Falling Off The Edge

CHAPTER 5: BROKEN & WOUNDED

Heyy, it's me again!!! I missed you :)

For some reason, I struggled with this chapter a lot! But I finally had a breakthrough lol!

Song of the chapter: Broken Things by Matthew West.

Don't forget to vote and comment!! Xoxo Coral

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The gust of the wind caressed my skin from the overhead window, forming goosebumps with every touch. I rolled over on my side, snuggling my cozy blanket, without any intentions of waking up to face the day. Unfortunately, I failed to silence the nagging voice in my head that reminded me I would eventually have to.

We all have to face things we don't want to at some point, don't we?

One of those things would be the way my stomach churned at the thought of being only hours away from work. From Wade. I could've sworn I felt something flutter within. But I would be crazy to think I had butterflies for Wade Barnes, The Southern Spice. Yep, definitely crazy.

We'd only known each other for a couple of months and last night, well it was different I'll admit. But not enough to make me feel something I shouldn't.

I watched the cool morning go by as quickly as afternoon came. The clouds were beginning to darken, hanging loose from their threshold. I had tuned into the weather forecast last night and they did mention something about a storm today. But I didn't care. I had to make it to work today. And you could bet it wasn't because I ached to see my boss.

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I managed to arrive at the Cafè, few minutes past the time my afternoon shift begins. Luckily, Betty Berkins appeared to be engaged with an employee, giving me enough time to sneak into the backroom and get into my work clothes.

I slipped silently into the large room and shut the metal door quietly behind me. Turning around, my ears perked up at the muffled sounds coming from the distance.

The back room wasn't a place we were allowed to just hang out, except when we needed to change in and out of our work clothes at our various shifts. I knew it would be a risk if Betty found me here on working hours, but frankly it would be more of a risk to leave a person in distress.

I decided against leaving and took brave yet, cautious steps towards the distressed female sitting on a wooden bench. She was surrounded by a pool of crumpled tissues, burying her nose in one as well. The bangs on her forehead were ruffled, as well as the rest of the blonde hair that dangled just above the nape of her neck in a loose ponytail. The corner of her eyes had reddened and so had her tear stained checks. Her lips quivered as she lifted her gaze to meet mine, stumbling over her words.

Her name was Beatrice 'Birdie', or so I had heard a number of times in the Cafè. She was a petite, blonde and energetic lady. From her short period of working here, she had managed to light up the Cafè with her bubbly personality and piss off Betty Birkins with it.

"I-I just--How? I can't even---S-She just went out and n-never came back," She said in a voice so broken, it made my eyes water. "She never said goodbye."

I hesitated to ask who 'she' was when I glanced at the picture held tightly in her hands. It was a picture of a blonde woman, who looked a little above her thirties with a playful smile plastered on her face. Their features bore an uncanny resemblance and then I realized, she had lost her mother.

"She was beautiful," I acknowledged, "I'm sure she didn't plan on leaving you just like that."

She shook her head in disbelief and crumpled the picture in her hands.

"You don't know that!" She yelled, her voice echoing in the large room. "You don't know anything!"

I placed a hand on her shoulder, comforting her as she buried her now puffy face in her palms. She reminded me of myself about two years ago, when I lost the two most important people in my life. And when I lost myself.

"I don't," I started, "But what I do know is that she would want you to be happy."

"How can I possibly be when she's not here? If you've ever lost someone before, you would know how exactly impossible that is!" She snapped, nearly causing me to jerk in my seat.

"I have." I said, tearing my gaze from hers, hiding tears that dared to escape from the corner of my eyes. "Just that they didn't die."

Birdie's sniffling seized as she gazed at me for a while, the silence in the room growing louder.

"I-I didn't know. I'm sorry. I-I-"

"It's okay," I concluded, "You didn't know."

I stood up from where we both sat and started walking towards my locker without turning back. My fists hardened beside me and my eyes fluttered shut for a brief moment, unlocking the forgotten memories that once lay buried within the depths of my mind. With each flashing image, the wounds in my heart felt as fresh as day, and they hurt just as much as they did then.

I found myself helpless once again, in the same place I ran away from years ago. The door in my heart that I once sealed shut seemed to have creaked open. And it only revealed the person I swore to never become again.

"W-well, i-if they didn't die, w-what happened to them?" I heard Birdie ask from behind me, her voice trembling as though she was afraid of the answer that would follow.

I remained silent, unsure of the words say. Unable to stop the tears that had welled up in my eyes from falling. Unwilling to let myself go back to the place where I had lost everything. Until the words left my mouth faster than I could hold on to them. It was a faint whisper, yet sharp enough to cut through the silence;

"They left. And so did I."

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