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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Family & Friends
- Subject: Death / Heartbreak / Loss
- Published: 02/28/2015
At first, I didn’t know what happened? What was said or not that day? All I know was Johnny walked out the door one day and never came back. I tried to stop him. I remember trying to reach for his arm as he flew past me and out of the door in a flash. I ran outside calling his name. He stopped, but didn’t turn to look at me and said, “not now Em. I’ll call you later.” And he quickly disappeared into the distance.
That night I waited by the phone. Every time, it rang, I jumped to grab it only to be disappointed when it turned out to be someone other than Johnny. Eventually, the day went by and he still hadn’t called. Even worst, he wasn’t answering my calls.
I considered asking my father what he and Johnny discussed that day, but I was a coward. I knew he didn’t like Johnny and wasn’t supportive of my relationship with him. Though I couldn’t understand why he didn’t like him. He was no criminal or anything. He had a job, albeit not one that required an education. But a job is a job nevertheless.
Every time I would bring up my relationship with Johnny, my father would leave the room in the midst of the conversation. As Johnny and I became closer to each other, my father’s alienation towards me became more and more apparent. My heart was torn between the two men I loved most in this world and I didn’t know what to do.
So Johnny came up with the idea. “Let me talk to him,” he said one day after hearing me vent about my father’s antagonistic view on our relationship. I wanted to protest, but he raised a hand to interrupt me, “I can’t bear seeing you so torn apart by the situation Em. I know you love your dad. Let me help mend the fence between you two.”
And just like that I let him. And the last thing I knew I was on the porch calling his name as he zoomed out of my life.
I went inside the house, past my father’s study. The door was closed. But I knew he was in there. Again, I debated to go in and confront him. Whatever he said to Johnny made him leave. I wanted to demand answers, but I also knew my father very well. He’d not engage me into an argument or answer to me. We all ought to know our place in the Lloyd household. Besides, I was too heartbroken to muster any courage to go start an argument. All I wanted and needed at that particular moment was to run to my room and burry myself under the covers crying myself to sleep.
And I did.
My phone buzzed me out of sleep in the evening announcing an incoming text message. For a few seconds, I felt disoriented. Then the memories of the event earlier flashed into my mind and I felt a surge of excitement went through me thinking it might be a text from Johnny. I reached for the phone only to be disappointed when once again I noticed it wasn’t Johnny. It was a text from Amy my BBF since... I can’t even remember… kindergarten I guess. I swiped the screen to read it and frown.
OMG M, r u k? Can’t believe ya n John r 86. Y didn’t u tl me?
My heart immediately leapt in my throat and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Tears welled in my eyes as it suddenly occurred to me that this message confirmed what I’d been thinking all day. I immediately punched her number and she picked up at the first ring. “Em?” she said.
“Who told you it was over Amy?” I asked impatiently, almost to the point of snapping at her.
“Em are you okay? Do you need me to come over?” she said ignoring my question. But I didn’t let that blind me from my purpose. My heart hurt and I needed to know who said it? I needed to know whether her source was reliable?
“Who told you Amy?” I asked through clenched teeth, my patience wearing thin and rage began to show bits and pieces of itself in my voice and I’m sure my face if she could see me.
“Well… mm.. Johnny called Sam and told…”
“He called Sam? What’d he say? Did he say we were over? Did he? Hein? Tell me!” I interrupted her; my voice gaining momentum.
Sam was Johnny’s best friend. Somehow knowing that he’d called Sam made me sick to my stomach. Each and every reason I thought about while waiting for his phone call was turning out to be true and I felt my life crumbling around me. I suddenly realised It was true. Sam was the only person in whom he’d confide. I placed a hand upon my heart as it beat madly as if on the verge of suffocation as realisation hit me;
He left me.
I inhaled a deep breath and let out a gut wrenching sound of pure pain. I sobbed on the phone as Amy tried to soothe me as best she could. After a few moments, I wiped at my eyes and nose. “Tell… me…. A..my.” I said pleading between hiccups.
She sighed at the desperation in my voice and said, “he said it was over between you two.”
“Nothing else? Didn’t he say why?”
“No. He said he wasn’t ready to go into details.” I didn’t hear her after that. I threw the phone at the wall and it shattered into pieces along with my heart. I then let myself out of the bed and went in search of my father.
I didn’t find him in the study. But what I found there broke me even more. I tentatively reached for the evidence of his betrayal and couldn’t believe in a million years that the man I love would ever be capable of such a mean act of betrayal.
I wasn’t aware when my father’s hand touched my shoulder at first. The pain shooting through my stomach and my throat was too intense. It wasn’t before he squeezed my shoulder to make his presence known that I realised he was there offering me support. I didn’t realise I was crying before I saw droplets of water blurring the image of Johnny and my best friend in an intimate embrace. I let go of the picture and it dropped to the floor. I turned in my father’s embrace and sobbed. “It’s okay baby…It’ll be okay, ” he soothed.
When the tears subsided a little, I left my father and went to my room to be alone. As I passed the living room I heard the doorbell. I went to open it without looking in the peephole. Amy stood at the door. “Em..” she started to say before I slammed the door in her face.
