That Little Letter

Chapter Sixty Seven

As Dove waved goodbye to the boy walking down her driveway, she felt just how swollen her lips were and just how hard her heart was thumping inside of her chest. She felt every place he had kissed her, tingle. Her breathing was heavy, as if they had both just broken away from each other's lips in an attempt to get more air into their lungs before they went at it again. Dove gulped and did her last wave before she closed the front door and leaned her back against it. She felt like she was playing some sort of game, but she couldn't figure out what kind. Johnny told her that he loved her and he continued to prove it to her by showing her new places to be. He kissed her, held her, and loved her. But the question was, did she love him back?

Sure she had kissed him back whenever he kissed her and whenever he went to hug her, she'd hug back as if he were an old friend. But the thing she didn't want to figure out, was if she loved him back. She wasn't one for breaking other's hearts, so maybe she did love him back but was scared to admit it to herself. Or, maybe she didn't love him but kept forcing herself to think she was. For the sake of Johnny, she hoped it was the first.

With slight hesitance, Dove stretched out her arms toward the ceiling and felt her muscles clench before relaxing. She had felt so uncomfortable sleeping in that bed with the boy, but she would never admit that. He took up most of the space on there, and the only time she felt comfortable was when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. But even then, she felt like she was put behind bars and was trapped in a cell she couldn't escape.

This was what love felt like. Right?

She swallowed down a large pool of saliva that started to fill her mouth. Then, she made her way back into the kitchen so she could get some cereal to eat. Maybe eating something would help with the uneasiness in her stomach. She grabbed the box of Corn Flakes and put it on the island before she turned on her heal to grab a white glass bowl and a silver spoon. Carefully, she placed them both on the island in front of a stool and sat down without getting the milk from the fridge. At times like these, she preferred no milk in her cereal. And sure, it dried out her mouth, but that didn't matter. Right now, she just needed something in her stomach.

Roughly, she opened the box and dumped a handful of Corn Flakes into her bowl before she grabbed her spoon and brought up a spoonful of dry cereal. Without even glancing at it, she stuffed it into her mouth and let the sharp edges of each flake stab against the inside of her cheeks before she bit down. She swallowed it all down and went to get another spoonful, but she stopped midway. She didn't want to eat anything anymore. Dove closed her eyes tightly, put down the shiny spoon, and placed her index fingers by her temples and rubbed carefully. A headache was growing quickly and she didn't know what else to do. Quietly, Dove picked up her bowl and spoon, dumped out the rest of the cereal and placed the two dishes into the sink before she bolted up the stairs to be welcomed back into her room.

The floor was messy with pillows and loose throw blankets. The top of her dresser had things pushed aside, and on the floor right by the door was the perfume her older brother had given her before he died in a car crash two years ago. She'd spray it on his sweaters before putting them on, having two memories instead of one. With annoyance, Dove ran her tongue on the back of her top set of teeth. It scratched at the bumpy pink surface but that wasn't what she was worried about. On the side of the glass perfume bottle was a crack that looked deep enough to break through if she touched it hard enough. With care, she picked up the bottle and held it in her palms before she placed it carefully on her dresser, but right when it touched the light wood, the glass shattered and the perfume that filled the inside of it spilt all over Dove's wooden floor, coated her hands and the corner of the dresser. She clenched her jaw tightly as tears built up in her eyes. She could hold it back, right?

"It's fine," she told herself carefully, but that only made the tears that built up in her eyes pour over. "Stop crying, Dove," she said sternly, but before she could help it, a sob escaped her lips.

Dove couldn't help but put the blame on one person as she fell to her knees and weeped.

Johnny.

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Longer chapter, written in only 30 minutes? I call that a winner!

I hope you all enjoyed!

God bless you all!

-S