Abandonment is one word to describe Evelyn Ward's childhood.
Known as an orphan freak and paranoid schizophrenic, she was dragged through years of therapy after admitting to hearing whispering voices and seeing creatures and living shadows.
...
Up until that point, I had never given much thought to the idea of marriage. It wasn't because I didn't like the thought of marriage, or that I was afraid of the commitment, I had just never thought about it. Still, it was Jorden proposing. Jorden whom I had known for almost three years and dated for two. Jorden: always caring and considerate, always giving me my space and never pressuring me for anything.
My glass heart shattered under the weight of the guilt that assailed me at the sight of his face melting into a mask of dejection at my continued silence.
The jagged edges of my heart ripped open my chest as the front door swung after me. The ragged breathing of my torn lungs drowned out all other sounds while my conscious wailed for me to turn back and explain, to try and ease Jorden's heartache.
But lying to him made me sick, and I didn't have the decency to tell him the truth. So I ran.
With a blatant disregard for my safety, my feet pounded across the pavement, splashing through the puddles forming beneath the gathering storm clouds that shed their tears alongside my own.
The violent ache crushing me from the inside finally forced me to stop, taking my legs out from under me.
Crawling to my knees, I searched my pockets for my phone and dialed Chelsea's number. Asking for help was almost never on my list of things to do when I was hurt or upset; I had learned over and over to never expose your weakness to others, but at that moment, I had already hurt myself too badly to care.
Chelsea found me some time later, soaked to the bone, and shaking on the sidewalk. She helped me into her car, and turning the heat on to full blast, wrapped a jacket around my shoulders to warm me up.
"I think -- I think I -- I ruined things with -- with Jorden." My sobbing words were intermittent with gasps as my lungs fought for more oxygen.
"Shh, shh, hun, calm down. You're gonna be okay. Just breathe." She rubbed my shoulders, soothing me, speaking in a calming tone under her breath.
My listless gaze focused on nothing outside the rain-streaked window as she drove. Inside me, a fight raged on, a desperate battle to stave off my emotional trainwreck and look around with logic and a clear mind. But heartache doesn't bow to logic.
When we pulled up alongside the curb outside a store labeled Haunted Horrors: Costumes & More, Chelsea hopped out of the car and walked around to open my door and drag me out.
"What are we doing?" My voice echoed, hollow even to my own ears.
She gave me a 'duh' stare. "It's Halloween, and I am not letting you sulk alone. The best cure for heartbreak is alcohol and music, so we're going to party."
Her Eyebrow of Doom cut my desire to protest, so I kept my mouth shut and followed her into the costume shop.
Admittedly, her idea was a good one. Though shopping didn't take away my pain, Chelsea kept me busy enough to have little time for dwelling on Jorden, and by the time we left the shop, the ache in my chest had let up enough to let me breathe.
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Is this the end of Evelyn and Jorden's relationship? Would he take her back after this - does she even want to go back? And should she go back? What do you think?
