Table for One

table for three

. . .

heart-shaker

12.23.2020

+ also published on 'Cimorelli Oneshots'

. . .

the poem was lovely.

whomever it was written for was very lucky, she thought.

they must have been loved very much by the writer.

how she wished to have such a poem written for her.

little did she know, she already had.

and she was reading it.

.

she smiled shyly.

"i never thought you liked me!"

"no," he said, kissing her on the forehead.

"i like you very much."

she blushed, her left hand touching the pocket of her shorts, where she had kept the poem, confirming reality.

.

rubbing her eyes, she sighed as she sat up in bed.

her dream was too good to be true.

she had dreamt of a love so great it surrounded her with constant warmth.

it wasn't until she felt the bed shift that she realized it wasn't just a dream.

.

their feet dangling off the edge of the pier, she giggled, her bare feet skimming the surface off the water.

"you're really cute, y'know?"

she giggled again, slapping his thigh.

"don't say that!"

"mm. okay," he smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

she shook her head.

"if this was a movie, we'd probably kiss now," she remarked.

"too bad it's not a movie, right?"

"yep."

they stood up, and he took her hand as they walked, their fingers laced together as if nothing would ever be able to separate the two.

and although they did not have their ideal movie kiss at that moment, they would have many to come as they headed toward a happy ending that no movie could match.

. . .

the end

. . .

heartbreak.

it hurt.

more than the time she broke her ankle in gymnastics.

more than the times her sisters betrayed her in hide-and-seek.

they say you can't mend a broken heart, and it seemed true at the moment.

it felt like the inside of her chest was bruised, where she could never reach and where it could never heal.

she brought her hand down to her pocket, pleading for her fingers to come in contact with the frayed piece of paper, with the lovely message scribbled upon its wrinkled surface.

but it wasn't there.

it's not like she didn't know it was gone.

in fact, it was the first thing she had gotten rid of when she found her true place in his life.

she had never been important to him.

and it was her fault for never realizing that.

if she was the sun, a star, then he was a blazing comet, merely passing by her orbit on his way into the farthest reaches of the universe.

if she had to be honest, she had never thought she would ever like someone so much.

but now, he was just a stranger with all her secrets.

and it hurts to realize you weren't as significant to someone as you thought.

to her, love was something she could never do again.

not after him.

because, now, love was like a candle.

initially, it lit up her world.

but then her world began to melt.

the flame was blown out, and everything was darker than ever.

and all she was left with was the burn.

someday, she vowed.

i will learn to stop loving you.

i will stop waiting for you.

i will realized that i was never yours,

and you were never truly mine.

.

her entire family was worried for her.

so, taking their advice, she found herself sitting in the office of a distant relative, who happened to be a pretty well-know psychologist.

"what hurt you?"

her quick response shocked herself.

she had barely heard the question yet her answer had already rolled off her tongue.

"my expectations."