Caught in the Storm

1. Contest 2 - Distortion

"You're an asshole!"

Slamming the door and twisting the lock, Holly found an open spot upon the floor in which she curled herself into a ball. Her breathing quickened as strained wails of pains filtered through her sobs. She squeezed her knees tighter into her arms, trying to shield herself from the substantial pain that she felt. Sniffling, she wiped the wetness escaping her nose with the back of her hand before returning to her cries of pain.

"God!" She seethed. Clenching her fist, Holly pounded upon the wall next to her, only twice. "Fuck!" It seemed as if wall punching was meant to remain in books, because that hurt like a bitch.

As her crying began to cease, Holly lay down on the floor, her arms spread out to her sides. She began to count the bumps on the popcorn ceiling all the while calling herself fat and ugly over and over again. Although brutal, the derogatory comments did help to calm her down.

'Everything is my fault,' she thought. She was the reason her life was falling apart with a man who did not love her anymore. She rubbed her forehead with the end of her palm, wishing that she never laid her eyes on him.

Closing her eyes, Holly's thoughts drifted back in time to her Freshman year of college and the dumb Political Science class she was scheduled to take. Honestly, that class is to blame for the misfortune she's faced over the course of the past four years.

Sighing heavily, she forcefully lifted her body off of the floor. She bit down lightly on her gums as she stood up, feeling her cheeks crack due to her dried tears. As she looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, she wondered at the success she might have had if she didn't get pregnant and drop out of school, if she had more ambition. She ran her fingertips along the face in the mirror, the coolness of the glass transferring jolts of electricity up her arms, causing her hairs to stand fully erect.

Her mascara left ashy trails along the length of her cheeks, which paired excellently with the flaming color of her sore, puffy eyes. 'Hell with it,' she thought. She rubbed her eyes to alleviate some of the discomfort around her eyes; the result was an increase in makeup rings under her eyes and makeup smudges above her knuckles. She wiped the remainder of her mucous with the back of her hand and ran her fingers through her dirty blonde hair.

Holly took in a deep breath and held it until she could hear the thumping of her chest in her ears. She released this air directly against the mirror, causing her face to disappear behind the fog. She tilted her head slightly. The reflection of her once clear, broken face was now distorted, showing only modest glimpses of her original face as the fog cleared. Closing her eyes, she repeated her mantra silently, 'You're fat. You're ugly. You're fat. You're ugly.'

She pulled her hair into a bun before heading out of the bedroom door and towards the life she was now leading.

"Jack, I'm sorry."