Short Stories Written by Tellie

The Blame

The locked door sealed the dark room cluttered with scattered clothes, cans of soda and a pile of empty boxes of pizza. Cobwebs adorned the corners of the room as if the place was abandoned and haunted with memories that passed too soon. There's only a dim glow of light inside emitted by a cellphone. Marvin scrolled through the pictures in his gallery; the pictures of a woman he deeply adores. The pain of regret and grief pricks his eyes but tears can't come out for he already poured it all out empty. He is currently devastated to the point of gradually drowning himself in the sea of isolation.

Three weeks ago, Marvin hadn't completely recovered yet after a month of their breakup. It was a cool breezy midnight, he went to the park to calm himself and he thought that might help him get some sleep. After walking for a while he decided to go to the nearest café. Coincidentally, there he saw Iverson and her best friend, Clover, chatting over cups of coffee. Marvin eventually hid under the hood of his jacket to conceal his identity. He sat as far as possible from them and looked at the flickering neon sign outside. He can't stand it anymore and the moment he turned back, Iverson leaned and delicately touched her lips to Clover’s lips as if it's the most valuable and fragile thing she’d ever handle. All this time, Marvin knows but he still can't accept what had happened. He stayed there for a few minutes then left the café unnoticed.

The day of their breakup, Marvin woke up with a terrible headache. He can smell a subtle unfamiliar floral scent of perfume in which he found strange and he also realized he's naked under the sheets. Panic surged through him, he put on his clothes and rushed to Iverson's place. The air felt heavy as he pressed the doorbell button. Iverson opened the door and faced him with an expressionless face. 
“I'm so sorry, Iverson I–,”
“No Marvin, I'm sorry for pushing you away. You've been keeping our relationship afloat but I really can't do this anymore,” she forced a smile.
“Can we just sort this out like we always do, please?” Marvin holds her hand.
“I can't do this anymore, I'm sorry,” she gently pulled away her hand.
“If what we had was real, why did you just easily give up on me!”
“It's because I betrayed you first!” tears rolled on Iverson's cheeks.
“W-what do you mean, Iverson?”
“Stop, that's enough,” an uncomfortable silence creeped in for a moment.
“You can leave now,” she looked at him wistfully and shut the door. He slowly took each step drearily with no home to return.

The day before their breakup, Marvin came in the bar. Amber hues of lights reflect on the polished wood surfaces. Soft music played in the background mixed with a clamor of laughter and clinking glasses. He chose to sit on the bar stool and tapped his fingers to the poseur while waiting for the drinks to arrive. In a daze, he thought about Iverson being distant to him and it deeply bothered him. By the time he got drunk, there she came, she put her hand on his shoulder, shaking him a bit, asking if he's alright. Relief gushed through him when he saw Iverson. Her face was tainted with worry; her brows slightly furrowed and her eyes glistened of tears that were about to fall. He kissed her passionately without even thinking: 'Is it really you, Iverson?'