The Girl with the Plan

A Story by Victoria Stone

A Girl decides to leave her Other Half, but it doesn't go as planned

A large black bowl with a white rim sits on a multi-colored note pad. The girl watches the steam rise from the bowl, contemplating life and her place in it. As she picks out images in the curling mist she decides two things. The first, she does not know exactly where she belongs, but it isn’t here. The second, she is going to pack her things tonight and leave.

The Girl had an argument with her Other Half that morning. The Other Half told her that she doesn’t do enough to keep them afloat.

It didn’t matter that most of the problem came from the Other Half’s lack of self-control when it came to spending. It didn’t matter that she had given up everything to let the Other Half keep up their appearances. What mattered to the Other Half is that she wasn’t good enough.

That morning after the argument, the Girl found that the Other Half had been seeing someone when they were supposed to be working. That the reason she had to find another job was because the Other Half had given theirs up to start seeing someone else.

That is why the Girl has to leave. All of her belongings could fit into a suitcase, so it wouldn’t be difficult to almost disappear.

What the Other Half didn’t know is that the Girl had been saving for quite some time.

When things started getting bad, the Girl began to take money from her paycheck and place it into a separate account. Telling her Other Half that her pay was cut because the company was cutting back.

She had enough now that she could leave, have a place, and take care of herself.

The Girl clocked out of work that day for the last time. Gathering what few things she had on her desk and putting them into her car she then sat behind the steering wheel saying prayer after prayer to any entity that would listen. Asking that the Other Half would stay out late that night like they always did so she could carry out her plan without issue.

The Girl had decided to pack her few belongings, park her car up the street, and purchase a bus ticket to the other side of the country so she could not be traced.

The streets before her house were almost empty. The Girl came to the last stop sign and began to pull through.

Mid-way through the intersection there was a crash and her vision went black.

The girl awoke to searing pain on her left side and the feeling of something wet and warm coming down her face. As she looked up there was another girl staring at her.

“I didn’t want to have to do it this way, the other girl said, it’s so messy.”

The Girl was confused by this, but the other kept talking.

“They won’t leave you, so this is the only way I can get what I want.” At that, the other girl pulled out a ball peen hammer and swung. Everything went black again.