Faced with Betrayal(Cristelle Grenade)
At first, I didn’t know what happened? What was said or not that day? All I know was Johnny walked out the door one day and never came back. I tried to stop him. I remember trying to reach for his arm as he flew past me and out of the door in a flash. I ran outside calling his name. He stopped, but didn’t turn to look at me and said, “not now Em. I’ll call you later.” And he quickly disappeared into the distance.
That night I waited by the phone. Every time, it rang, I jumped to grab it only to be disappointed when it turned out to be someone other than Johnny. Eventually, the day went by and he still hadn’t called. Even worst, he wasn’t answering my calls.
I considered asking my father what he and Johnny discussed that day, but I was a coward. I knew he didn’t like Johnny and wasn’t supportive of my relationship with him. Though I couldn’t understand why he didn’t like him. He was no criminal or anything. He had a job, albeit not one that required an education. But a job is a job nevertheless.
Every time I would bring up my relationship with Johnny, my father would leave the room in the midst of the conversation. As Johnny and I became closer to each other, my father’s alienation towards me became more and more apparent. My heart was torn between the two men I loved most in this world and I didn’t know what to do.
So Johnny came up with the idea. “Let me talk to him,” he said one day after hearing me vent about my father’s antagonistic view on our relationship. I wanted to protest, but he raised a hand to interrupt me, “I can’t bear seeing you so torn apart by the situation Em. I know you love your dad. Let me help mend the fence between you two.”
And just like that I let him. And the last thing I knew I was on the porch calling his name as he zoomed out of my life.
I went inside the house, past my father’s study. The door was closed. But I knew he was in there. Again, I debated to go in and confront him. Whatever he said to Johnny made him leave. I wanted to demand answers, but I also knew my father very well. He’d not engage me into an argument or answer to me. We all ought to know our place in the Lloyd household. Besides, I was too heartbroken to muster any courage to go start an argument. All I wanted and needed at that particular moment was to run to my room and burry myself under the covers crying myself to sleep.
And I did.
My phone buzzed me out of sleep in the evening announcing an incoming text message. For a few seconds, I felt disoriented. Then the memories of the event earlier flashed into my mind and I felt a surge of excitement went through me thinking it might be a text from Johnny. I reached for the phone only to be disappointed when once again I noticed it wasn’t Johnny. It was a text from Amy my BBF since... I can’t even remember… kindergarten I guess. I swiped the screen to read it and frown.
OMG M, r u k? Can’t believe ya n John r 86. Y didn’t u tl me?
My heart immediately leapt in my throat and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Tears welled in my eyes as it suddenly occurred to me that this message confirmed what I’d been thinking all day. I immediately punched her number and she picked up at the first ring. “Em?” she said.
“Who told you it was over Amy?” I asked impatiently, almost to the point of snapping at her.
“Em are you okay? Do you need me to come over?” she said ignoring my question. But I didn’t let that blind me from my purpose. My heart hurt and I needed to know who said it? I needed to know whether her source was reliable?
“Who told you Amy?” I asked through clenched teeth, my patience wearing thin and rage began to show bits and pieces of itself in my voice and I’m sure my face if she could see me.
“Well… mm.. Johnny called Sam and told…”
“He called Sam? What’d he say? Did he say we were over? Did he? Hein? Tell me!” I interrupted her; my voice gaining momentum.
Sam was Johnny’s best friend. Somehow knowing that he’d called Sam made me sick to my stomach. Each and every reason I thought about while waiting for his phone call was turning out to be true and I felt my life crumbling around me. I suddenly realised It was true. Sam was the only person in whom he’d confide. I placed a hand upon my heart as it beat madly as if on the verge of suffocation as realisation hit me;
He left me.
I inhaled a deep breath and let out a gut wrenching sound of pure pain. I sobbed on the phone as Amy tried to soothe me as best she could. After a few moments, I wiped at my eyes and nose. “Tell… me…. A..my.” I said pleading between hiccups.
She sighed at the desperation in my voice and said, “he said it was over between you two.”
“Nothing else? Didn’t he say why?”
“No. He said he wasn’t ready to go into details.” I didn’t hear her after that. I threw the phone at the wall and it shattered into pieces along with my heart. I then let myself out of the bed and went in search of my father.
I didn’t find him in the study. But what I found there broke me even more. I tentatively reached for the evidence of his betrayal and couldn’t believe in a million years that the man I love would ever be capable of such a mean act of betrayal.
I wasn’t aware when my father’s hand touched my shoulder at first. The pain shooting through my stomach and my throat was too intense. It wasn’t before he squeezed my shoulder to make his presence known that I realised he was there offering me support. I didn’t realise I was crying before I saw droplets of water blurring the image of Johnny and my best friend in an intimate embrace. I let go of the picture and it dropped to the floor. I turned in my father’s embrace and sobbed. “It’s okay baby…It’ll be okay, ” he soothed.
When the tears subsided a little, I left my father and went to my room to be alone. As I passed the living room I heard the doorbell. I went to open it without looking in the peephole. Amy stood at the door. “Em..” she started to say before I slammed the door in her face.
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