Month: August 2014

 

His heart had been broken numerous times; there was little to nothing to call a heart anymore. In a way, you could say there was no ‘heart’ left to break. All that was left was a huge gaping hole; a void in place of his heart.

******

7th grade, he had a crush on a girl named Cherise; but who didn’t? Every boy in class liked her, maybe it was because of her fair complexion, or her trademark red hair; whatever the reason, he wanted her. It didn’t take time for him to ask her out and she accepted. They went out for a week, everything was going well until he decided to kiss her in class, after school; which he did. It was a small kiss that barely lasted two seconds; but clearly it was enough time for Cherise’s father to walk in on them. The father wasted no time shoving him away from his daughter; the rumours about the father’s short temper were true after all. He had been shoved away so ferociously that his head made contact with a nearby wall. The result was a bruise that was highly noticeable.

 

He remembered how Cherise lied to defend herself, claiming that he had forced himself onto her; a lie that resulted in him being suspended for two weeks, and a good beating at home. He didn’t understand how he had become the bad-guy in all of this; why wouldn’t anyone listen to his side of the story? Apparently the role of Cherise’s father in the PTA held more power than he had initially realised; everyone in the Disciplinary Committee listened to his side of the story as if it were gospel. The bruise on his head was regarded to as nothing more than an accident that had occurred before the father walked in on them; a ‘playground’ brawl they called it.

 

Oh, I get it – –  I’m just some kid from a stupid family, how could my version of the story hold up to an important member of the PTA? Princess Cherise, the daughter of a well-known family would NEVER lie.

 

He clenched his fist, it was the only thing he could do to deal with the injustice he had witnessed first-hand. After those two weeks he tried talking to her but she ignored him; a few days later she transferred unannounced, and he was left alone. That was the end of that.

******

9th grade, same school, he started dating a girl named Kimberly. She was an attractive brunette with an outstanding figure, but unlike Cherise, she wasn’t ranked as a ‘most wanted’ by other guys, which meant less competition, so it was good for him. He asked her out not willing to waste any time, there was no need to, after-all they had known each other as acquaintances since primary. She also knew of the Cherise incident, which saved him from having to come clean about what he considered to be the most embarrassing story of his life.

 

Everything was going smoothly, three weeks passed and he found himself growing very fond of her, her sense of humour had a large part, it always left him smiling for the rest of the day. He would always see her in private and not so often in public, she preferred it that way. He never disputed with her decisions, he figured it better not to rush things like his past attempt at romance.

 

Kimberly was part of the Student Council, a very prestigious group according to high school standards, as a result, every Tuesday afternoon she was always busy with meetings. She would tell him to head-on home because her parents would personally come pick her up after work. This was the only day he wouldn’t use the school bus with her; he hated the thought.

 

One Tuesday, he decided to surprise her by waiting, even if it meant seeing her for a couple of seconds, he believed it was worth it. The meeting finished and he hid behind a hedge full of daffodils, he had plucked out a few, it was all part of the surprise. Every member of the student council came out besides her, where is she?

 

He couldn’t wait any longer, so he decided to enter the meeting room; though if he knew what he would see, he wouldn’t have. In plain sight, he saw Kimberly kissing the new guy who went by the name of ‘Pablo’, the new recruit of the student council. They were sitting side by side, near the main council table, mauling each others’ lips in an almost routine fashion. She looked so happy, he hadn’t seen her smile like that, ever. The daffodils he had been holding started feeling unusually heavy, unwillingly slipping through his fingers; it took an eternity for them to hit the ground. Kimberly and Pablo noticed the fall and stopped kissing, they started to giggle among themselves.

 

What’s so funny? He thought to himself. Pablo calmly stood up smiling, he picked up his belongings and kissed a blushing Kimberly on the cheek. She had obviously seen him, but her eyes were too engulfed by Pablo, who was naturally tall and muscular; a fight was tempting but the end result would have been utter defeat. Pablo had an arrogant look on his face as he mumbled, “bench-warmer” on his way out.

 

Before he could ask Kimberly any questions, she told him that he should have expected it, he didn’t understand why until someone broke the ice. Pablo was already her boyfriend, but he had been learning at a different school until then, put bluntly, he was the time-pusher. All of a sudden, It all made sense, why she thought he should have expected it, and why she never wanted to see him in public; he was just an option. She was not willing to risk her reputation by being seen with the likes of him. He spent the rest of the year feeling utterly humiliated and used.

 

These people, they knew – – EVERY LAST one of them knew, and they didn’t tell me…

******

Two years after, he had other relationships. The first was with a girl named Meryl, it was a good one, even his friend Ned spoke highly of her. ‘Our friend Meryl. She has angel on her CV, I checked’  he’d always say.

