How to Break Her Heart

step 1: choose her

From the moment Soren Easley opens her eyes as a newborn, her mother's tired eyes fall shut and never open again.

_

"She's here again."

"Ugh. Can't she take a hint?"

"Obviously not. Maybe if we throw something at her..."

Their voices are low enough so that the girl can't eavesdrop. She sits at the far end of the table, unaware of the conversation about her, too immersed in sketching her current captivation. 

"Leave her alone."

Oliver Michaels is tall, smart, and handsome. His most distinctive features are his eyes, which are a startling deep gold. When he speaks, everyone listens.

Only his girlfriend, Wilona Gessit, has the guts to talk back.

"We've made it clear to her that we don't want her around, but she keeps coming back to the table. She acts like she owns the place."

Oliver frowns. "Neither do you," he responds, and Wilona humphs and shoves another mouthful of mash potatoes into her mouth. 

"Besides," he continues, "all she does it sit there. She doesn't bother anyone."

"She bothers me," Wilona immediately retorts. "She's always chirpy and smiley and keeps finding lame excuses for everything I do."

She makes a face and her voice raises a pitch in a poor attempt at mockery. "'Oh, no... it's okay, Wilona. I hear Vitamin E is good for hair. I'm sure this will help my scalp-' blah blah blah bleck!" 

Wilona scrunches up her beautiful face and sticks her tongue out comically, openly demonstrating her disgust towards the other girl.

Oliver assumes that she's referring to the time she "accidentally" tripped and threw her breakfast on Soren Easley's hair. The unsuspecting girl had waved it off, claiming the scrambled eggs splattered all over her was some sort of natural remedy for her hair and skin. 

"God! I can't stand her. She's so infuriating."

Oliver raises an eyebrow, puts down his milk. "You're mad because she's... friendly?"

Wilona snorts. "She's fake." She angrily rips open her bag of sliced apples.

"We all know her story," she continues, munching angrily on a juicy slice. "Hell, the whole city knows about her tragic life because everything that happened became front-page news. Anyone who's been through the shit she has would have been sent down to the loony bin by now. But look at her - she doesn't even try to look depressed. In any case, she pisses me off."

Oliver doesn't get it. Wilona acted like it was a sin for Soren Easley to be happy, and that irked him. "Even if she may be faking it, she's doing a hell of a good job fooling everyone. She's definitely happier than some people that had a much easier life."

His girlfriend suddenly narrows her eyes and smirks. A chill crawls up his spine.

"Ah, that's right," she noted lazily. "You two had a little thing back in the day, didn't you? I sometimes forget with how much you avoid her now."