Compilation of Short Stories

"A Doll is Fragile and So Am I"

AN: I know this one is super short, probably around two hundred words, but enjoy! Also, I just now noticed this, but the narrator doesn't consider herself pathetic because the guy with her brother comments that. And she cringes at her reflection, not because she is insecure, but she can see the difference from who she used to be. Okay, continue!!

Nudging the creaky door open, I enter the sparsely decorated living room in time to hear, "Dude, your sister is so pathetic. I mean have you-"

I hesitate at the threshold, confused as to why the voice cut off, until my ears are met with groans of pain.

"Get out!"

The sound of the front door slamming reverberates through the paper-thin walls of the nearly empty house, and the rapid increase in volume startles me. I whimper, catching my brother's attention for the first time. Rapidly shuffling feet fills the silence as I watch his face be consumed by worry and regret. His soothing green eyes peek down at me through thick lashes, and the pleading look he gives me is filled with remorse. When he doesn't receive a reaction, his face falls even more, and he realizes I'm still the shell of the person that existed five months ago; one who doesn't feel pain, or joy, or, really, anything at all.

Glancing at the mirror behind him, I study my pathetic face. An image of porcelain skin, chapped lips, sunken sockets, and remnants of blue eyes (that, now, are as blank as a doll's features) makes me cringe. My brother calls my name softly, the soothing undertones capturing my attention, and only then do I register that tears are streaming down my chalky skin, clouding my vision. His long, tan arms snake around my stomach, pulling me to his chest, and hold me there. He simply caresses my hair until I've almost drifted off- my eyelashes fluttering closed, and my breathing slowing. Finally, I feel a ghost of a breath nestle in my lifeless blonde hair. His voice is low, filled with sorrow and longing, as he whispers, "I just want you to be happy again."