She's Dancing Alone

I sat before my cases which were stood at the bottom of my closet, simply staring at them for a long moment wondering whether I’d actually made the right decision. The black material taunted me, screaming at me how I was wrong. My heart was on the same side as the cases, messing with my head. My head knew I was doing the right thing, things needed to come to an end and this was the way to settle things. It was the right thing to do, but was it really what I wanted? I sighed, tossing my feet up next to me and lying on my back. I bit down on the tip of my finger nails as I stared intently at the ceiling.

“No,” I stated firmly as I looked Jack in the eye. The little hint of hope that flickered behind his eyes instantly evaporated in an instant.

“What?” He asked shakily whilst looking at me frantically.

“No. Jack,” I replied right as Lisa walked back in.

“I brought popcorn,” she smiled, almost skipping before jumping in the space between her, stray pieces of the popcorn in her hands bouncing over the rim of the bowl and landed around our laps. Jack’s eyes remained lifeless, looking at me for reassurance, something I couldn’t offer.

I bit down on my lip at the memory. Was this decision the best? Of course I’d wanted the boys back, it was something I wanted more than anything, but was this really the way I needed them? I bit down on my lip and dug my fingernails into the pillow my hair was fanned across.

Jack stepped towards me with a weary smile on his face.

“Hey Bri,” he greeted softly, holding his arms out to me. I returned the smile as best I could before letting my eyes wander around the studio. It was plenty bigger and more luxurious than the one I had last been in with the boys. A single black leather sofa was pushed up against the wall of the hallway. Two sleek wooden doors stood a small distance apart from each other on the wall adjacent to the sofa. No windows occupied the doors to keep the rooms fully soundproof and instead, a small silver sign was pinned to either surface. After taking in every detail my eyes landed back on Jack. He stood still before me, the smile still fighting upon his lips as his arms remained outstretched.

I took a step forward, wrapping my own arms around his thin waist and holding him closely. His lanky arms looped around my shoulders and kept me pushed against his chest.

“Come on,” he smiled as he pulled away and kept his hands gently resting against my shoulders. One hand slid down my shoulders, lightly grazing along the material of my sleeves before grabbing firmly onto my hand. I shivered lightly at his touch; thankfully he didn’t pick up on this. He smiled at me, more genuinely now, and I subconsciously felt myself do the same. Tugging on my hand lightly he turned around and pulled me into the direction of one of the doors.

I shook my head lightly, placing my palms to either side of me on the mattress. I pushed down, forcing myself into a sitting position before returning my gaze to the cases, the tops covered by the bottom of long shirts. I took to my feet, pacing across the room before dragging one out. I unbuckled the band and tugged on the zip at a fast pace, willing the seal to open faster than humanly possible. I cussed as the zip caught before forcing it open, probably breaking it along the way. The lid swung open and the interior was revealed to me. A quick wave of relief chorused throughout my veins, but I brushed it off, I didn’t have much time to spare. My hands began ripping at all the material I could lay my hands on, from cotton to lace; my room went from a clean state to an utter mess in under a half hour.

I took to my feet once more, running my fingers through my hair after my rampage had finished. I swung my head around the room, looking for the small device I longed for. Settling on the bedside table I caught sight of the phone. I bit down on my lip lightly as I paced towards it. With every step I took it felt like I’d taken another six backwards, the path before me drew longer as I neared the small object. I reached out, leaning forwards long enough to grasp a hold on it before looking at the screen. My heart began to pound audibly as I stared at the object. With shaky fingers I pressed each button, slowly at first before all the digits were in place. I hesitated for a small while before finally grabbing hold of the courage to press that small green button. I brought my hand to my ear, only just keeping enough strength to hold the device in place. After ach agonisingly slow ring I felt more and more tempted to end the call, unfortunately the rings weren’t quite slow enough.

“Hello?” I heard from the other end of the line. My breath hitched in my throat. I tried to ready myself before moving on, pressing my palm to my forehead and taking slow deep breaths. “Brianna?” I heard the male voice ask.

“Jack,” I breathed whilst letting my eyes flutter closed.

“Is something wrong?” He asked concern apparent in his tone. I could feel the corner of my lips almost flicker in a smile at his worry but thought better of myself.

“Jack,” I repeated, ignoring what he said and pausing for a brief moment to catch my breath. My hand fell to my side and I let myself go limp “I’ve changed my mind.”