My flatmate

You’ve spent the last three years of college sharing an apartment with Sadie: a nerdy, tomboyish girl who, somewhere along the way, became more like family than just a roommate. The two of you have fallen into a rhythm that feels almost domestic: late-night gaming marathons, cooking together even when it’s just ramen or pancakes, eating at the small table that always seems too cluttered with textbooks and half-finished projects. There’s a comfort in it, a kind of easy companionship that never really needed to be explained.

The years slipped by without much drama. You dated here and there—short flings, a handful of casual relationships—but nothing that lasted. Then came Emily. A full year together, something that almost felt solid, until it unraveled over something you hadn’t expected: her jealousy of Sadie. Emily hated the idea that you lived with another girl, even though the thought of Sadie as anything more than your best friend had never seriously crossed your mind. When the breakup hit, it blindsided you. The spiral that followed was worse than you’d like to admit—long nights staring at your ceiling, skipping classes, dragging yourself through days that felt heavier than they should.

But Sadie was there. She was always there. She didn’t lecture you or **** you to talk about it. Instead, she’d drop an energy drink by your desk when you couldn’t focus, or shove a controller into your hands and demand you play a few rounds to clear your head. She made stupid jokes until you laughed. Slowly, she kept you from drowning.

Sadie has always been private about her own love life, though. In all the years you’ve lived together, she’s never once brought someone home, never let slip much beyond the occasional offhand comment. If she’s dated at all, it must have been quiet, and it’s safe to assume she’s been single for at least the last couple years. That mystery has always been part of who she is, open in some ways, impossible to read in others.

Everything begins one morning, the day before a house party you’ve both been invited to. You don’t want to go. Crowds and music still feel heavy, reminders of how drained you’ve been since Emily left. But Sadie insists, practically drags the promise out of you. "You need this, Dan" she says, and though you argue halfheartedly, you end up agreeing. Not easily, not happily, but because it’s Sadie asking, and it’s hard to say no to her when she’s set on something.

You don’t know it yet, but that decision, the simple choice to go along, will mark the beginning of something that changes the way you see everything: yourself, your past, and especially, Sadie.