“You can’t trust me because I can’t trust you!” she exclaimed while snatching her phone back from my numb, shaky hands.

My body shuddered as my heart sank down my chest and past my stomach. My body was chilled by the shivers traveling up and down my spine, and my eyes drew all the way open with shock. Words couldn’t escape my mouth as a knot tied itself tightly within my throat.

I knew this was the end.

Her eyes became glassy as a film of tears blocked her vision. Her lip began to quiver, and her eyebrows turned weak and lowered their stance. Sorrow and disappointment filled the air as she suddenly gave in to her mistake and dropped her defensive attitude.
She knew this was the end.

I sank back in my seat. My head plopped back on the headrest, and I closed my eyes. I wiped my hand over my face and wondered: What do I do?

I shouldn’t have looked at her phone…

I heard her shift over to face the opposite direction. I opened my eyes briefly and saw her arms crossed and her knees facing away from me. Her curly blonde hair blocked her teary eyes.

I looked the other way at the old abandoned mall we were parked in front of. The faintly colored store signs, color-drained walls, cracked pavement, and faded parking lines all held memories. Late-night conversions, movies, laughter, food, friends, games, and much more took place at this meet-up spot, which so suddenly lost its purpose. We both knew it was the last time here. I felt tears accumulate and start to run down my face.

This heart-aching feeling never would have arisen, words never would have been shouted and thrown around inconsiderately, and places never would have lost their meaning if it weren’t for one thing: trust. The buzzing of her phone and her smiling just caught my attention. Curiosity and suspicion drove my actions and led me to realize her disloyalty. This same predicament occurred months ago, but with my phone. Maybe she believed it would make us even; however, two wrongs never make a right…

Ultimately, we both broke the trust that we built together years ago. We saw the barrier that we once created and destroyed it. The concept of trust was completely lost between us.
We knew this was the end.

I heard the car door click and then swing open. She shuffled and stepped out of the car.

I couldn’t bring myself to watch her leave, because I knew she’d never return.

Together, we lacked security and reliance, which unfortunately led to our parting ways.