Against the Odds

Part 1 | Heartbreak

"I can't do this anymore."

Those were his last words to me.

I stared at his back as he walked away. He walked away from it all; me, the six years we spent together, the memories, the laughs, the cries, everything.

I stood there, numb. It was as if my brain didn't get the memo, couldn't comprehend that he was actually leaving. All these years I was under the illusion that he was the only one who was really there for me unconditionally, and would always continue to be there.

I guess it was all a lie.

His shoulders were taut as he trod towards his truck. My eyes followed him until he was only a mere shadow in the decreasing sunlight. Here he was, so composed, while I felt my heart being squeezed so tightly that it was beginning to get difficult to breathe.

My eyes shut on their own accord as a tear rolled down my cheek, hanging from my trembling jaw. No, I thought. If this didn't affect him, I could act like it didn't affect me either. Hesitantly, I took slow breaths and counted to thirty.

Streaks of purple and orange mixed with the darkening blue sky welcomed my vision when I opened my eyes. The black pick-up truck was nowhere to be found. He was the one who had brought me here and now he left me stranded.

Sighing, I wiped another tear off my cheek hastily. I was not going to start sobbing in the middle of the beach. Tightening my thin beige cardigan around myself, I walked towards the bus stop that was at the end of the beach. A light breeze picked up, causing a small amount of sand to fly on top of my sandal-covered feet. I never really understood James' fascination with sand; it was just messy and inconvenient in my opinion.

James, James, James.

Not wanting to spend another minute on this beach, I quickened my pace until I was running the rest of the way to the bus stop. It was getting late, so there wasn't anyone at the stop except for an elderly woman. She seemed to be about seventy years old and was short with curly white locks.

The tune of her melodious humming filled the air but faded out when she got a glimpse of me. Maybe I couldn't conceal my tremors as well as I thought I could.

"Are you alright, dear?" she asked, taking a step closer to me.

"I'm fine, just a little cold that's all," I lied. I didn't really feel comfortable talking to a stranger, especially about this.

She gave me a look of concern but nodded anyway. "Okay, honey. Just try to not let it get to you." I caught the double meaning behind her words and flashed her a small smile.

The bus approached us when I peered back and I waited for the woman to get on before I followed suit. As I took a seat near the back of the bus, a thought registered in my head. It was the song that the woman was humming.

* * *

As I pushed the door to my apartment open, I saw my roommate sitting on the coach. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a ponytail as she was preoccupied with her work on her laptop.

"Hey Vanessa, how was the da-" Madison abruptly stopped when she saw the tears streaming down my face. "Oh no. What happened? Did James do something?"

I ran to my room and slammed the door shut, just wanting to be alone. The sobs immediately came out of me as I fell onto my bed, but ironically, the thick comforter surrounding me did very little to actually comfort me.

Nothing could have prepared me for the heartbreak I was feeling, especially because I never thought that James and I would actually ever break up. Books and movies always say that breakups felt like someone had ripped your heart out of your chest. But the pain I was currently experiencing was so much worse than what they tell you. It was all throughout my body, every cell burning with devastation, as if he had just trampled all over my entire existence and deemed it worthless.

I guess in a way, he had done that.