It’s only been a day since I left him, but it feels like an eternity. The apartment is eerily quiet while Sarah and her boyfriend, Marcus, visit his family for the next six days. I have all technology switched off, so Jake can’t contact me, and I’m slowly dying inside. It doesn’t feel like I belong back here, in this apartment. Queens isn’t where I should be anymore either.

The anger sweeps through me, followed closely by grief, then mourning. I can’t seem to be still. ...