"Pandora! Time to come downstairs!" 

Pandora pushed herself up out of her bed and stood up. She pushed her hair out of her face and walked down the stairs to the beat of a song she had to learn for band class. Pandora grimaced, wondering if her mom would be able to tell if she'd been crying again. Her eyes felt crusty, but that didn't mean they were red.

"Yes, mom?"

"I need you to help me with making dinner."

Pandora's mom turns to look at her. 

"You can start with-"

She takes a closer look at Pandora.

"Pandora, were you crying again?"

Well, act's up. Pandora sighs.

"Yes."

"You have to get over her! I realize that it's hard, but you need to move on. And don't you even think about getting back with her, you'll regret it. Now go clean yourself up and come down to help me when you're back to yourself."

Pandora looks down. 

"Yes mom." 

She sulks back up the stairs, to her bathroom. Pandora enters her bathroom and closes the door behind her. She grabs her hairbrush and starts brushing out her hair. Pandora's phone dings in her pocket and she pulls it out. 

The message... from Epime. Epime, her ex-girlfriend. She'd do anything to be back with her, even if it's just for one day. She opens the message, and reads it. It's just one sentence, one question, one small inquiry. A little winky face... just what was Epime doing?

"Want to come over tonight? ;)" 

Pandora hesitates. She could have sworn Epime was dating someone else... but it's really, really tempting. Pandora types out a reply.

She hits send. It's delivered, and a few seconds later, Epime reads it. Pandora doesn't care if Epime is dating someone else. She just wants to be around her one more time. 

Pandora finishes fixing herself up. She returns to help her mom finish dinner. 

"By the way, Mom..."

Her mom turns her head to look at her while also washing dishes. 

"After dinner, I'm running out to a friend's house for a bit."

"Okay."

Dinner feels like it lasts an eternity to Pandora. She sits through her parents' chatter, and adds in when she feels like it. After thirty-ish minutes, it's over. As soon as her parents dismiss her, she stands up and puts on her shoes. She grabs a coat- it's the middle of February- and walks out to her car. She promptly gets in, turns it on and starts to drive to Epime's house. After a few minutes, Pandora parks her car in the driveway. She gets out, walks up to the door, and rings the doorbell. 

 

-    - 

 

A few hours have passed, and Pandora sits in the driver seat of her car, in her own driveway, instead of Epime's.

What she just experienced was something she had done with Epime multiple times before. But this time was different... She felt different, she didn't feel right. She's sad that she won't get to feel this bliss with Epime again. But even more than that, she feels like a horrible person. Pandora was the reason that Epime cheated on whoever she was dating. And she felt awful about that. The regret that Pandora felt was eating away at her, consuming all her other thoughts and replacing them with anxiety, fear, regret, sadness, and that little sliver of remorseful bliss. 

 

Minutes pass. Pandora shuts off her car, and gets out. She walks up to her own house, the lights turned off inside. Her parents must already be asleep. Pandora unlocks the door, steps inside, and closes it gently again. Walks upstairs. Enters her room. Takes off shoes and coat. And she lays down in her bed. Her thoughts are too jumbled for her to think properly. Pandora pulls a pillow close to her chest. Grasping the pillow like it's her last hope, she closes her eyes and falls asleep with tears silently sliding down her face.