The Signal Lost

Elena sat on the edge of the bed, watching Mateo's face illuminated by his iPhone screen—the familiar blue light casting shadows across his brow that she'd grown to hate. They were supposed to be discussing their anniversary dinner. Instead, he was thumbing through work emails, his face a mask of practiced indifference.

"They invited me to join the padel tournament," she said, her voice deliberately casual. "At the club. This weekend."

He didn't look up. "Hmm."

"It's mixed doubles. I need a partner."

"Busy." The single word hit her like a physical blow.

Something in her chest snapped—something that had been stretched thin for months, fraying like the coaxial cable that dangled uselessly from their bedroom wall, a relic of the television they'd stopped watching together because streaming on separate devices had become easier than agreeing on something to share. The cable had been there for six months now, neither of them bothering to call maintenance to have it reattached. It was just there, hanging like a festering wound in their otherwise perfect apartment.

She stood up, her movements sharp and decisive. "I met someone."

Mateo's thumb froze over his screen. "What?"

"At the padel courts. Rafael. He asks me questions about my day. He remembers that I prefer sparkling water still, not fizzy. He doesn't look at his phone when I'm speaking."

"Elena—"

"We're done, Mateo. I'm done competing with your job for scraps of your attention. Done watching you choose emails over intimacy. Done being alone in the same room as you."

She pulled her engagement ring off her finger and set it on the nightstand, where it caught the glow of his iPhone screen. The symbolism was lost on him. He still hadn't looked up.

"You're being dramatic," he said, finally meeting her eyes. His own were widening with something that might have been fear, or maybe just annoyance at the interruption.

"I'm being honest." She grabbed her packed bag from the closet—she'd done it last night while he slept. "The cable guy is coming Tuesday to fix the television. You should probably be here for that. At least the repairman will show up on time."

She walked out, her phone already vibrating with a message from Rafael: See you on court? She smiled as she descended to the street, leaving behind the silent apartment, the broken cable, and the man who hadn't noticed she was already gone.