Troubles

I wake up and look around. I fell asleep on the couch again. I mentally roll my eyes as I rub them in real life while I sit up.

The front door suddenly slams shut and I turn around quickly.

“Hey,” Brian says as he comes into the living room with two guitar cases.
“Damn, I miss being a teenager and being able to sleep for half a day,” he grins and sets the cases down beside the couch.
“Wanna jam a bit?”

I raise my eyebrows in surprise and then look down at the guitar cases. For a brief moment, I feel hope. In a split second, I run a scenario through my brain where Brian opens the case and lift up my girl and hands her to me, so that I can hold her and gently strum her strings again.

But I know she's not there. And that makes my chest feel heavy. But still, I look up at Brian and smile. He's trying to cheer me up, and I really do appreciate that.

Unfortunately, I can't smile 100 % genuine, and Brian sees right through me. He smiles back sympathetically and looks down at the guitar cases. He sighs.

“I know it's not your girl, but,” he pauses briefly and lifts his gaze to me.
“Sometimes, you just have to move on, you know?” he says. It's obvious that he's speaking in general terms, and not just about guitars, but I just want my girl back.

And even though nothing can ever replace her, I still accept the guitar Brian hands me. It's fancier than my girl, but not better in any way. I miss her.