Broken Strings

Just your typical story about a cheating ex and a broken girl. See if you can spot the metaphor. Very easy.

BROKEN STRINGS

As I lie in bed, covers drawn up around me, images of this afternoon spring to mind. They’re so vivid. I know I will never forget them, no matter what. I start crying. This surprises me. Haven’t I cried enough today? How can there still be more tears? How is it possible that my eyes are moist? They feel so dry and sore.

 

Flashbacks come, just like a movie reel. One you would see on NCIS, CSI or any of those crime shows where someone doesn’t remember what they’ve done, only to have flashes of images and sounds appear in their mind and then disappear just as quickly.

 

“How could you? Not again!” my voice sounded so cold, so hard, no hint of forgiveness in it.

 

“I’m sorry! It just happened!” my now ex-boyfriend pleaded with me.

 

Tears came, started running down my cheeks and they would not stop. I didn’t want to cry, that showed weakness. That would give him an advantage; an advantage to win me back. But I didn’t want to give him that advantage. I wasn’t going to. I wasn’t going to let him use his eyes, his smile, and his comforting hold to do anything to make me fall over hard again for him. Not this time.

 

“Please,” he begged.

 

“NO! I have had enough!” I shook with all the emotion I was unleashing. I almost collapsed right then and there, almost.

 

“Mia,” he said softly. He reached over to put his hand on my shoulder. He was going to pull me into a hug and then kiss me. He did that before and I melted. I gave in. Not this time. I would not give that b*****d the satisfaction.

 

“DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH ME!” I screamed as I jumped back, voice cutting through him like knives, sharp and pointed. I could tell by his reaction and confused movements.

 

“Mia,” he started to say firmly.

 

“NO!” I picked up the closest thing to me, which was a pillow, and started hitting him with it. “GET OUT! LEAVE!” I continued hitting him as he moved outside into the hallway. “GET-OUT-NOW!” I said between hits.

 

Finally we were at the front door with me still pounding the pillow down on him and he trying to shield himself as best as he could.

 

“Okay! Fine! I’m going!” he said and marched out the door.

 

As soon as the door slammed shut, I turned around and slid down it. I sat there, knees up to my chest, crying my eyes out. My parents were on a vacation, my sister was at college, and my brother was at band practise. I was alone and I was glad of this fact.

 

How could he do this to me again for the – not second and not even third – fourth time? What have I done to deserve this? Why did I keep forgiving him? It was those eyes. Those damn blue eyes. They pierce through me; they look deep down, right into my soul.

 

Questions keep forming themselves in my mind. They will not stop.

 

I always made excuses for him. I wanted to prove that he was good. I was trying to prove that fact to myself and that made me hold on to him when I should have just let go.

 

When I finished crying, I stood up slowly and walked up the stairs. I blinked the remaining tears away and continued on up to my room. I shut the door behind me and sat down on the bed. I picked up my classical guitar.

 

I was about to play when I noticed the broken strings on them. This fact hit me hard and I began to weep uncontrollably again.

 

I snap out of my flashback. How ironic. It’s like my guitar knew I was broken inside, but it decided to break the strings as well, just to symbolise and emphasise this fact. I was broken and I knew it.

 

The tears have stopped and I am trying to get to sleep. My hands are together under my head but I remove one hand to pull the blankets closer. I close my eyes and try to get some rest. Slowly, I could feel my subconscious pulling deeper and deeper down. I want to sleep. I want to dream. I want to feel nothing and just escape the pain, the world, and reality for awhile....

Reviews

[Crystal]

I enjoyed this it was very well written other then a few grammatical errors.

"my brother was at band practise" should be spelled practice.

Powerful and heartbreaking. I noticed this error: "What have I don't to deserve this?", where the "don't" should have been "done". I also noticed that near to the end of the story you slipped into the past tense rather than the present (in the fourth- and third-last paragraphs). You wrote something about a flashback in the paragraph afterward, so I'm not sure if this was meant to be a flashback or not. Either way, you either need to fix the tense or make the flashback more obvious. Aside from those little glitches, this was a great read. Good luck with your writing.