Eloquence

Jordan could see her breath in the cold air as she let out a small, sad sigh. Her gaze turned downward to her suede boots as she shoulders slumped in defeat. She stuffed her hands into her coat pockets and kept her head down as she turned back in the direction she had come, making her way back home.

She could feel the wind blowing through her curly hair, and she reached up, pulling her knitted hat farther onto her head. Her walk home was relatively short, but cold, seeing as her over sized, knitted sweater did a seemingly terrible job of keeping her warm.

She ignored her mother's gaze as she walked through the kitchen, entering her bedroom and shutting the door behind her. She kicked off her boots and unwrapped her scarf from her neck. Her little mouse mittens were thrown onto her desk, and her hat was ripped from atop her hair and discarded onto the floor. She grabbed a pair of thick, thermal socks, pulling them onto her cold feet before collapsing onto her bed.

Jordan had always been aware of the fact that Andrew was a jerk. That he was unreliable, but she never expected him to stand her up. He specifically told her to meet him at a park a few blocks away that morning, and after sitting on the bench for over an hour, Jordan realized that Andrew wasn't going to come. He had probably gone out and gotten drunk with his friends instead, not bothering to even think about Jordan and what she was feeling. She was hurt. She so badly wished that he would invite her around to meet all of his friends, but she knew that he was ashamed of her. She was just a child. She wasn't the type of girl any boy would want to flaunt to all of his guy friends. She was far too plain.

Her eyes burned as hot, salty tears pooled by her bottom lashes. She sniffed, trying to blink them away as her face started to heat up. Instead, the tears flowed freely down her cheeks and her nose began to run. Her hair stuck to the moist skin of her cheeks and neck, and she shivered, pulling her comforter over her shaking body. She so badly wanted to be the kind of girl he wanted. Not even just Andrew--Any boys at all. She sees the pretty girls go out and get attention and asked on dates by cute boys. It wasn't fair. She just wanted to be pretty.

"Jordan, honey." She heard her mother call through her closed door. "Are you alright?"

Jordan groaned inwardly, swallowing hard. "Yeah, Mom. I'm fine."

"Okay." She sounded seemingly unconvinced, but made her way down the hall to her own room rather than pressing the matter. Jordan was thankful for that, because she didn't really feel like explaining the reasoning behind her tears. Her mother already thought very lowly of Andrew, and she'd hate to make her dislike him even more.

Jordan sighed and cuddled deeper into her pillows, wiping her nose on the corner of her blanket. She stayed like that for a while; wallowing in her feelings of sadness and slight self-loathing. After what seemed like hours, Jordan heard her bedroom door creak open, and she sighed loudly.

"Mom, I'm fine, I swear." She muttered. "I just want to be alone."

She heard a chuckle. One that certainly did not belong to her mother. She shot up, looking to the figure standing by the door of her room. Her brows raised up beneath her fringe as she stared at Andrew in awe.

"What the fuck are you doing?" She whispered harshly. "My mom is here and fully conscious. You're going to get caught."

"No, I'm not." He smirked, kicking off his shoes and making his way toward the bed. He lowered down beside her, resting his head on her pillows. He smiled crookedly, shifting his body to get closer. Jordan's lips were in a tight line, and she turned away from him, scooting to the edge of the bed. She could hear him groan quietly behind her before his hand found its way to her back, rubbing soothing circles through her sweater. "Come on, Jordan. Don't be mad."

Jordan sniffed, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand. "I waited for you for an hour and you never came."

"Jordan, baby, I'm sorry." He murmured, gently running his fingers through her hair. "It was for a good reason..."

"Oh yeah?" She muttered indignantly, turning her body back to face him. She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater, glaring up at him from beneath her lashes. "What is it, then? 'Cause I really think you just ditched me to get drunk with your other friends."

Andrew stayed silent, and he lowered his gaze. He shifted uncomfortably under Jordan's glare, not knowing what to expect because he had never seen her like this before. Jordan just scoffed at him, grumbling a quiet, "I knew it," under her breath.

"Come on, Jordan." Andrew whined, pulling her closer to him against her will. His arms wound tightly around her thin waist, until she was pressed against him. "I said I was sorry."

Jordan's eyes were fixated on the cream, ribbed material of Andrew's thermal shirt, and she remained silent for a while. Andrew watched as her frown deepened, and her eyes, wide and doe-like, looked up at him sadly. "You smell like another girl." She said softly, looking away once more. He began gnawing harder on his bottom lip, and his grip on her waist slackened as guilt washed over him. He wasn't one to feel bad about doing things like this to other girls, but Jordan's look of devastation killed him.

"I-..." Andrew opened and closed his mouth, searching for the right words. However, there were no words that could fix what Jordan knew had happened that day, so she pulled his arms from around her body, and turned her body away from his. She pulled her covers up to her neck and buried her face in the pillows, laying them silently until Andrew finally got up and left almost an hour later.