It was basic but comfortable. A bed with a simple light green coverlet took up most of the space in the small room. There was a small dresser, a night stand and a narrow desk but the view out the window made up for the amenities the room lacked. The large square window was pointed towards the north with a tree covered hill beyond the town. The town was glowing beneath the hill and the stars-- God, the stars! Even back in Lima, Kurt had never seen stars like that.

It wasn’t until Kurt was safely locked in his room and alone that he let himself think about what had happened that day. It had only been a week but the wounds felt raw as he replayed the scene in his mind.

Coming home. Hanging his keys up. Putting his jacket in the hall closet. Hearing the mattress creak from the bedroom. Opening the door to see the person he loved the most inside the person he hated more than anything. Freezing as they fucked each other in front of him. His voice breaking as he said the last words he ever intended to say to him.

He had gone to Rachel and Quinn’s that night. They had been sweet and comforting but he was practically catatonic. They were too blissfully happy for him, what with Quinn’s successful insemination. A split decision the next day led to him renting a storage unit and packing up his belongings after booking a roundtrip ticket to Italy and an eight day bus tour of ‘Important Historical and Cultural Sites’.

Now he sat on a hard mattress, staring out the window at the night sky, and the tears he knew he needed to cry wouldn’t come. Maybe he was still in shock, he didn’t know. But he purposely thought about the wedding plans they had made, the children’s names they had argued about, which suburb they would move to when their children started school, the phone call to his dad and nothing.

‘Amelia Elizabeth. Carter Burt. Cecilia Rose. Michael James,’ he thought to himself. Even picturing their nonexistent children didn’t do it. He stood up and changed into a pair of pajama pants and a tank top to sleep in. He laid back on the mattress, gazing out at the stars, and wondered when it wouldn’t hurt anymore.