Behind the lens

3

Angel packed her bags hurriedly, tears streaming down her face. She had been feeling this build, this feeling of distance between her and her boyfriend of five years. She knew it was coming but refused to see it. Five years may not seem like much from the outside, but to her it felt like one of the biggest, longest stretches of her life. She had been with him since graduating high school, when she became an adult, when she started and dropped out of college, when she turned legal, when her social media career took off. He was there for all of it, but he was always somewhere else too. She just hadn't known until now.

** earlier that day **
"YOU LIAR!"

A shoe flew from her grasp as Angel picked up the next nearest item to throw.

"YOU CHEATING PIECE OF SHIT"

And with that, the item, which was a photo frame of them he'd gifted her for their three year anniversary, flew to the wall behind him and shattered.

"You did this to yourself. You drove me away. You're selfish. You're lazy. You've let yourself go completely. Look at you." He said as he walked over, motioning to her state of dress.

Angel was coincidentally wearing his oversized t-shirt and sweatpants. Once she noticed, she wanted to rip it all off. Get any sign of him off of her and as far away as possible. But she couldn't stand the thought of letting him see her undress to change. Not after she knew he'd been seeing other women that way this whole time. Women who were no doubt much smaller, more feminine, clean cut and pretty. She could strip some of him from her however, and she did.

Angel shakily removed the clasp to her necklace. A necklace she hadn't removed for the five years she'd had it. It was small, and cheap, but it had meant more to her than gold. Until now.

She calmed her breathing as much as she could, raised her gaze to meet his, and dropped the necklace to the floor of their bedroom. She turned to walk out as he grabbed her wrist. Not as he ever had before, but harshly. Likely to leave a bruise.

She struggled in his grip, sure in her capability to free herself, but it only agitated him further. He smacked her, pushed her to the ground, and with one solid kick to the stomach he was done.

"Just to make sure you didn't plan on keeping me tied to you with anything stupid" he said, motioning to her stomach. "I don't want to help produce anything that looks like you." He scoffed, leaving through the front door. Not long after, angel received a text.

"I'm cancelling our lease since my names listed as primary, and I can. Be out in a week. I won't be back until then"

** present time**

Stifling more tears, angel slid down the door of her closet and sat with her head in her knees. Choking on her sobs that haven't stopped. He was an asshole. He'd hurt her mentally and physically more now than ever. She'd never had a man lay hands on her and she never thought she would, but that didn't change all of the good memories. This didn't change the attachment she had to him. She wouldn't heal from this easily or quickly. Sitting around here wouldn't help her either.

He'd given her a week, but by the end of the day Angel had packed nearly everything she owned, with the exception of things she no longer wanted or cared about. She'd rented a small box truck, and on her own packed everything away, and drove to a hotel downtown.

As she sat at the desk in her suite, Angel thought long and hard about where to go from here, what to do with herself. She had plenty of financial security, and finding a new home wouldn't be a difficult matter, but she wanted out. She wanted to leave, and explore, and feel the freedoms she couldn't in her relationship. She never knew what it was like to truly be independent and alone, but she wanted to. She decided to wash up, and lightly cover the marks on her face from earlier. Her busted lip however, was just going to have to be seen. It was time to update her online family.

- LIVE -

"Hi guys. I know this isn't the scenery you're used to, but I'll explain that here in a bit." She said as she watched the viewer count increase rapidly, as it did every time. She waited a few minutes before beginning, letting viewers get on.

"Alright, well. Today has been quite a whirlwind. I know you guys have probably noticed a change in my attitude lately, and I'm sorry. I love being able to be open with you all, but sometimes I need time to process life privately. I do have some news though, good and bad." She started with the bad news, being her split and moving out of her home. Some viewers were happy for her, some voiced that they were happy but would miss the room she'd been filming in for years now. Once most of the shock died down, she continued.

"Now onto the good news. I have made the decision to travel. What better way to get over old memories than to make new one's right?" She smiled a soft smile, one that told everyone watching that she wasn't even sure of what she was saying, but she was serious none the less.

"I'm going to South Korea. I have wanted to go since high school, but so much held me back from doing so. Which meanssss, you guys can expect some interesting content here soon." She thanked her audience briefly for their continued support, before ending the stream, and closing her laptop. With a loud sigh, Angel slumped in her chair and rubbed her face with her hands. She did it. She announced to everyone that she was going, and had no excuses to back out now.

Taking her laptop back out, she began her travel plans. Three hours, two coffees, and a bag of chips later, she had purchased her plane ticket, and found a nice apartment to stay in. The plane ticket was one way, and the lease on the apartment renewed every month. She didn't know how long she would be there, but she may as well be prepared.

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Hey guys! I'm not sure if a single soul has read this, but if you have thank you! I'm not sure where I am taking this yet but bare with me!