Absent Choice

When I found them again I punched them in the jaw.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked, no tears threatening, that had ended a long time ago.

They looked at me startled. "I... wha... sorry?"

"You left me," I screamed. "You refused to even say goodbye."

"I-"

"You left us, and you broke my heart while you were at it." I continued. "You didn't even care to say f*cking goodbye. You just disappeared. We thought you died. Do you know what that did us? We lost people and we thought we lost you. Do you have anything to say to defend yourself? To defend the shitty thing you did?"

"Perhaps several hearts were broken that day," They said calmly, "Including my own."

"Wh-"

"And maybe I didn't have a choice," They said, looking me dead in the eye. "And maybe you would be better off thinking I was dead."

Then they walked away.