Christine paced outside the dorm authority office, her heart racing. She had to get out of that room. She had to get away from Lara, and this was the only way. After the horrifying confrontation last night, Christine couldn’t bear another minute in that shared space. She needed peace—space to think and breathe without the weight of Lara’s suffocating presence.

She had spent the night crashing on Kate’s couch, her mind too clouded with everything that had happened. The tears, the slaps, the words exchanged—it was all too much. But Kate had been there, no questions asked, offering comfort without judgment.

“I’m going to get my room changed,” Christine had told Kate in the morning, her voice hoarse from crying.

Kate looked at her with understanding, her eyes full of concern. “I’ll help you. Don’t worry. My mom has connections, she’ll sort it out for you.”

Kate’s mom was the president of Princeton University and had strong ties with the higher-ups at the University of Michigan. It was a lifeline Christine hadn’t even thought of, but Kate was quick to offer her assistance. Christine didn’t argue. She was beyond grateful.

Kate had made the call, and within hours, Christine was assigned a single room in the same dorm building, just next door to Kate. Finally, the suffocating weight in Christine’s chest began to lift. She was going to be free.

By the afternoon, the dorm authorities had finished preparing her new room. The keys jingled in her hand as she and Kate made their way down the hallway toward her old room, the one she had shared with Lara.

Christine hesitated outside the door, her hand trembling slightly on the knob. She wasn’t sure what to expect. Would Lara be inside? Would there be another confrontation? She wasn’t ready for that—not yet.

Kate placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I’ll help you get your things. Don’t worry, we’ll be quick.”

Christine nodded, grateful for Kate’s support. She didn’t want to talk about Lara. Didn’t want to explain the mess her relationship with her had become. Kate, thankfully, didn’t push. She just stayed by Christine’s side, calm and steady.

To Christine’s immense relief, the room was empty when they stepped inside. Lara wasn’t there. They worked quickly, packing Christine’s belongings into boxes and bags, not wanting to linger in the space any longer than necessary. The tension in the room was palpable, even in Lara’s absence. It clung to the air, making Christine’s skin crawl.

As they finished gathering the last of her things, Christine stood in the center of the room for a moment, looking around. This place had once been a refuge—a place where she thought she could focus on her studies, make memories, live her life. Now, it felt like a prison.

She took one last glance at the room, a bitter feeling settling in her chest. She was finally free. Maybe.

With a sigh, Christine turned and followed Kate out, closing the door behind her for the last time.

Lara returned to the room that evening, a sense of unease crawling under her skin. Something was wrong. The moment she stepped inside, her eyes swept across the space, and her heart dropped.

Christine’s things were gone.

All of them.

Her side of the room was empty, stripped bare. Lara felt a surge of panic rise in her chest. This wasn’t happening. Christine couldn’t have left her. She wouldn’t.

She couldn’t go home. With the pandemic still gripping the world, it wasn’t even an option.

Lara’s hands trembled as she fumbled for her phone, dialing Christine's number but it was switched off. She dialled the dorm authority. The woman on the other end was polite, but the information hit Lara like a punch to the gut.

Christine had changed rooms.

No. No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening.

Lara paced back and forth in the room, her thoughts spiraling. Christine couldn’t leave her. She couldn’t just abandon her. They were meant to be together. How could she run away like this? After everything they’d been through—after all Lara had done for her?

She felt the walls closing in, her breathing becoming shallow and erratic.  She was stuck here, stuck in this room, and now Christine was gone.

No. This wasn’t over. It couldn’t be over.

Lara’s mind raced, her thoughts growing darker and more desperate by the second. She had to get Christine back. She had to make her see reason. Christine didn’t understand. She was confused. But Lara knew—Lara always knew what was best for them. Christine would see that eventually.

Night fell, and Lara found herself standing outside Christine’s new room, her fists clenched tightly at her sides. The door was closed, but Lara wasn’t deterred. She pounded on it with both hands, her heart racing, her mind a chaotic storm.

“Christine!” she shouted, her voice echoing down the empty hallway. “Open the door! Please!”

There was no response from inside, only the faint sound of footsteps from other rooms in the distance. Lara’s breath came in ragged gasps as she continued to bang on the door, her knuckles bruising from the force.

“You can’t do this!” she screamed, her voice cracking. “You can’t leave me! You said we’d be together! You said we’d always be friends!”

Inside the room, Christine sat on the edge of her bed, her heart pounding in her chest. She had blocked Lara on every social media platform, turned off her phone, and locked herself away in this new space, but still, she could hear Lara’s desperate cries through the door.

The banging grew more frantic, and Christine flinched with each hit. She wanted to curl up and disappear. She wanted to pretend that none of this was happening, but it was. And she didn’t know what to do.

Lara’s voice grew more desperate, more unhinged. “Christine! I’m having a heart attack! Please, open the door! I need you!”

Christine squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the sound. It was a lie, a manipulation. She knew that. But it still hurt to hear.

“You can’t just leave me like this!” Lara screamed, her voice breaking. “I’ll die! Do you hear me? I’ll die without you!”

Christine felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes, but she didn’t move. She couldn’t. This was the right thing to do. She couldn’t let Lara keep manipulating her, keep dragging her down into this pit of despair.

Lara banged on the door again, her fists pounding harder than before. “You can’t hide from me! You can’t just shut me out! I’ll never stop, Christine! I’ll never leave you!”

For hours, the banging and shouting continued, Lara’s voice growing more and more frantic. Christine felt like she was being torn apart from the inside, the weight of Lara’s obsession pressing down on her, making it hard to breathe.

Finally, in the early hours of the morning, the noise stopped. Lara’s voice faded into silence. Christine didn’t dare open the door. She sat there, in the darkness, trying to process everything that had happened.

She was free now.

Wasn’t she?

The relief she had felt earlier was slipping away, replaced by a gnawing sense of dread. Lara wasn’t going to stop. She wasn’t going to give up. Christine knew that now. But she couldn’t go back. She couldn’t let herself fall into that trap again.

With a shaky breath, Christine curled up on her bed, pulling the blankets tight around herself. She had made her choice. Now she just had to live with it.