Jenga (288 words)

“Ahhhg!” Mary yelled as the tower collapsed on the coffee table. She eyed the pieces with disdain. “I knew that would happen!”

“Why’d you pull that one then?” Marcus smiled victoriously. Mary’s heart quickened.

“Well, I had to pick one of them, didn’t I?” Mary collected the blocks. “Wanna play again?”

“Sure, but dinner’s almost ready. Mom makes great meatballs.” Marcus straightened the tower, slid out a loose block, and placed it on top. “Your turn.”

“Smells good,” she replied. Marcus noticed Mary’s hand tremored slightly as she tested a block. She went for it anyway and settled it next to his on the topmost layer.

“You seem...distracted. Normally, you’re killing me at Jenga.”

Mary examined him and bit her lip. Marcus had given her so much. Her first kiss, a confidence boost. How could she tell those big brown eyes that they wouldn’t be seeing her anymore? She just wouldn’t look at them.

“I was going to wait until after dinner.” She focused on the carpet piles the cat had kneaded.

“No, tell me.” It wasn’t a demand; he was asking her. She loved that about him.

Mary took a deep breath. “My dad got a promotion.”

“That’s...great news?” Not what he expected.

“I’m moving to Chicago, Marcus.”

“Oh.”

They sat in silence.

“It’s your turn,” Mary sniffled.

Marcus blinked. “When do you leave?”

“Next month.”

“So, we’ll Skype and stuff, right?”

“My mom says long distance relationships never work out. Especially teenage ones.”

“Are we a statistic?”

“Marcus, please don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

A call came from the kitchen, “Hey, lovebirds! Dinner’s ready!”

Mary looked at him. “I should go...”

Marcus pulled his selected block, and his world came tumbling down.

WORD COUNT: 288
Submitted for the Daily Flash Fiction Contest 8/1/22
Prompt: "I knew that would happen."