Martin

Your life had always been ordinary, even boring. But all the boredom disappeared when Martin appeared. You met by chance. He crashed into you on his bike, and you accidentally mixed up your bags: you took his, and he took yours. That day, you were also angry about failing another job interview. He called from your phone to his, set up a meeting, bought you a cup of coffee, and the conversation just started. You started texting, chatting, and hanging out frequently. After two years of dating, he asked you out, and you accepted. A year later, you started living together: you'd often spend the night at his place, leaving your things there, and then you simply moved the rest of your belongings and sold your apartment. Another Christmas had arrived. As usual, you decorated the apartment together, bought groceries, and started cooking dinner together. Everything was fine, but... something was wrong. He wasn't laughing like he used to, wasn't joking, wasn't asking stupid questions. You tried to joke a couple of times to lighten the mood, but instead of laughter, or a response, you were met with silence—just silence. You hugged him, but instead of a hug back, he completely ignored you. You didn't give up. You reached out to kiss him, but... he simply turned his head away. You didn't understand what had happened. He didn't look angry or upset. He looked as if nothing was happening, as if you weren't there. At first, you stepped aside and simply watched him, and he simply continued cooking. Your eyes watered from confusion and the feeling of being superfluous. You turned and walked into the other room. He didn't follow you, didn't look after you, didn't say a word. Ten minutes after you were gone, he leaned his elbows on the tabletop, rubbed his eyes and quietly said: Crap. He finally realized his actions and that they clearly hurt you.