Isaac, his eyes red and swollen, filled with guilt and pleading, and he told her everything.
The fight drained from her, and she slumped against the bed, allowing herself to be picked up.
Isaac's chest tightened, every ounce of air seeming to vanish.
He had failed her, he had wanted to protect her, yet he was unable, and now she was surrendering, not because she trusted her father, but because she could no longer trust him.
As Aria was lifted from the bed, their eyes met one last time.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice breaking.
She didn't respond; she didn't meet his gaze.
She just bit her lip, tears streaming silently, allowing herself to be carried away.
Like that, Aria and her father left, leaving Isaac alone.
The apartment felt emptier than ever.
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
Weeks passed, Isaac barely moved from his room.
The apartment felt hollow, empty.
Every notification from his phone made him flinch.
He had quit modelling, he skipped classes, and he barely ate.
Every day was a minefield of imagined consequences.
Every time he tried to act, even to check on Aria, he froze, afraid his actions would only make everything worse.
The stalker's words played on a loop:
– I did it all for you… we'll be happy now… you'll finally see me…
Isaac began to second-guess everything.
'Should I leave the apartment today? No, what if she comes over and thinks I've abandoned her?'
'Should I read this text? No, what if it's another accusation?'
'Should I contact her parents? No, what if I make her feel worse?'
Paralysed by guilt, he spiralled further.
Vrrr…
His phone buzzed.
It was an unfamiliar number, but Isaac knew who it was, so he unlocked his phone, blocked the number, and then put his phone back down.
Knock knock knock!
He didn't even bother getting up from his seat.
It had been this way for a while.
Ever since she had confirmed that Aria was no longer around, the girl who had confessed to him had been messaging, calling and even coming to his apartment.
Isaac wiped his face with his hands.
'Why is this happening?' He couldn't help but ask himself.
Only a couple of months ago, everything had been going well; both he and Aria had been truly happy together, rarely involving themselves with others, but were still satisfied with their lives together.
Now, everything had been ruined.
Aria's entire life had been destroyed; she had been taken back to live with her parents, and Isaac had been left alone, left with the idea that it was all his fault.
'I'm tired…'
He made his way back towards his bedroom and collapsed onto the bed, closing his eyes…
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
And then, late one night…
Vrrrrrrr… Vrrrrr…
A notification.
Isaac rubbed his eyes as he picked up his phone.
As he unlocked his phone, his hands shook; the messages scrolled before his eyes.
– [Aria: It's all your fault.] [21:01]
– [Aria: I trusted you.] [21:01]
– [Aria: You ruined my life.] [21:02]
– [Aria: The other night I heard my parents talking. They were talking about what to do with me.] [21:02]
– [Aria: They still don't believe me.] [21:04]
– [Aria: Nobody believes me.] [21:06]
The room spun, and he could barely breathe.
Each message hammered into him.
There was a twenty-minute gap between the first set and the next stream of messages.
– [Aria: I enjoyed living with you, you were my best friend.] [21:29]
– [Aria: I even gave you my body, that was how much I trusted you.] [21:30]
– [Aria: You betrayed that trust.] [21:30]
Another gap.
– [Aria: It hurts.] [21:47]
– [Aria: I can't deal with this anymore.] [21:47]
– [Aria: I'm sorry.] [21:48]
That was the final message.
Her final words crashed over him, and Isaac's heart stopped.
His chest tightened as his eyes burned.
The hands gripping the phone were shaking so violently that it almost slipped from his grip.
His mind refused to accept it.
Aria wasn't the type of person to give up.
She wasn't the type to leave.
And yet he couldn't shake off the unspeakable dread that crept throughout his body.
Every misstep, every hesitation, every act of inaction, all of it had destroyed the one person who had saved him, trusted him.
Vrrr… vrrrr…
His phone continued ringing, but he ignored it and fell back onto his bed.
'This can't be real.'
He reread the chat logs over and over again in denial, but at the end of the day, there was only one conclusion he could reach from the messages on his screen.
He had survived, she hadn't.
'It's all my fault.'
He truly believed her words.
'If only I had said something different to that girl.'
'If only I had quit modelling sooner.'
'If only I had said something more when Aria had been accused.'
'If only I had tried reaching out more.'
The survivor's guilt began to consume him, utterly.
[Isaac: I'm sorry.] [01.29]
He sent a text to Aria, hoping she would answer, but even after hours had passed, not even a single sound had come from his phone.
His world collapsed around him, and all he could feel, all he could think, was guilt.
Isaac didn't move.
The phone slipped from his trembling hands, clattering to the floor, the messages glowed faintly on the screen.
The words Aria had sent were final, undeniable; he couldn't erase them, ever.
He curled into himself on the bed, knees drawn to his chest, rocking slightly.
The apartment felt colder than it ever had before.
Shadows stretched across the walls, twisted by the dim light of his phone screen.
Every corner of the room seemed to whisper blame, echoing the words he couldn't escape: It's your fault. You ruined everything. You failed her.
Days passed, or maybe hours, he didn't know.
He didn't eat, he didn't sleep, he didn't move, he only remembered the way her face had looked in his mind; hollow, fragile and beaten down by everyone around her.
Every action now felt like an impossibility for Isaac.
To answer a call, to leave the apartment, to speak, everything had become a potential disaster.
Every decision might make someone else hurt, might undo the last remnants of sanity he was clinging to.
The stalker's words still lingered, still haunted him.
– I did it all for you… you'll finally see me.
And now Aria was gone.
He couldn't stop replaying the messages in his mind.
Vrrr
His phone buzzed, a notification from Aria's father, but he didn't dare look.
His finger hovered over it, frozen, imagining that pressing it might create a new problem.
He remembered her voice: weak, trembling and insisting,
– I didn't do it.
And the final words from the messages,
– [Aria: I can't deal with this anymore.] [21:47]
– [Aria: I'm sorry.] [21:48]
The guilt pressed in from all sides, inescapable.
Survivor's guilt, the kind that ate him from the inside, leaving only the raw, jagged edges of regret.
He whispered into the darkness, words meant for no one.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, Aria."
The apartment remained silent, with only the faint hum of the refrigerator audible.
And Isaac knew, with sickening clarity, that nothing would ever be the same, not college, not his home, not even himself.
He would move, he would exist, but always in the shadow of the girl he had failed, the girl whose trust had been broken.
————「❤︎」————