The Shattered Picture

Putting this in my Short Story Collection Book.

The Shattered Picture

                He was on his knees looking at the damaged picture on the ground. It was of his last girlfriend who died in a car accident a few months ago. She had pretty long dark brown hair that she had up in a bun. She had a smile on her face that was brighter than anything he had ever seen. He smiled at the picture of her every time he saw it even though she was gone the memories of her were still there. He might have been in the picture too, but he would only stare at her picture. Now the picture was shattered and it could never be repaired.

                He was still staring at the picture when his step mother walked in the room. She had a glare on her face and she looked angry. He looked up and saw her and he winced at the look on her face.

                “I told you to go downstairs and clean up the kitchen before your dad got home. After you finish cleaning up the kitchen get in the shower. I want you to clean the blood off of you. Wash a load of clothes as well, Colby,” she said. He nodded and walked down the stairs and started on the kitchen. He didn’t look at her as he walked past her. She smacked him in the back of the head as he walked by. He didn’t say anything to her after he went to the kitchen.  He started washing the dishes and doing what his step mother told him to do a few hours ago before the incident happened.

-Three Hours Before-

                He walked through the door of his home and he took off his shoes. He didn’t want to hear his step mother’s mouth. He walked up to his bedroom where he logged onto the computer. He looked at the picture on his desk. Sarah, his last girlfriend, was smiling brightly in the picture. He was standing next to her his arm around her shoulder.

                “Colby, are you home,” he heard his step mother yell up.

                “Yes, I’m in my bed room,” he responded, but not with a yell. He heard steps coming towards his room. He hated when his step mother came into his room. She never knocked like he would have liked her to. His own father would knock on his door to come in, but she never did.

                “Did you just get home? I have a few chores for you to do before your father gets home,” she said. She had a small smile on her face, but the smile wasn’t reaching her eyes. She hated that she had a step son. She had two other kids that she treated like angels, but she didn’t like her step son.

                “Alright, give me a few minutes before I start on them. I want to get some homework out of the way,” he said and smiled. She smiled back, but it was a fake smile. She closed the door behind her. He let out a sigh. He hated to have to do the chores while the other kids got to do whatever they wanted.

                He did some of his homework because he didn’t want to have to deal with it over the weekend. He always had gotten a lot of homework because he was in honors classes. He didn’t mind the hard work though. He wanted to make something of his life. He wanted to make something of his life.

                He went down to the living room to work at the table. He finished his homework two hours later. He knew he had an hour before his father got home. It was five o’clock by the time he had finished.  He knew he was going to be in trouble because the chores still were not done.

                He went upstairs to see that his bedroom door was open. He had closed the door before when he left to do homework. He saw his step mother in his room holding the picture of his girlfriend.

                “What are you doing with my picture,” he asked when he stepped into his room. She just looked up with him with anger written on her face. He knew not to talk to her like that when her face was like that. She stood up really fast and grabbed his arm.

                “I’m just looking at it. Do you have a problem with that,” she asked him.

                “No, I was just asking,” Colby said his voice getting small.

                “You should be down stairs cleaning the kitchen,” she snapped.

                “I was busy with homework. Dad wants me to do homework when I come home. He doesn’t want me to goof around like you let your kids do,” he said snapping back.

                “Don’t talk to me like that, little boy. I am the mother and you are the child. You have to respect me when you are here. You got that,” she said.

                “You aren’t my mother,” he said under his breath.

                “What did you say,” she asked.

                “I said you aren’t my mother. My mother was a kind woman and you are far from it lady,” he said smartly.

                “You are lucky I am even letting you live in this room. I don’t even like you. You are the worse person I have ever met in the world. My kids are the angels and you to me are the opposite of that,” she said to Colby.

                “I don’t like you either. You are nothing like my mother. My mother is still an angel to me. She was the one that raised me. I’m surprised that the judge let my father have custody of me,” he said.

                “At least I’m not trash though. I don’t make stupid little kids that are stupid as sin,” she said.

                “My mother is not trash. She is better than…,” before he could finish the sentence he felt something hard hit his head. He grabbed his head as the pain shot through it. The picture of his girlfriend was falling on the ground. He tried to grab it before it fell, but he couldn’t and it broke. Some of the glass flew up and cut into his arm. He had a little gash bleeding. His step mother had left the room before the picture fell and cut her step son.

                He had tears coming from his eyes. The picture was shattered into pieces. It was a glass photo that could never be replaced. They had won it at an arcade. The picture looked like it was carved into the glass. Colby was sure that it was and they colored it in with paint to make it look like it was a real picture.

                That was the last picture he had of her before she passed away three months ago. He couldn’t hold the tears that were inside of him. He just wept and he couldn’t stop. He needed to let the tears out because he had loved her a lot. He had a lot of great moments with her, but now the picture was gone. He would never be able to see the lovely picture again.

