Never Again Will I Fall

Broken Glass and a Friend

(*) this is an indicator of a thought a character is having

The main character's name is Jane Stipland.

Her ex-boyfriend's name is Samuel or Sam Hews.

Her neighbor/best friend of Jane is Leila Minsol.

Trigger Warning

-----------------------------------

My bedroom door slammed shut with a loud crack, outside the door, there was the sound of glass shattering and then the front door slammed shut. I fell onto my bed and shoved my tear-stained face into a plush pillow.

"Why do I keep putting myself through this bullshit!"

My phone buzzed on my floor surrounded by shattered glass.

"I can't do this right now!" I screamed into my pillow as the phone buzzed again. I pushed myself up and flipped onto my back to stare at my blank ceiling.

My phone buzzed again. Finally pulling myself up, I stared at my phone on the ground. Its black case blending into the shadows under my nightstand.

I sighed "Fine, fuck this" and pushed myself lethargically off my bed. My feet stung as the pieces of broken glass bit into my feet. I picked up my phone and brushed some glass off the back before turning it over to see 4 texts from my now ex-boyfriend. I threw my phone onto my bed, grabbed my vape, and walked out of my bedroom. My apartment looked as if a war had broken out, broken glass, furniture tipped over, and pictures that once decorated my walls, now broken on the messy floor. I took my time getting to the kitchen slowly assessing the damage. I noticed a few holes in the walls I hadn't seen before.

I walked into my kitchen to find a few dishes broken on the floor but otherwise unharmed. I grabbed a small cup out of my cabinet and filled it with water. I stared at the small window in front of me, it was noon on a Tuesday, nobody heard the yelling. I didn't know whether to be relieved or pained by that realization. I took a sip of water that went effortlessly down my raw throat. I took a deep breath and walked to my hallway closet to grab the broom. The doors opened smoothly to uncover my various cleaning supplies.

An unnerving chill ran down my back as I felt someone's presence behind me. I held my breath and closed my eyes waiting for impact, but it never came. I cautiously turned around to find there was nobody there. I took a deep breath, the smell of his cologne still lingering in the air. A smell I used to love that now only brings fear and pain.

I briskly walked to my front door and locked it. I looked around to find any sign that someone was there with me. After a few minutes, I walked back to the closet and grabbed the broom and dustpan.

I glanced around the room wearily, "Jesus, this is going to take forever to clean up. Thanks, Samuel" I walked back to the kitchen and started sweeping up the broken dishes.

When I finished sweeping the kitchen floor and walked back to my bedroom. I swept up what glass I could then grabbed my phone off the bed, 46 text messages, and 2 missed calls from Sam. I unlocked my phone and texted my neighbor Leila.

Jane- Could you come over to my place once you're off work? I could really use some help...-

Leila- Yes ofc, what happened?-

Jane- Sam and I are over... it was bad, to say the least-

Leila- I'm off in 30. Do you need anything from the store etc?-

Jane- Some garbage bags. You should also bring your broom and vacuum if you don't mind-

Leila- I'll grab some snacks and wine while I'm there, see you in 45 mins-

Jane- See you in 45, thank you-

I sat down on the side of my bed and took a few hits off my vape, turning the clouds of smoke into Os. After taking another deep breath, I slipped on some sandals and walked to my living room. I stood my dining table, couches, and coffee table back up and walked around the room picking up the fallen picture frames, and putting them in a pile on my dining table.

The room was an incredible show of my relationship with Sam, broken with me trying to fix everything.

I decided to go to the bathroom to take care of the cuts on my feet. I walked down the hall to my bathroom. I grabbed my first aid kit from under the sink and sat on the side of the bathtub. I winced as I slid off my first sandal, the blood from my feet already staining the light brown fabric of the shoe. I did my best to clean and bandage up my left foot before sliding off my right shoe to start working on it. My right foot was considerably worse, I probably needed stitches but instead, I settled for a little super glue in the worse cuts and just bandaged up the rest. Just as I finished bandaging my right foot and putting my sandals back on, the doorbell rang.

I walked to the door, using the peek hole to see if it was Leila or Sam. I was greeted by the concerned face of Leila and opened the door. Leila's eyes first scanned over my battered body then to the wreckage behind me.

"He did this?" Leila whispered in disbelief.

"I mean yea, kind of," I said nervously.

"Where is your first aid kit, you have some nasty cuts."

"Bathroom floor," I said pointing down the hall.

Leila put the groceries and other supplies in the kitchen before hurrying to the bathroom. I closed the door and locked it before walking to the kitchen and grabbing one of the bottles of wine she had brought. I was rummaging through my kitchen drawers to find my bottle opener when Leila came out of the bathroom, first aid kit in hand.

"Sit down for a minute, tell me what happened," Leila said patting a chair at the bar.

"Give me a second, I'm grabbing the bottle opener and some wine glasses," I mumbled, finally grabbing the bottle opener out of the drawer.

I grabbed two wine glasses and poured us both a glass before sitting down at the bar next to Leila. She grabbed my arm and slowly cleaned each of the cuts on my arms.

"We had a fight,"

"Yes, tell me what happened I'm here to listen," Leila offered.

"I was texting this girl, Jen, from high school. We were planning on getting lunch sometime to catch up. Sam saw a message asking where we were meeting and got a little mad," I relented, wincing at the alcohol wipe going over a cut on my hand.

"Got a little mad?" Leila looked around the room obviously not convinced.

"Okay, he got really mad. He said I should've asked him if it was okay first. When I said that I had already asked him earlier that day, he accused me of gaslighting him,"

Leila nodded her head focusing on the bandages, so I took a sip of wine and continued, "He started yelling. He started to grab me and when I tried to resist he let go. I thought he would stop but instead, he threw one of my glass vases at me. I was trying to reason with him and calm him down a little bit," I paused taking a hit off my vape. "Trying to calm him down only seemed to make things worse. I had no idea what to do, so I ran to my bedroom and tried to close and lock the door. I didn't even get the door shut before he got to me. He grabbed me by my hair and dragged me back out to the living room before he threw me against one of the walls," I stopped and took in a shaky breath.

"If this is too hard to talk about we can just clean up, and watch a movie with the snacks and wine I brought," Leila proposed.

"Honestly, I think that is just what I need right now," I admitted with a humorless laugh.

"That is perfectly fine Jane, I'm just going to take care of your injuries as best I can. You should turn on some music or a movie for us to listen to or watch while we clean."

_Leila worked on my injuries while we watched some TV shows. When she finished I turned on some music for us while we cleaned up. Leila and I worked for a few hours to clean up the apartment. We talked about some drama Leila was watching unfold at work._

Leila and I sat on my couch, the coffee table covered in snacks with a wine bottle or two in the mix. We sat and watched the Revenger movies for a few hours before we both fell asleep on my couch.

~1,500 words~

Next Part: Nightmares