Excerpts From Stories I'll Never Write

Sample Prolouge - Excerpt

I sat in the chair, rocking back and forth on the back legs.

I've come to have a love/hate relationship with this room.

I'm absolutely sick of the weekly, almost every-other-day visits.

But I've come to love the way essential oils from the diffuser blanket the air, and the hollow paper mache masks live on the walls.

Each mask, with it's hollow eyes and gold detailing, representing a part of every patient who has ever graced this room with his or her presence.

The red and gold one holds my story. Why I'm here, and why I haven't gotten "back to the beauty that I fell in love with" as my boyfriend says.

Not that he still doesn't love me, no, but he's worried.

This kind of stuff scars you.

"Okay, I'm sorry I'm late." The man I've come to know as Dr. Hannigan (he always says "Oh, call me Alex", but I never do), came into the room.

"It's alright, Doctor." I said, not removing my glance from the red mask on the wall.

"Please, call me Alex, I'm serious." He said with a slight chuckle.

I nodded, still focused on the mask.

"Something robbing you?" He asked, following my gaze back to the paper mache art.

"Kind of..." My voice trailed off.

"The masks? Do you know who made them?" He asked, rummaging drawers and pulling out the 3 inch binder with my name on it.

"Yeah, um, it was Stevenson, wasn't it?"

"You are correct. Michael was a great artist. I actually had him as a patient awhile back."

"Really?" I asked thinking of the kid, (Well, he was way into his adult years now, last I heard of him, him and his wife had a little girl on the way) who always seemed so perfect.

"Yeah. Great artist, once again. He just...well, we won't get into that." Alex said shuffling through my papers strung together through the metal rings of the binder. "Whenever you're ready." His genuine smile brought my focus back into reality.

I took a few breaths, fully bringing myself back to reality, and nodded.

"Alright, Miss. Burgess, how have you been feeling lately?"

"I mean, I'm fine. Everyone's been well."

"Good." He nodded. "Anything else to update me on before we officially begin?"

"No." I shook my head.

"Alright." He flipped to another tab of the binder. "Your..." He searched for an answer.

"My boyfriend, Val." I finished the sentence he started.

I didn't have too much family around anymore, and if I did, they didn't accept me because of my thought of going into arts rather than a more "practical" career path, but whatever, who needs them?

"Yes. He asked me to show you this." Alex slid a yellow legal notepad towards me. "He found it in her apartment nights back."

Tears filled my eyes, creating a film that blurred my vision.

"Does this have any meaning to you?" He asked, seeing my reaction.

I nodded, letting tears fall.

My shaking fingers used the mind of their own I didn't know they had, and turned to one of the middle pages.

November 3rd, 2017

Burgess, we've won. The battle is over.

"What's that?" Alex smiled, seeing my smile.

"That was a document of our dance battle between us two and my boyfriend and his brother." I chuckled lightly, and those darn fingers of mine flipped to another page.

I was smiling at all the memories, until I came to the last page.

I love you, Burgess, I'm here with you, I swear.

Alex nodded at my new reaction, indirectly telling me to explain.

"She...she went too soon."