“Oh, tha— God you answe—d!”

The phone kept cutting out, but he could tell by her voice she’d been sobbing: “we- going -own and I just wanted to hear -our v—ce one last time- I love —”. He tried calling her back, but the network was down. He felt helpless and alone in his apartment, staring at his phone. He knew what she meant by “we” and he knew he was too late. He wished he had answered sooner, or that he had called her more, been there for her when she needed him most. But now it was too late. The silence on the other end of the line was deafening, and he was left with only the sound of his own breathing. He didn’t know how to move on or how to live without her. The pain of loss was overwhelming, and he realized too late how much she had meant to him. He closed his eyes and prayed for a second chance, but he knew deep down that he would never hear her voice again.