Categories > Original > Drama
Heartbreak in Reverse
Ten.
In two and a half hours she will be sitting on her couch in the dark. The only light will come from the glowing numbers of the digital clock on her VCR, but she won't see that. On the table in front of her will be the remains of Chinese take-out and an empty carton of ice cream, but she won't see those either. She will gaze into darkness, images two and a half hours gone replaying again and again before her eyes, and she will wonder how a life can shatter in so little time.
Nine.
In two hours she will be gorging herself on garlic noodles and pork fried rice, sesame chicken and crab rangoon, with a half-empty carton of ice cream she dug out of the freezer for dessert. She has always loved Chinese food, but this time the food will be tasteless, will do nothing to distract her from the fact that no amount of comfort food can fill the gaping void where her heart used to be. She will eat it anyway.
Eight.
In one and a half hours she will order all her favorite dishes from her favorite Chinese restaurant. She will sit motionless, waiting for the food to arrive, trying not to think of how he never liked Chinese food but would eat it to make her happy, joking all the while that she loved the food more than she loved him. Once-precious memories will be tainted with the inevitable question - was he still mine then, or had she already won him?
Seven.
In one hour she will be pulled over by the side of the road, tears blurring her vision too much for her to drive safely anymore. She will hold her face in her hands and cry harder than she has ever cried in her life - because she'd thought their relationship was strong and steady and meant something, because she'd begun to think he might be the one, because all her love and trust now lies shattered like shards of glass beads on the ground, glinting in the late afternoon sun.
Six.
In forty-five minutes she will stop her car by a park they used to visit. She will get out, remembering all the times they walked slowly through, him whispering soft words of love in her ears - all lies, she will know now. On her wrist will be a bracelet he gave her for their first anniversary. In one last spurt of rage she will rip it off her wrist and throw it to the ground. The beads will break and scatter, lost forever, and she will get back into her car with an empty ache in her chest.
Five.
In fifteen minutes she will leave his apartment and make her way back to her car, slamming doors all the way. She will pay no attention to where she is going and just barely to how fast she is going there; her fury will drive all thoughts from her mind save the compelling need to get as far away as possible from that place, from that loathsome man.
Four.
In five minutes the initial numbness will wear off, and overpowering anger will set in. She will scream and yell, unable to stand the callous way he dismisses two years of history;she will throw things, break things, unable to bear the smug look in her eyes that declares victory in a war that should never have been started.
Three.
In ten seconds she will stare in disbelief as her boyfriend and best friend notice her and break apart. They will fix their hair and clothes, but she will never be able to fix the wound they have inflicted upon her.
Two.
In five seconds she will open the door and her life will shatter.
One.
She turns the key.
0000000000
A/N: This was something of an experiment of mine. It's the first thing I've ever written using the future tense, and yet was strangely easy to finish compared to all the other plot bunnies I have floating around. Please review and tell me what you think.
Ten.
In two and a half hours she will be sitting on her couch in the dark. The only light will come from the glowing numbers of the digital clock on her VCR, but she won't see that. On the table in front of her will be the remains of Chinese take-out and an empty carton of ice cream, but she won't see those either. She will gaze into darkness, images two and a half hours gone replaying again and again before her eyes, and she will wonder how a life can shatter in so little time.
Nine.
In two hours she will be gorging herself on garlic noodles and pork fried rice, sesame chicken and crab rangoon, with a half-empty carton of ice cream she dug out of the freezer for dessert. She has always loved Chinese food, but this time the food will be tasteless, will do nothing to distract her from the fact that no amount of comfort food can fill the gaping void where her heart used to be. She will eat it anyway.
Eight.
In one and a half hours she will order all her favorite dishes from her favorite Chinese restaurant. She will sit motionless, waiting for the food to arrive, trying not to think of how he never liked Chinese food but would eat it to make her happy, joking all the while that she loved the food more than she loved him. Once-precious memories will be tainted with the inevitable question - was he still mine then, or had she already won him?
Seven.
In one hour she will be pulled over by the side of the road, tears blurring her vision too much for her to drive safely anymore. She will hold her face in her hands and cry harder than she has ever cried in her life - because she'd thought their relationship was strong and steady and meant something, because she'd begun to think he might be the one, because all her love and trust now lies shattered like shards of glass beads on the ground, glinting in the late afternoon sun.
Six.
In forty-five minutes she will stop her car by a park they used to visit. She will get out, remembering all the times they walked slowly through, him whispering soft words of love in her ears - all lies, she will know now. On her wrist will be a bracelet he gave her for their first anniversary. In one last spurt of rage she will rip it off her wrist and throw it to the ground. The beads will break and scatter, lost forever, and she will get back into her car with an empty ache in her chest.
Five.
In fifteen minutes she will leave his apartment and make her way back to her car, slamming doors all the way. She will pay no attention to where she is going and just barely to how fast she is going there; her fury will drive all thoughts from her mind save the compelling need to get as far away as possible from that place, from that loathsome man.
Four.
In five minutes the initial numbness will wear off, and overpowering anger will set in. She will scream and yell, unable to stand the callous way he dismisses two years of history;she will throw things, break things, unable to bear the smug look in her eyes that declares victory in a war that should never have been started.
Three.
In ten seconds she will stare in disbelief as her boyfriend and best friend notice her and break apart. They will fix their hair and clothes, but she will never be able to fix the wound they have inflicted upon her.
Two.
In five seconds she will open the door and her life will shatter.
One.
She turns the key.
0000000000
A/N: This was something of an experiment of mine. It's the first thing I've ever written using the future tense, and yet was strangely easy to finish compared to all the other plot bunnies I have floating around. Please review and tell me what you think.
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