Broken Strings

E X T R A C H A P T E R

"They say don't let them it.
Close your eyes and clear your thoughts again
But when I'm all alone, they show up on their own.
'Cause inner demons fight their battles with fire
Inner demons don't play by the rules.
They say 'Just push them down, just fight them harder
Why would you give up so soon?'

So angels, angels please just keep on fighting
Angels don't give up on me today."

- Inner Demons by Julia Brennan

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Six Years Ago
Mira is about five months old

Anisha sent another text to Andrew. She'd already sent him two but this one was to let him know that Ryan and Mira were already asleep. And that his dinner was on the dining table.

He wasn't going to reply. She already knew that. Because he never replied back.

Anisha set her phone on the nightstand, right next to the photo frame. The photo frame with a picture from just a few months ago, when Mira had been born and Anisha had thought that things would finally be different.

Soft sobs escaped her lips as she picked up the photo frame and looked at it. Gently, she ran her hand over the picture.

"I'm sorry." Her eyes were focused on Ryan and Mira. She was apologizing. To her kids. For giving up.

Because for Anisha, everything had just came down too fast. She just couldn't take it anymore.

Her decision was final.

Anisha Hayes was going to end the pain tonight. She was going to set herself free. Once and for all.

These voices had gotten to be too much. She really couldn't fight anymore. She really couldn't deal with life anymore.

Neither did she want to.

She set the picture back on the nightstand. There was a white bandage on her wrist, covering the cuts she'd made the night before.

They were only small cuts, things she done to help ease the pain. Every time Anisha ran the razor across her wrists, she could block out the negativity and pain.

Because the voices in her head were getting to be too much.

In the last few months, everything had gotten to be too much. Andrew was cheating on her, again, even though he had promised not to. He hadn't told her yet but she already knew. Ryan had started pre-school and he was gone during the day. So Anisha was all alone with Mira. And all Mira did was cry every day.

Then Anisha would cry. Because Mira was crying.

It was all too much.

In the last few weeks, she had searched every bit of reason to live.

She hadn't found any.

Tonight, she was going to make seven little cuts and the eighth cut, it would be deep and enough to set her free.

Eight cuts total, one for each year she had suffered.

She simply couldn't be bothered with anything. Most definitely not with Andrew. Nor with life in general.

Anisha slowly stood up, making her way over to the dresser. She opened the second drawer, it was where she hid the box with the razor and a bottle filled with sleeping pills.

She pulled out the small box, placing it on top of the dresser. She uncapped the bottle with the sleeping pills and counted the pills, making sure there were at least seven of them.