“Tori, you don’t get it. I was in her throat. If I hadn’t tried to choke her, I’d still be digesting.” Jackie began to cry her eyes out as her friend from her old work, Tori, looked at her. “This was the girl I loved. The girl I wanted to spend my life with.” As Jackie looked into her friend’s eyes, she too started to tear up. “I just-I just don’t know what to do with her anymore.”

“Jackie, I’ve been your friend for years it seems and when you said all those months ago that you were seeing a human, I was scared for you. I really was.” Tori was what Jackie would call her best friend besides Marleigh and Carissa. One of the sweetest people Jackie had ever met and was always ready to be there whenever one of her friends needed her. But, she wasn’t afraid to tell her friends what she thought. Whether they wanted to hear it or not. “But what did I tell you when you first saw her?”

“Be careful?”

“That’s right and I don’t need to read ‘micro eaten alive by human girlfriend’. I know you think she’s a sweetheart and the best thing that’s ever happened to you but you know humans. Once they get a taste of us, they’ll never stop. Didn’t I tell you about that couple who tried to eat a whole bunch of people in New York because they ate one micro. Just one. That’s all it takes.” As Tori explained her point, Jackie’s heart sank to the pits. She wanted to go back home desperately, to apologize to Marleigh but the fears she had given her began to leave doubts.

“Tori, I love her and I moved in with her not too long ago. But she did try to eat me. God dammit I’m so confused.” Jackie just began tearing up even more as she put her head on the table. “You ever wish you could just go back and fix things.” Jackie soon began to just go limp as she sighed deeply. “I just want to die.”

“Jackie…”

“I know, Marleigh always said I could be too emotional. Too nervous sometimes.” 

“Jackie, you know I love you unconditionally but Marleigh? She’s gone. She tried to eat you, forget about her. What you need to do is find a girl who’ll treat you right. A micro girl who won’t eat you because she’s drunk or bigger than you.” Tori then walked across the table as she put her hand on Jackie’s shoulder. “You’re gonna get over this, I promise.”

“I know but-“ As Jackie was clearing her eyes from tears, her phone started to ring. Her heart sank as deep as it’s ever gone as she saw it was Marleigh, calling her for the eighth time today asking where she was. She just looked at the photo she had of her, them smiling together. It broke her, shattered what little hope she had of getting over her. “I can’t take this.”

“I can’t do this Carissa. Bugging her this much is just going to piss her off.” Marleigh cried out as she set her phone down after trying to call Jackie for god knows how many times since she left. Every time was just the same. No answer, just went straight to voicemail. “She’s not coming back.” They’d been up since Jackie left or about one in the morning with Marleigh constantly crying and not even eating or drinking anything. Carissa tried her best to console Marleigh but with Jackie gone, the best thing that ever happened to her, nothing was going to be easy.

“Do not talk like that! This is just another fight. You two have had loads of those. Right?” Carissa consoled the weeping Marleigh and as her friend cried her guts out, she started to cry as well. “It was just a mistake.”

“Carissa, I almost swallowed her. I could’ve killed her! I’m surprised she hasn’t called the police yet. It was attempted murder...” Marleigh put her head back into her pillow as she still felt the need to call her one more time. This relationship was over because she got too carried away, too drunk to think straight. “If she doesn’t want to see me again, I’d understand. Poor girl, I promised I’d be the good one. The human that wouldn’t hurt her. And what do I do, like the idiot that I am, decided to drink her in a shot!”

“Marleigh, call her. One more time. Please, I don’t want to see you two break up because of this.” Carissa grabbed Marleigh’s phone and began to call her just as a last ditch effort to get Jackie back in their lives. After a few moments, the call was actually answered but not by Jackie. This was a new voice.

“Marleigh? So you’re the one that tried to eat my friend.” The other voice spoke with such malice and hatred, it seemed obvious that this wasn’t the sweet Jackie she was used to. 

“Who is this? You’re not Jackie! Where’s Jackie?”

“You seem pretty angry after trying to eat her. If you really loved her, you’d be sobbing and begging her to come back. In fact, she doesn’t even want you back.” What the voice was saying annoyed Carissa to the very core. Here she was, watching her best friend be at her absolute lowest and this girl was mocking her.

“Wait! Tori, what are you doing? Stop, you’re just making it worse!” Carissa heard Jackie’s voice on the other end, just barely however. “I need to talk to her.”

“Fine. Good luck sister.” Tori handed the phone to Jackie who quickly began to try and figure out what she would say to Marleigh. A million things went through her mind as she stuttered a bit as she thought of all the good times they’ve had together. Long before this, it seemed as though nothing would separate them. From when they first started talking, Jackie fell in love with Marleigh and she didn’t want to break up with her but she felt like she needed space away from her. As much as it felt like a knife going through her heart every few seconds.

