ISOLATION

Day 9

When I woke up the next morning, Lauren was nowhere to be found so I assumed she was outside like she had been last night. My assumptions were confirmed when I walked outside and saw her sitting at the glass table, her head in her hands.

"Are you okay?" I asked quietly.

Without a word, she stood up from the table and brushed past me, her shoulder slightly knocking mine in the process. She didn't say a word, instead walking into the cabin and slamming the door shut behind her. I wasn't sure what I had done to make her act this way. Perhaps she was PMSing, or perhaps she had gotten some bad news over the phone. I didn't want to press on the matter, so I decided to just leave her be. If she wanted to talk about it, she would come to me.

I walked inside behind her, ignoring her temper and going into the bathroom to brush my teeth. Once I had finished I walked back out, seeing Lauren lying in her bed facing the wall. I wanted to ask what was wrong, ask if there was anything I could do to lift her mood.

"Lauren?" I asked quietly, sitting down on my bed.

"Fuck off, James!" she snapped, and I flinched at her tone.

What had I done to illicit such a change in her mood? Her attitude took me by surprise, and almost instantly my eyes began to burn with tears. I didn't want to push her, so I sat there quietly.

"Okay," I whimpered, curling up in a ball and covering myself with a blanket.

I should've known that the bond between us wasn't going to last. I should've known that every apology she spat out of her mouth was nothing but a cold hearted lie. I should've known that she considered me worthless, that everything that had happened in the cabin up until this point had been nothing but a fucking act.

"Why won't you believe me?" Her voice rang out into the silence.

I uncovered my head with the blanket and sat up, staring at her incredulously.

"Believe you about what?" I asked her.

"You said 'don't make promises you can't keep'. What makes you think I won't keep my promise?" she asked me, getting up out of bed and walking over to me.

"What makes me think that you will, Lauren?" I raised my voice angrily, standing up and facing her, not daring to back down.

"Just believe me!" she yelled, and I scoffed at her.

"Believe you?" I laughed manically, "How can you just expect me to believe you when you've done nothing but torture me for three fucking years Lauren. I don't think you even realise what you put me through, but I remember every single fucking thing."

She stayed silent, her mouth hanging open slightly.

"Do you remember the time you told the teacher that I cheated on the biology test? I got a zero and my mum grounded me for two weeks. Do you remember the time you tripped me over in basketball even though we were on the same team? I tore two ligaments in my knee and couldn't walk properly for months. Do you remember the time you poured red cordial through my backpack? You ruined the poem that I had been working on for my dads funeral. Or what about the time you put peanut butter on the lid of my drink bottle because you thought I was lying about being allergic. I had to go to hospital that night because I could hardly breathe. So don't you dare stand there and tell me that I should believe you!" I screamed at her, tears now pouring down my cheeks.

"I'm sorry!" she yelled back at me. "I'm so fucking sorry. I wish I could take it all back but I can't. I'll do anything to make you believe me."

"I've forgiven you Lauren, but don't try and make promises that you can't fucking keep! How am I supposed to know that you won't go back to how you were before as soon as we get out of here?" I said angrily, and she sighed frustratingly while running her hands through her hair.