Blue Eyes

Chapter One

As she sat at the table during her short lunch break, DeShawn Williams stared at the outdated snacks in the older model vending machine from across the room and allowed her ex-boyfriend to vent his frustrations regarding their past breakup. As he sincerely begged for her to reconsider the status of their relationship, she whole-heartedly wanted to end the call and enjoy her last few minutes of peace before returning to the stressful chaos of the out-patient clinic. She knew that eventually she would have to take a more aggressive stance with him but at the moment, he wouldn’t even allow her to interrupt his emotional rant, so she just remained quiet.

As Bobby Smith stumbled over his words and tried to convince her that he had “changed,” DeShawn tuned him out and turned her attention to the partially-eaten turkey sandwich in front of her then looked at the purple sports watch that rested on her left wrist. With only ten minutes left and an upset stomach, DeShawn sighed loudly before finally interrupting him.

“Bobby, stop!”

“What?”

“You know that I’m at work and my lunch break is almost over.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Call me when you get off. Okay?”

She had every intention of telling him no but decided against it. Bobby would never let her get off the phone if he thought that she was about to end all communication with him permanently. Instead, she quietly said a quick “bye” before ending the call. She then massaged her forehead, trying to prevent an inevitable headache. She knew that she needed to put her foot down and cease all interaction with Bobby but she would be lying if she said she didn’t like the attention he was showing her. DeShawn never expected his fight for her to last this long but she was highly enjoying the feeling of being wanted and sought after that his constant pestering brought. 

As soon as her shift as a physical therapist’s aide ended, DeShawn rushed home with plans to accomplish the number-one goal on her to-do list. After grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator, she walked to her bedroom and undressed out of her company T-shirt and jeans. Thankful that she didn’t have to wear the company logo-printed Polo shirt and khakis when she worked on the weekends, she walked into the adjoined bathroom that she shared with her younger sister. She smiled at the bright-pink kissy lips theme room then entered the shower to cleanse her body and clear her mind. Afterwards, she placed a calming Aloe Vera and Vitamin B mask on her face and returned to her room to dress in a comfortable long T-shirt and sweatpants.

As she sat down at her vanity, converted into a desk, DeShawn turned on her laptop and attempted to write her personal statement essay for the competitive Physical Therapy Program at Stephens Bishop F&M University in Houston, Texas. She should have finished it weeks ago since the deadline was quickly approaching, but between school, work, friends, and family, the essay had taken a backseat in her busy life. After typing, deleting, and retyping for about two hours continuously, she stood up to stretch her back and started pacing her room.

As she placed her now frizzy somewhat curly but somewhat straight hair into a bantu knot bun, she looked around her bedroom with its youthful expressions and realized that it hadn’t been updated since she turned sixteen. She knew the thoughts of redecorating was her mind’s way of distracting her from the seriousness of the essay, but she welcomed the diversion. The gentle lilac-colored walls contained posters, vision boards, and many pictures of her family, friends, and Bobby. She walked over to her white painted nightstand and picked up the framed picture of her and Bobby at their senior prom. Their smiles reminded her of how wonderful that night had been for them. It never crossed her mind to remove the pictures of him from her physical domain, but it was time.

She did love Bobby, in a sense, and treasured the special bond of their relationship but she had dreams to reach and goals to accomplish. She wouldn’t allow anyone, including her high school sweetheart, to deter her from her plan or distract her focus. Her mom had always taught her to achieve her own version of success without a man. That’s why DeShawn knew it was time to end their relationship when they continued to argue about their future during junior year of high school. After the breakup, DeShawn weighed her options while Bobby got his ex-girlfriend pregnant by mistake. When she found out, DeShawn was hurt but felt sorry for the baby girl, especially when Bobby’s ex-girlfriend decided that she didn’t want to be mother out of shame. As soon as she gave birth, she signed complete parental rights over to Bobby and moved away.