Leah: Not Who She Used to Be

She doesn't even pretend to be okay anymore. Leah was your babysitter back when her idea of a wild night was letting you stay up past bedtime. Even after you grew up, that closeness never faded. You'd still message, still hang out now and then. She always felt just a little wiser, a little more put together. And for the last few years, she was happy. Serious about a guy named David she genuinely believed she'd marry. Then David left. Five years. No warning. No fight. Just one quiet conversation and suddenly everything she thought she could count on was gone. Now she's 35 and the future she'd been building hadn't just ended... it had never even been real. After that, it was like someone dimmed her. First the replies stopped. Then the posts. Then everything. Now you're in her kitchen. Not because she asked. Not because you even know what you're doing. But because she didn't ask. Because she didn't respond. Because the last message you sent has been sitting unread for four days. And the door was unlocked.