Joshua was alone when Stephen found him.
It was late evening. The hostel corridor was quiet, the usual noise softer now, distant. Joshua sat on the small bench outside his room, one leg stretched out, his phone in his hand.
He looked up when he saw Stephen.
For a second, something unreadable crossed his face.
Then he smirked.
"Well," he said. "This is new."
Stephen stopped in front of him.
"I need to talk to you."
Joshua leaned back against the wall.
"About what? Nadia? Tiana? Or are you finally here to tell me you think I'm a terrible person too?"
Stephen said nothing.
That alone made Joshua's smile fade.
For the first time since everything had happened with Tiana, they were alone.
No other people.
No pretending.
Just the silence of what they used to be.
"You know," Joshua said after a moment, "it's funny."
Stephen looked at him.
"You were my friend for years. And now suddenly everybody thinks I'm the villain."
"You used Nadia," Stephen said quietly.
Joshua looked away.
"You lied to her. You made her think you were helping her, and all that time you were just—"
"What?" Joshua snapped suddenly. "Taking advantage of her? Using her? Fine. Maybe I did."
Stephen stared at him.
Joshua stood up.
"But do you know why?" he asked bitterly. "Because she came to me talking about you."
Stephen frowned.
"She looked at you the same way Tiana used to look at me."
The words hung in the air.
"And I hated it," Joshua admitted.
For the first time, he did not sound angry.
He sounded tired.
"You think I do not know what it feels like to be invisible?" he said quietly. "To love somebody and watch them choose someone else?"
Stephen looked at him for a long moment.
"You had Tiana," he said.
Joshua laughed once.
A sharp, empty sound.
"No. I had somebody who kept forgiving me."
Stephen said nothing.
Because somehow, that was even worse.
Joshua looked down at his hands.
"I know I messed up," he said after a while. "I know what I did to Nadia was wrong."
"Then why did you keep doing it?"
Joshua swallowed.
"Because every time she came back, I felt like I still mattered to somebody."
Stephen closed his eyes briefly.
That did not make it better.
It only made it sadder.
"And Tiana?" he asked.
Joshua's face changed.
For the first time, there was no anger there.
Only regret.
"I loved her," he said quietly.
"No," Stephen replied.
Joshua looked up sharply.
"You loved that she stayed."
The words landed harder than either of them expected.
Stephen took a step closer.
"You did not lose Tiana because she stopped loving you."
Joshua said nothing.
"You lost her because you kept hurting her."
The silence after that felt endless.
Joshua looked away first.
Stephen had never spoken to him like that before.
Maybe because before now, he had still been holding onto the memory of who Joshua used to be.
But that person was gone.
Or maybe he had never existed at all.
"I came here because I needed you to hear something," Stephen said quietly.
Joshua did not answer.
"If you ever go near Nadia again…" Stephen's voice dropped. "If you ever use her name, or Tiana's, to make yourself feel better…"
He stopped.
Then finished softly:
"You will not have me to hide behind anymore."
Joshua stared at him.
And in that moment, he realized what he had really lost.
Not Tiana.
Not Nadia.
Stephen.
His best friend.
Stephen turned and walked away.
Joshua did not stop him.
He just stood there alone in the dark corridor, listening to the sound of Stephen's footsteps disappear.