Shifted Weight

Derek pulled up to the curb and killed the engine. Music drifted from the house—something with bass and shouting, the kind of song no one ever actually listens to, just feels. He sat in the driver's seat, fingers curled around the wheel, staring through the windshield like the party might explain itself if he gave it enough time.

It didn't.

He sighed, grabbed his jacket off the passenger seat, and stepped out.

He wasn't here to beg. He wasn't here to yell. He just wanted to end things clean, or at least cleaner than the way they had been left. He deserved that. And maybe Eliza did too.

The front door was open, lights spilling out onto the porch. Inside, the house buzzed with bodies and voices and music too loud for the walls. He moved through it with the uncertain confidence of someone at a party he hadn't been invited to, scanning the crowd for a familiar face.

No Eliza.

He checked the kitchen. The backyard. The hallway where a couple made out with the intensity of a music video. Still no sign of her.

Then he saw him.

Joey.

The kid was unmistakable. Short, skinny, that same mess of brown hair from the apartment. Derek felt the old heat rise in his chest. The memory was sharp: Joey, walking out of Eliza's apartment, wearing Derek's own clothes. It had felt like a slap in the face, the image of him leaving the apartment with her.

But this was different. Eliza wasn't there, but that didn't mean that the kid was alone.

He was surrounded. Girls were draped around him, orbiting him. Laughing too loud at his jokes, leaning in too close, fingers grazing his arm every chance they got. Derek blinked. It didn't make sense.

He watched, stunned, as one girl whispered in Joey's ear and another tucked her hair behind her ear like she was trying to get picked for a game of spin the bottle.

What the hell kind of Twilight Zone nonsense was this?

Joey didn't even seem to notice. Or maybe he was just used to it.

Derek crossed the room.

"Hey," he said, tapping Joey on the shoulder. "You got a minute?"

Joey turned. The girls stiffened, eyes flicking over Derek like they were deciding if he was a threat.

"I'm not here to start anything," Derek said quickly. "I'm Eliza's ex. Just looking for her."

The girls moved in tighter around Joey.

"Eliza?" one of them said, curling her lip. "Why?"

"I just want to talk," Derek responded. "We broke up and..." he paused, trying to think about what to say, feeling more emotional than he had anticipated,"...I just need to say goodbye."

"How long are you going to talk, Sexy?" the Asian girl said, flicking her tongue to Joey's ear. "I'm bored and want you to take me upstairs."

"Me first," the Indian girl said, hugging Joey's knee, "I called dibs."

"Girls, come on, take it easy," Joey said, shaking himself free of the women, who all seemed a little shocked. The whole thing looked insane to Derek. Hot girls practically begging this dork to fuck them? In front of a stranger? None of it made sense.

Joey stepped forward, out of the gaggle of girls.

"Hey I'm sorry about, you know, Eliza," Joey said quietly, "She told me you broke up. She's, uh, not here."

Derek narrowed his eyes. "You two together?"

Joey shrugged. "I care about her. But it's her choice."

"And all this?" He indicated the girls who looked like they were craving Joey's quick return.

"I don't get it either," Joey said, a meek smile on his face. "They're just super into me or something. I don't know."

That answer shouldn't have bothered him, but it did. Derek didn't know this kid. He didn't know his life. He shouldn't even care what was going on in his life, who he was with, what the rules of their relationships were. But Derek couldn't help it. The image of Joey leaving Eliza's apartment kept flashing in his mind over and over and over..

And then, just like that, the rage bubbled up.

It would be so easy. A punch, just one. Knock the kid off his feet. Just for wearing that smug expression. For stealing Eliza. For existing.

But Derek didn't move.

He swallowed the heat. Let it burn on the way down.

"I don't even know why I came," he said finally. "At first, I wanted to deck you. Then I thought maybe I wanted answers. But now?" He exhaled. "I'm just tired."

Joey nodded. "I'm sorry. I think you cared pretty deeply for her."

"I did," Derek said. "I do. But it's over."

Joey looked down for a second. "She seemed pretty set on that."

Despite the din of conversation, the loud thumping music, Derek could feel the silence between them.

"Tell her goodbye, you know, if you see her."

Joey nodded.

Derek turned and walked out of the house. No yelling. No fists. Just the heavy sound of his own steps.

In the car, he sat for a long moment before starting the engine. He didn't feel good, but he felt done. The weight hadn't vanished, but it had shifted. He could carry it now.

Maybe Eliza was with Joey. Maybe not. Either way, she was living her life.

And now, finally, he could start living his.