Everything Changes in a Breath

8

I blink back tears as I remember my father, as I remember what he did to us. When he first left, my mother held herself together, smiling falsely, if for nothing else but us. Joey and I were all she had left, and I guess she wanted us to feel good so we wouldn't leave her. She tried to stitch up her broken heart so she would seem fine, but this kind of hurt couldn't be fixed with a Band-aid and a kiss to make the boo-boo better, and that was all she knew. But she tried, she tried for us, and I can't help but admire her for that. But then, Joey got diagnosed, and she stopped trying. She stopped getting up in the morning, except in the days Joey had to go to the doctor. And now, after eight years, I have finally stopped trying too. I don't care who knows now, I don't care who stares at me, I don't care, I don't care, I don't-

My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of someone sitting down on the plush couch across from me. Its a girl; I know her somehow, from somewhere. Her brown hair twists and curves, and it shines with health. "Hello," I begin cautiously.

" Hi!" Her voice is bubbly, like a child's. "I know you probably don't know me, but I'm Avanelle." Her name jogs my memory slightly.

"Oh! Yeah, we have science together..." Despite this revelation, I'm still confused as to why she is here, talking to me.

"Well, I saw you walk in here, all by yourself, and you looked... Well, you looked kinda... lost?" She said the last part as if she was questioning the accuracy of the statement. I can't deny it, so I just clasp my hands together. She adjusts her lovely magenta nerdy-chic glasses, and continues quickly, "And, its just that nobody should have to be alone, when they feel like that."

I laugh harshly, and then, feeling rude, quickly morph it into a cough. How could she possibly know how I feel?

I'm not even for certain how I feel myself.

Lost?

Maybe.

Alone?

No, one cannot be alone when they are plagued with memories, memories that fill your mind, leaving no room for emptiness.

"Don't cry," Her voice becomes soft and soothing, as if she were talking to a child. Its the same voice I used to keep Joey safe from the monsters in his closet. I wipe away the tears, and try to reprieve the rest, to no avail.

"Do you want to talk?" I shake my head. Once, and only once my tears have stopped, Avanelle gets up to leave. Nodding a hurried goodbye to the withered old lady behind the desk, she walks out the door. Before she leave completely, she turns and looks me in the eye. "I've had my fair share of heartache, by the way."