Heart of Glass

Heartbroken

Some people have a necklace that can be hidden. Others; a ring, that people can see. But everyone has the same: a small glass heart. It represents who they loved and how they loved...and how broken their heart was.

Jasmine approached the comfortable yellow house with a small smile. Her heart dangled at her throat, the deep blue catching the sunlight as it hung. She stepped onto the porch and knocked twice before entering, her good-natured hello dying as she took in the scene before her. A boy with light brown hair, a mess of curls, was sitting hunched over, elbows on his knees and head dropped, fingering something gently. Breathing deeply, she strode over and sat next to Alex, twisting so she could see his face. Dried tears streaked it and his jaw was working, eyes downcast. She waited in silence, knowing that if she just waited, he would tell her everything.

"She's gone. Allie's gone." he said hoarsely. "She said I wasn't good enough, essentially. Then she just...left."

He opened his hands, revealing a truly shattered, emerald green heart with a thin silver chain dribbled into his hand.

Jasmine's breath caught in her throat. "You-you really liked her then, didn't you?" she swallowed, heart pounding.

"Yeah. And this is what I get for it." Alex said bitterly, gesturing to the broken glass. "I've never even seen a heart this broken-and I don't think there's any coming back from this."

She looked up at him quickly, a fire of anger and worry reflecting in her brown eyes.

"Don't say that. Everything is able to be fixed."

Alex shrugged, shaking his head simultaneously. "Jaz, there are literal chunks, whole shards of glass missing. No matter how much you think you can fix it, she took some of my heart with her, and it will stay that way because they're never coming back. She's never coming back."

Jaz took a deep breath. He can't know. If he finds out, all of your work will be wasted.

"Then I'll go and get them for you." Alex's head snapped up, alarmed. "What? No! No, I won't let you."

"Watch me. I just want you to be happy, Al, let me help you." Jaz's eyes met Alex's and he knew she wasn't going to let this drop. "Alex, I care if you had a bad day. I care if you're Heartbroken, and I care if somebody hurt you. I will do what it takes to heal you again."

Jaz held her hand out expectantly, nodding toward the chain in his hand. Jaz waited with bated breath. He never let people touch his heart. It was always in his shirt, where nobody could see it. But just maybe...maybe this once he'd let her in, if only just to help. Alex's eyes flicked up, then down, then up again, curiously and hopefully. He held it out and lightly dropped the tiny ornament shards into her palm. Already the shards were starting to rearrange themselves, pieces slowly moving towards each other, cracks and fibers disappearing. However, the holes remained, and Jaz could even see it on his face. She needed to speed up the process. Hesitating, she took a giant leap.

"You know, there's nothing wrong with you. You are enough, and if she doesn't see that then she doesn't know you at all."