                He was crying really hard when his youngest step sister walked into the room. She had never seen Colby cry in the whole time that he had lived in the house. She walked over to him to see why he was crying. She saw that the picture of Sarah was shattered in front of him. She saw that he had a cut on his arm and he looked like he was in pain. She had figured that he was feeling the effects of the pain that he was feeling, the picture that was shattered, and the cut on his arm.

                She went into the room and hugged him because he deserved that hug. She had loved him more than her mother did. She and her other sister were both very nice. Colby was closer to his youngest step sister.

                “Thank you for the hug, Anna. Do you think you can leave me alone for a little while,” he asked and he wiped the tears away. He didn’t want to seem weak to them anymore. He didn’t want him to feel that he was a baby that couldn’t take care of himself.

“Of course,” she said. She kissed him on the cheek and left him by himself. He just kept staring at the picture. He was ignoring his step mother every time she came into room. He didn’t want to have to deal with her right now. He had just ruined something that made him happy. He was only happy because he had the one memory that had kept him going. He lost it and it was his all step mother’s fault.

-Now-

                Colby was in the shower washing his wound off which was burning when the soap touched it. He didn’t really complain. He washed his hair like he had done every Friday, but that was normal for him. He got out of the shower as soon as he saw headlights outside the door. He ran into his bedroom before his dad could see that he had been in the shower.

                He stepped on a piece of glass from the picture. He didn’t scream because it didn’t go into his foot. It had just cut him a little. He put a band-aid on both of the cuts that he had sustained from part of the small little argument he had.

                “Hello,” he heard his father call. He heard his step mom’s heals walking across the living room. She was going to seduce his father to get them to go out with the family and leave Colby home. He didn’t want to go out anyway. He didn’t mind…he was planning something else that night. While his family was gone…he had other plans.

                He ran down the stairs and he hugged his father. His father smiled when his son had hugged him. He hadn't given him a hug in a long time. He knew his son loved him, but he didn’t always feel the love that his son had. He knew that his son had been going through a hard time. He had lost his girlfriend three months ago. His father had just gotten remarried the same time he lost his girlfriend.  It was a very hard time for his son.

                “I love you, dad. Have fun on your date. I will see you when you come home,” he said. His dad smiled again and the four of them had gone out.

-Later that night-

                Colby had a gun to his head. He wanted to pull the trigger, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. It was because he knew that it was selfish, but he didn’t want to live in a house with someone who hated him. A person who would hurt him to be willing to get what they wanted. The person that ruined his life and had damaged something that was near and dear to his heart.

                He saw a piece a glass that was broken that had half of his girlfriend’s face on it. He broke down again and he decided that it was his time. He pulled the trigger and he died instantly. He shot himself in the head because he thought that it was the fastest way to die. For him it was the fastest way to die.

                A couple of hours later the family came home and they found the house eerily quiet. Normally when they would go out and come back they would hear music blasting from Colby’s room. His father went to see if his son was in bed. When he got in the room he thought that his son had fallen asleep on the floor. He had seen him like that before. He had been doing homework that time.  But when he went into the room to pick up his son and put him on the bed he felt cold to the touch. He also saw blood splattered around the room. 

                He tried to wake his son up, but he wouldn’t wake up. He called his name and he still wouldn’t wake up. He smacked him in the face to get him up, but he wouldn’t. He started to cry as he realized that his son wasn’t moving. Anna walked into the room and she paled. She knew that he was dead. She saw the gun that was on the floor. His father didn’t see the gun that was next to him.

                “Daddy,” she called her voice really small. She was really pale and she couldn’t move. She fell on her knees and cried. She couldn’t believe that she lost her brother. His father didn’t understand what she was trying to say.

                “Yes, Anna, what is it,” he asked her. She pointed to the gun that was near his foot. He looked down and then he really broke down. He then knew that his son had committed suicide. He didn’t understand what made him do it. He had never seen the abuse he suffer from his step mother…and he knew that something was terribly wrong…

To be continued…

               

 

Reviews

[NightShade]

With the exception of a few linguistic snafus, this is superbly done. Is this part of a larger story arc? If so, you simply MUST continue! The content made me feel as though something broke inside. I mean this in a good way. I could feel Colby's anguish. The pangs of loss, the acute sensation of emptiness...

You have a wonderful voice for prose. This got directly under my skin. Once again, I must say that it is in an entirely good way!

[Daydreamer54]

Wow...this was so....depressing! i really wish it didin't have to end this way. :'( he should have told his dad about that woman!
heals walking-heels

[Alicia™]

I agree with Eva - this IS beautifully written and you have to continue this. I really enjoyed reading it.

One thing though. I think you should use question marks after the questions instead of commas. Other than that, it's good.

[~ Czarina Iris ~]

Beautifully written, it brought tears to my eyes. You MUST continue with this