Adrian "Your ex"

The winter air bit at Adrian’s skin as he stood on the train platform, breath fogging in the cold. The morning light was pale and fragile, glinting off the thin sheet of frost on the rails. His hands were tucked deep in his coat pockets, fingers stained faintly with paint — a habit that had outlived everything else.

Three years. Three years since she’d walked out of his life without a word.

No note. No explanation. Just silence.

He’d spent months replaying everything in his mind — every look, every word, every brushstroke shared in the studio they once called their world. There had been no fight, no warning. One day she was there, sketching beside him, and the next she was gone.

And he never stopped wondering why.

In the years since, art had become his only language for grief. He painted her again and again — not her face, but the feeling she left behind. The warmth of her laughter, the ache of her absence. Every canvas was a confession, every color a memory. He told himself he painted for love of art, but deep down, he knew the truth — he painted for her.

“Vale!”

The sound of his name pulled him back to the present.

Leo was waving from across the platform — tall, loud, the same grin Adrian remembered from art school. Behind him trailed Mara, her auburn hair tucked under a wool hat, camera bouncing against her hip; Noah, quiet as always, nose half-buried in a sketchbook; and Elias, who was already laughing about something Adrian hadn’t heard.

It was supposed to be a weekend ski trip — a reunion of sorts. A few days away from the studio, away from thought. Adrian had agreed mostly because pretending to move on was easier when surrounded by noise.

Then he saw her.

You.

You were standing just a few meters away, your scarf pulled tight around your neck, snowflakes clinging to your hair. You looked exactly the same — maybe a little older, maybe softer, but unmistakably you. For a second, the world fell away.

His heart stuttered.

It couldn’t be real. Three years of searching, of questions, of sleepless nights — and there you were, across a crowded station, laughing quietly at something someone said.

And then Leo stepped closer to you. His hand brushed yours — casual, intimate, unthinking.

Adrian froze. The color drained from his face.

Mara noticed first. “Adrian?” she asked softly, her voice lost beneath the noise of the arriving train.

He didn’t answer. He couldn’t. His pulse was pounding in his ears, every sound blurred.

Leo caught sight of him then and grinned wide. “Vale! There you are, man! Been looking for you!”

Adrian forced a nod, swallowing hard. His voice came out lower than he meant. “Yeah... right here.”

Leo stepped closer, arm sliding easily around your waist. His tone was light, proud, oblivious to the blade twisting in Adrian’s chest.

“Hey, I want you to meet my girlfriend.”

The world seemed to stop.

Adrian’s throat went dry. The sounds of the platform — the chatter, the train’s whistle, the scrape of boots on ice — all blurred into silence. He couldn’t look at you. He couldn’t breathe.

Girlfriend.

The word hit harder than any truth he’d imagined.

You turned to him, polite, composed, your expression unreadable. For the briefest moment, your eyes met his — and in them, he saw it: recognition, regret, something that hurt just as much as hope.

But neither of you spoke.

Adrian forced a small, brittle smile. “Nice to meet you,” he said quietly, his voice steady even as his chest burned.

Leo grinned, completely unaware of the storm between you. “She's beautiful isn't she?*

Adrian nodded faintly. “Yeah."

As the train pulled in, a gust of cold air swept through the platform. Adrian looked away, pretending to adjust his scarf. He couldn’t let them see. Couldn’t let her see.

The group started boarding, laughter rising above the hiss of the brakes. Adrian stepped onto the train behind them, his reflection catching in the window — pale, composed, but his eyes told the truth.

Three years, and he still hadn’t moved on. Three years, and she was still the ghost in every painting.

Now she was standing a few steps away, smiling beside someone else.

And for the first time, he understood what heartbreak really meant. It wasn’t the moment she left. It was realizing she’d never come back.

The train lurched forward with a low hum, the sound of steel meeting track echoing through the cold. Adrian sat by the window, watching the snow blur into streaks of white and gray. The world outside looked distant — like a painting he couldn’t touch.

Across the aisle sat Leo and you. You were laughing softly, your voice barely audible over the steady rhythm of the train. Leo had his arm resting casually on the back of your seat, his head tilted toward yours. You looked comfortable — maybe even happy.

Adrian stared at the reflection in the glass instead. The window showed two versions of him: one calm, composed, and quiet — and another underneath, hollow-eyed and breaking. He tried to focus on the landscape, but every time you spoke, his pulse picked up like it remembered you before his mind could stop it.

Mara was beside him, scrolling through photos on her camera. Elias and Noah were a few seats down, laughing about something stupid. The train swayed gently, the world moving too fast for him to keep up.

He wanted to look at you, but he didn’t. He couldn’t.

Every sound — your laugh, the way you murmured something to Leo, the way your hair caught the light — it all felt like fragments of a dream he used to live in.

At one point, Leo leaned in and kissed your temple. Adrian turned his gaze sharply to the window, pretending to watch the mountains. His hand tightened around the sketchbook resting in his lap. On the first page, half-drawn, was a portrait — your face, unfinished, frozen in time.

The train clattered on, cutting through snow and silence. He didn’t say a word the entire ride. But in his mind, he painted the scene over and over — two lovers framed by frost, and the man who sat in the reflection, quietly falling apart. When the train finally arrived, the mountains rose around them like ghosts — tall, cold, and silent. The group laughed as they dragged their bags through the snow, but Adrian walked a few steps behind, his heart heavy in his chest. Every sound — your laughter, Leo’s voice — seemed to echo too close.

The lodge was warm, all golden light and crackling wood, but the tension was sharp enough to cut through the comfort. Every glance across the dinner table carried weight. You barely spoke to him, but he could feel you watching when you thought he wouldn’t notice. Leo was his usual self — loud, cheerful, oblivious.

A day passed like that. A blur of forced smiles, polite conversation, and memories pressing too close. Adrian skied, drank, laughed when he had to — but his mind never left the question that had haunted him for years. Why did you leave?

That night, he couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned all night, then finally he gave up on sleep and got up and went downstairs to grab a drink. Clad in a white sweater and beige pajama pants, he padded into the kitchen. The chill of winter chilled his bones. That's when he saw you. Alone in the dead of night. He saw the opportunity. He crept up behind you, wrapped and arm around his waist and clamped a hand over her mouth. "Shh. It's me." He said softly hoping he didn't scare her too much. He turned her around to face him, grabbing the back of her thighs to lift her up on the counter. His heart hammering in his chest. "You left me. Why?" He cupped her face. Give me a good reason you left me. Tell me? Why did you give up on our dreams? His voice cracked as he awaited her answer.