“Hey Marleigh, I know you miss me and I miss you too. It’s just that I think we need to take a break. I still love you deeply but...after last night, I’m scared. I know you didn’t want to do what you did but I think it’s just best we take a break. Let us both sort things out on our own and then maybe we can come back when we’re both ready.” Carissa remained silent as she let Jackie continue to speak. “I understand you’re hurting and I am too but I promise, I’ll be back home. Just might take a while. Just know I still love you and I’ll miss you until then. Bye Mar, I’ll see you when I see you.” Jackie’s voice then shut off as the line was disconnected, stunning Carissa. She was caught in the middle, wanting to comfort both of them and try and get them back together as fast as they felt comfortable with.

“Was that Jackie? What’d she say?” Marleigh rolled up from her pillows, dried out tears covered her cheeks as a sign she’d been getting slightly better. She had hoped the call was her saying she’d be coming home. “Is she coming back?”

“Umm, no. She said she still loves you and is afraid of humans right now. I’m sorry Marleigh. She’ll come back. I promise.” Carissa knelt down and put her hand on Marleigh’s shoulders. “Come on, let’s get her off your mind. Why don’t we watch some of your favorite movies? I'll get the ice cream and snacks. How does that sound?” Marleigh just looked down on the ground as she wanted to imagine Jackie once again at her feet, happy and content. But it was just her being hopeful. That wouldn’t happen again for a long time. If it ever did happen again. “I miss her too Marleigh, you’ll get her back. I promise.”

Jackie hung up the call as she looked at Tori who was actually proud of her. “You did good Jackie, moving on is the first step of healing. I know it hurts but it beats her stomach acids. Come on, we need to get you cleaned up.”

Jackie wiped her nose with her sleeve as she looked at it . “What? Where are we going?” Tori pulled Jackie up to her feet, cleaning her off as she did so.

“We’re gonna go find someone to get that big nasty girl off your mind. Trust me, by tonight you’ll be with a new girl that’ll treat you right. I promise.” As much as Jackie was happy to be with her friend, especially in a time like this, she couldn’t shake the fact that she did miss Marleigh. Her warm embrace was always waiting for her and it was just yesterday that they enjoyed each other’s company but now they were miles apart. She deeply loved Marleigh and wanted to go back but when your girlfriend almost swallows you in a drunken state with no intention of letting you out, things get weird fast. 

As Tori and her walked out of the diner, she thought back to when they first started dating. How Jackie told her of the girl that wanted to eat her alive. It made her think. Had Marleigh been waiting for an opportunity to eat her alive just to see how it would feel? No. It was just Jackie overthinking. If that was true, Marleigh had dozens if not hundreds of chances to eat her alive. Even if it was an accident, and not a twisted attempt at Marleigh experimenting with swallowing someone, Jackie felt weird with her. Weird in the sense that every time she thought about the sweet moments they had together, Jackie’s mind would instantly bounce back to last night. Being in Marleigh’s throat changed things for the worse and Jackie’s tiny mind couldn’t think of a reality with her going back to Marleigh’s arms this soon. As much as both of them loved each other, this was going to take a long time to repair.

Hours later, there was a lock on the door, which surprised the two girls as Carissa headed towards it, not expecting company. Cautiously, she opened the door as she saw someone she hadn’t seen in quite some time. Marleigh’s look alike older sister, Alyssa. “You? What do you want?”

“Here to...see my sister. Since she broke her heart.” Alyssa searched the apartment for Marleigh with her eyes as Carissa was blocking her entrance. “Now, where is she?” Alyssa asked as she saw a blanketed figure step out in the main room and instantly, Alyssa knew it was her. “Marleigh!” Alyssa cried out as she busted in the apartment, overpowering Carissa as she knocked back a couple feet as Alyssa embraced Marleigh with everything she could offer.

“Alyssa…” Marleigh, though strongly broken-hearted, still reached out for a hug as her sister did the same, embracing each other as Alyssa brought her to the couch. “She’s gone, Alyssa.” Marleigh mumbled as she sat down on the couch, still expecting Jackie to come back into her life any minute now. “And it’s all my fault.”

“No it’s not Mar. That girl never deserved you. You loved her but she left you. She chose to leave you on your birthday and you expect her to come back? Marleigh, you’re sweet, loving and caring but the second I saw her, I knew she was only taking advantage of you.” Although Alyssa was only told a bit of what happened from the horse’s mouth, she did manage to make a lot of the facts up about the situation but Marleigh wasn’t stopping her. She knew she messed up but to admit to Carissa what she did to make Jackie as one thing but to tell her sister who seemed like she always hated Jackie was another issue entirely. “You’ll find someone better than her. I promise. Besides, you were always too good for her.”

Marleigh sighed as she reached for another hug from her older sister. “This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.” Marleigh wept on Alyssa’s shoulder as this whole plan had backfired tremendously on the couple. The original idea was to give Jackie the best kiss she could ever receive but ended up with her almost getting swallowed and the both of them broken. “I’ll always love you Jackie.” Marleigh thought to herself as she barely heard Alyssa trying to cheer her up as she was lost in thoughts. Thinking of what was to come next for her and if Jackie would ever feel safe enough to be around her again. She would just have to wait and see.