she went on live.
apple opens bowl. taps the camera icon. types the title. presses go.
scene 1 — the invite
title field: "we need to talk about banana 🍌." she stares at it for a second. she taps go live. 14 viewers in 4 seconds. by the time she taps "add guest," it's 312. she adds lemon. lemon's avatar pops in at the corner, expression unreadable. she adds banana.
banana joins. half-smiling. behind him, his living room — that beige throw blanket she gave him. he says, "babe what is this." in the chat: "BABE WHAT IS THIS". lemon hasn't spoken. apple's hand is shaking. you can see it in the corner of the frame.
scene 2 — the receipts
apple goes first. flat voice. she's rehearsed this. "every other sunday. daisy & heel. $89. you took her to our brunch spot." then: "the SOMA apartment post. it's hers. you posted from inside her apartment." then: "you've been paying her $47.50 a month for nine months."
he goes still. it's two seconds. for a livestream, two seconds is a confession. the chat sees it. "OH MY GOD." "he froze." "BANANA YOURE DONE." lemon's face has not moved.
scene 3 — the aftermath
apple ends the live at 1,247 viewers. she closes bowl. she sits there. the phone starts pinging. mango: "i didn't know. i swear." plum: "QUEEN ENERGY." three numbers she doesn't recognize. a screenshot of her own face being passed around in a group chat she's not in. her dms are 41 unread. she doesn't open any of them.
banana texts. nine times. then stops. lemon never texts.
scene 4 — three days later
apple opens bowl. settings. relationships. she taps "remove partner." it asks if she's sure. she taps yes. the little 🍎🍌 disappears from her profile. she searches @bowlofbanana. account private. she searches @straw_brii. this account no longer exists. lemon's last message in their thread is the one from the splash page. apple types something. deletes it. types something. deletes it.
she sets the phone face down on the counter. the kitchen is very quiet. outside, a car alarm. inside, the fridge hum. she has won. she knows she has won. she can feel it in her chest like a clean wound.