 

Not only did Meryl’s long black hair always leave him stunned, her brown eyes were so enticing, looking at them was addictive. She had this aura, he could never read her like the others, she was always smiling, and how she did it was a mystery. After three months of ceaseless chemistry, she moved to another country. There was little to no contact through the phone, so in the end, both of them stopped communicating. In a way, he had purposefully stopped trying to communicate with her because he felt it would make him get too attached, then later on disappointed. Even though she hadn’t hurt him, he didn’t want to take any chances.

 

The other one was with a girl he knew had a crush on him, Rachel was her name. They connected from the word ‘go’ but as time passed she became possessive and expected him to do everything for her, so he broke it off. Through-out high-school he didn’t see the point of being in a relationship, he had tried his best to fall in love again, especially after Kimberly, but he found it difficult. That would probably explain why he dumped Rachel a few days later, because she expected him to commit and to always provide attention. She was a good person who he felt deserved more than he was giving her. At a younger age he would’ve loved Rachel’s possessiveness, because it would’ve made him feel ‘needed’, or special, but at this stage, he found that to be a no-go area.

******

Four Years Later (Leaver’s Party)

It was just another Leaver’s Party, their significance had diminished after having seen so many of them over the years. They always took at night in the main building, the poor decorations around the entire campus were courtesy of the Student Council. Ear-drum rupturing noises could be heard all over, with girls screaming, music playing and loud chatter; mostly boys trying to sound as impressive as possible. He hated the noise, the day, the scene, the weather, the people, everything.

 

He was on his way to the school bus with Ned, intending to leave the premises, when out of the blue…

 

“Hey, Walter!” Pablo called him, he had recently broken up with Kimberly and was going out with another girl named Monica. She was prettier.

 

He turned around and looked at Pablo without a word, Ned continued walking towards the bus.

 

“Why are you leaving the party so soon man?” Pablo spread his arms as if he was an all important figure at the occasion.

 

He smiled to himself and walked slowly towards Pablo, “Well, there’s not much left for me to do here I’m afraid”

 

“What do you mean? There are a lot of girls here” Pablo said, hugging Monica by the waist.

 

Walter responded, “Yes Pablo, there are. But my curiosity is not really there anymore” he started looking at Monica’s figure.

 

“Don’t eye-ball my girlfriend like that Walter, you know you can’t have her right?” Pablo chuckled lightly, hovering his free hand in front of Monica’s upper body. He was genuinely joking.

 

“I’ve done more than eye-ball Monica my mis-informed friend”

 

“What are you talking about?” Pablo’s smile began to fade and Monica started fidgeting with her purse.

 

“Let’s go baby” Monica said trying to move towards the main building, but Pablo’s arm clung even harder to her waist.

 

Walter let out a sigh, “Oh, she hasn’t told you yet?”

 

“Told me what?” Pablo’s eyes shifted between Walter and Monica.

 

“Monica and I have been seeing each other for weeks now, in secret — and I have to say, our meetings are always so full of energy, and intimacy. It’s a shame she doesn’t show that particular side to you”

 

“Is this true?” Pablo asked Monica, she didn’t answer, “Hah! You’re a funny guy Walter, you almost got me!” Pablo said giving a light punch to Walter’s shoulder.

 

“…It’s not like she’s denying it” he looked at Monica, “are you..?”

 

Monica mumbled to herself,  “Walter…you promised…” immediately after, Pablo removed his hand from Monica’s waist.

 

“What!?” Pablo said as he started fuming, anyone within three metres could have heard him breathe. He couldn’t help but start pacing. After a long pause Pablo looked at Walter with his finger pointed at him, “You little bastard! Y-you knew — Y-you knew I wanted to ask her out and you-”

 

Walter cut in,“- warmed the bench. I AM the ‘bench warmer’ aren’t I? Just like I did with Kimberly, I made sure Monica was ready for you” he grinned for a brief moment, “As I said before, there’s nothing left for me here”

 

Pablo was speechless, but his bloodshot eyes were a clear hint of what he was feeling deep inside. It was a mixture of hate and humiliation, whatever the case, Walter didn’t seem to care. Monica stood there teary eyed, looking at the destruction that had just occurred right in front of her very eyes. She tried holding Pablo’s shoulder, but he moved away.

 

The school bus was getting ready to leave and Walter started walking towards it. He made a quick pause with his back faced towards Monica and Pablo, “Happy New Year”

 

To be continued…

 

 

Danté

 

Broken Pieces: Chapter 1

 

Please leave a comment, or two, or three 🙂

(I would also love some input on whether you found the story  interesting so far, if so, what parts struck you the most. Since its the prologue not much was revealed about the other characters, however If any characters intrigued you, please mention how and why. I would really appreciate it 🙂 )