Scribbles of a Broken Heart

“I was so depressed that my friends didn’t even know what to do. And I knew that the way I was acting wasn’t at all fair to them, but I couldn’t get my mind off of Garrett. I couldn’t help but think that everything would be perfect if I was born to another couple. I couldn’t stop thinking about how happy I would have been if my parents weren’t my parents.”

“And do you think that now, in the current situation that you’re?”

I looked straight at Ms. Templeton, “All the time.”

”You have to eat.”

I shook my head, “I’m not hungry, Allison. I don’t think my stomach could handle anything anyways.”

“It’s been two weeks. You can’t keep doing this.”

“I can’t help it,” I replied. “I feel like I’m living in some tragedy story and I’m waiting for the end where everything is all right and the girl isn’t as broken anymore.”

She looked down for a quick second, “I talked to Garrett yesterday.”

My eyes slightly widened, “How is he?”

“He told me about what happened in Biology. He sounds just as messed up as you do.”

I took a sip of her water and said, “Why can’t his and my parents see that they’re screwing up their children’s lives?”

She gave me a sympathetic look, “They think that they’re right. And it isn’t Garrett’s parents that are causing this, it’s all on yours. Even though both of you broke your parents’ rules, it’s your mom and dad that made you guys break up.”

Things at home were just about as good as they were with Garrett and me. For the first few days we were so upset at each other that they didn’t talk to me, so I didn’t make an effort to talk to them. Then they noticed that I wasn’t eating as much or that I always looked tired, and they tried to make things normal again—the way it was before Garrett and I were found out.
But, I can’t even look at them without part of me despising them for what they did.

“You two can still talk at school. You’re parents wouldn’t ever know.”

I shook my head, “Every time I see him I only see how much pain I’ve caused him. I can’t look at his face without remembering the tears that were there when I broke up with him, and it makes me hate myself for it. It’s too hard.”

“Well, you have to do something. Or else the two of you will self destruct.”

“Didn’t your parents notice how unhappy you were?”

I shrugged, “Probably. But what were they gonna do? Say, ‘Oh, Constance we love you so much and only want you to be happy so you can be with Garrett?’ Yeah right.”

“So what happened?”

“Garrett fought them with all he had.”

”Do you want more chicken?”

“I’m not that hungry, Mom.”

My mom shot me a concerned look but didn’t say any more.

“How was school?”

“It was alright,” I told my dad without even taking my eyes off of my plate.

I was surprised to hear the doorbell ring and my fork slipped out of my hands on to the floor.
My mom got up to answer the door and I bent over to get the utensil.

“What are you doing here?” My dad gruffly answered. I looked up and saw Garrett push past my mom and into the kitchen. His hair was wet from the downpour and his clothes hung at odd angles. I froze, gradually lifting myself from. My eyes enlarged when I saw him looking straight into my father’s mild glare."

"Why won’t you let us be together?!”

My eyes continuously shifted from Garrett to my dad.

“Lower your voice,” he commanded.

“Why won’t you let us be together?” Garrett repeated a little less loudly.

“Constance is not allowed to date. You knew that. And you two still snuck around for two months. Both of you broke our rules and our trust.”

I turned my head when I heard two pairs of footsteps approaching the table. Mrs. Carpenter was walking alongside my mother, clad in rain gear head to toe. I could hear her panting when she came to stand next to me.

“Tina, Thomas, I am so sorry. He just dashed out of the house. I tried to catch him before he disturbed your dinner, but he just took off. Come on Garrett, we’re going home.”

“It’s alright Yvette, something is obviously wrong with both of our children and we might as well discuss this now while we are all here,” my dad suggested.

“Constance and I are in love.”

I nearly passed out when I heard him say that. He must have been intoxicated to tell my parents and his mom that. He couldn’t have been thinking straight, that information would only make our situation worse.

‘What is he doing?’ I thought.

“You guys are only fourteen,” Mrs. Carpenter laughed. “You don’t even know what love is.”

“Yes I do,” Garrett rebutted. “I love Constance and she loves me."

My dad shook his head, “This is ridiculous.”

“No! I… I can prove it. I know everything about her. Umm, her favorite color is purple. She loves brownies. Uh, she’s hate raisins. She drinks soda cans with the top half open. Her favorite number is twenty two-“

“That doesn’t prove anything,” my mom disagreed.

“I bet I know more about her than you do,” Garrett challenged. “Did you know that she’s afraid of the dark? Or that she likes to look up the lyrics to her favorite songs and memorize them? Did you know that she likes to walk on the left side of people and that she likes things to be even? You probably didn’t know any of that stuff, did you?”

I didn’t understand why he was doing this. I knew that my parents didn’t know any of facts that he just said about me, but honestly, I did not know what good this would do. He was just being irrational. I feared that Garrett was only keeping us apart longer.

Garrett continued, “Can’t you guys see how miserable we are? Mr. and Mrs. Harrington, you have had to have noticed how tired and unhappy she is, haven’t you? All she’s been doing is studying, and her friends have told me that she’s barely eating. She’s must’ve lost five pounds the past couple weeks. And yet, you won’t do anything about it! I am right next door and I can make Constance happy.” Garrett ran out of breath and ran a hand through his wet damp hair. “I can make her happy.”

My parents didn’t say anything for a few seconds, and I held my breath until my dad parted his lips.

“I think it’s best if you return home,” he directed to Mrs. Carpenter. She nodded in agreement and tugged on the sleeve of Garrett’s jacket.

I succeeded in catching his eye as he turned towards the door, and I hope that the look I gave him read ‘What are you doing?’ in the right way. The glance he returned let me know that this wasn’t his last attempt at reuniting us.