I wrote this short story with the intent of seeing how much of a picture I could paint with half a conversation.
“It’s just so hard not to text him,” Sydney said into the phone. She paced back and forth, rearranging little things in her room.
“I know, I know,” She retorted to the voice on the other end of the line, “I am trying to remember how terrible the relationship was.”
She paused and sat on the bed, curling her knees into her chest. “But it doesn’t change the fact that I still love him. It’s been months since he kicked me out and even longer since he broke up with me for that other girl, but I am still stupidly in love with him.”
Sydney laid back on the bed. She could feel the tears starting to swell and her throat clamping shut as she nodded along to the voice in her phone. She loudly released the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
“I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like…” She paused, struggling to find the words, “It’s like when I think of him, it is easier to remember the bad. The way he pushed me around and disrespected my boundaries, how he’d get mad when I don’t do things at the same pace.”
She choked, forcing the next words out, “The time he said he wasn’t as sexually interested in me because of the weight I gained, or – you remember that girl he started seeing before we even broke up? How he began moving her in before I could afford to move out.”
She jolted back to a sitting position, rubbing her forehead and covering her eyes as though the other person could see the soft, wet trails dragging down her cheeks. “Despite all of that,” her voice began to crack, “I still feel like I am supposed to be with him.”
Something the other voice said caused her to throw her head back and groan, recognizing just how far she still had to go before she could move past it all. “I know, and you’re right,” Sydney replied, “Doesn’t mean I like it, but you are right.”
She glanced over at the clock and a moment of panic sank in as she realized it was half past four. “Oh crap,” She said, cutting her friend off, “Hey sorry I gotta go, I’m running late and still need to take the dogs out.”
She nodded a few more replies. “Okay, I will. Miss you, talk to you later.” In nearly a frenzy, Sydney riled the dogs up, leading them to the backdoor for a quick bathroom break. She stood outside waiting on the pups, staring intently at her phone and his number, still there in her contacts.
She bit her tongue, shoving the phone back into her pocket. “Let’s go,” She called, hurrying the dogs inside as she raced to get ready for her evening shift at the restaurant.
Dev With Dana 