The Cool Girl| Kim Taehyung

Cool for the Summer

It feels like she can never, ever quite accept it.

Any of it.

It's NOT over!

Desiree's heart kept saying.

But the cold emptiness the girl suffered as she walked away from Taehyung's harsh words made her feel otherwise.

It wasn't until she stumbled into the kitchen and her fingers gripped the basin of the stainless steel sink, when Desiree really started to cry.

Her chest heaved painfully, her legs felt heavy but at the same time, fragile.

Like glass, she feared they might give out from beneath her at any time.

She stared down at the pile of unwashed dishes.

Grabbing the dish sponge, Des felt almost puppet-like.

Almost as though she were watching herself from outside a dirty, clouded window.

She roughly scrubbed one plate, then set it aside. After that, she took up a small bowl. Blindly assaulting that too with the wedge of green foam.

Head bowed, Des kept on washing. Her arms moving furiously because she needed to keep moving.

It felt almost impossible to stop.

If she stopped, then everything would be still and she'd have to think about reality...

Snot dripped down her face, and an indescribable noise bubbled out of the girl suddenly when her fingers took hold of a certain special piece of porcelain.

It hadn't been all that special before, quite ordinary in fact. Its everyday existence, taken for granted, until now.

A forest green vessel, chipped on one side with tiny white flowers bordering the rim.

The rushing water from the tap buzzed in her ears as Desiree stood still looking at her boyfriend's favourite mug through blood-shot eyes.

One hand clamped quickly down over her mouth as deep sobs slammed through her empty body again before she could help it.

Seeing it was like a stab in the heart.

Visions of Taehyung's soft smile in the morning played behind her eyes.

Des cried until a sharp pain seared her lungs.

And then there was a voice,

"Des?" it called, pulling her from the whirling drowning clutches of despair that was the thought of ever having to live without Taehyung, "Des, what's wrong?"

The girl blinked back her tears to see Shayla glaring in shock from the hallway.

It was evident that she'd just got in the door.

A sparkly bandeau top desperately clung at its spaghetti straps. A hopeless effort to cover Shayla's modesty. Des could see the fine ribs of her friend's svelte size 2 body heave a little as she took a deep breath of surprise.

"Yo-u're" Des hiccuped, "Back...early."

Shayla's eyes roamed over her Desiree's distressed countenance.

Des could see the invisible question marks popping up by the seconds, above Shayla's head and so, she decided to play it cool.

Just how cool could she be, exactly?