21 Years of Silence
1994
"She's adorable!"
"Absolutely adorable!"
"You're so lucky to have such a beautiful baby!"
"Makes me wonder who her father was!"
Silence.
1995
"Happy 1st birthday, Bridgette!"
"M…Ma…"
"C'mon, you can say it!"
"M…Mama!"
"Aw Bridgette."
"D…Dada?"
Silence.
1996
"She's growing up so fast!"
"It was like just yesterday she was born!"
"I know…"
"Marg, is something bothering you?"
"Oh it's nothing, David."
"Hi Mama! Where Dada!"
"When will you tell her, Marg?"
Silence.
1997
"Bridgette, this is Janice's daughter, Courtney."
"…H-Hi C-Courtney."
"Hi Bridgette! Do you have dollies?"
"N-No…"
Silence.
1998
"Mommy, I don't wanna go kinder."
"Bridge, Mommy needs to work today."
"But it's no fair! Courtney get to go with her mommy."
"Look darling, Mommy will be back soon. I promise."
"Pinky promise?"
"Pinky promise."
"Okay, Mommy. Bye Mommy!"
Silence.
1999
"Good morning class!"
"Good morning Miss Vi-o-la!"
"We have a new student joining our class today!"
"Is it a girl or a boy?"
"It's a girl, in fact, she's here right now! Say good morning to Bridgette!"
"Good morning Bridgette!"
"…"
"Bridgette are you okay?"
"I wanna go home."
Silence.
2000
"Mommy! Can we play hide'n'seek?'
"Sure, darling. Do you wanna start?"
"Okay Mommy! I can count to twenty!"
"Alright, I'll go and hide!"
"1…2…3…"
"17…18…19…20! Ready or not, here I come!"
"…"
"Mommy I found you!"
"…"
"Mommy, why are you sleeping?"
"…"
"Mommy, are you okay?"
"…"
"M-Mommy?"
Silence.
2001
"Courtney! Bridgette! Time for school!"
"Coming Mom!"
"Remember to wake Bridgette up!
"Okay Mom!"
"Bridgette? Are you awake?"
"I don't wanna go to school."
"Please Bridgette?"
"Okay Courtney, but can you walk with me?"
Silence.
2002
"So Bridgette, what do you have for Show and Tell?"
"Um, well I have this."
"…And what is it exactly?"
"It's my mom. She's inside here."
Silence.
2003
"Bridgette, Mom wants to know if you wanna come to the beach with us."
"Now?"
"Well yeah, we're just gotta finish packing the swimming equipment."
"Okay, I'll go Courtney."
"Yay, I'll tell her now."
"My mom liked the beach too."
Silence.
2004
"Happy 10th Birthday Bridgette!"
"Thanks Courtney."
"I bough you a present!"
"Oh, thank you again."
"…"
"Do you like it?"
"A surfboard? Oh my gosh, thank you so much Courtney!"
"Haha, I knew you'd like it!"
"I'm gonna strive to become the best surfer in the world!"
"Good luck with that."
"Thank you so much Courtney. You're like the sister I never had."
Silence.
2005
"Courtney?"
"Yes?"
"I don't like middle school."
"Don't worry too much. It's basically just a better version of elementary school."
"But everyone is taller than me."
"You'll grow up soon enough."
"My mom was short. Is that why?"
Silence.
2006
"Hey."
"Hey. Do I know you?"
"Maybe. I sit behind you in English."
"Oh, well I'm Bridgette."
"I'm Geoff, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too."
"Are you okay? You don't talk much."
"There's not a lot of things to talk about."
Silence.
2007
"Geoff?"
"Hm? What's up Bridge?"
"Are we, um, dating?"
"Uh, I don't know. Why?"
"U-Um, I don't know either. People think we are."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. Is that bad?"
Silence.
2008
"Courtney? Courtney what's wrong? Why aren't you answering me?"
"…"
"Courtney? Did I do something wrong? Please tell me!"
"…"
"I know you're in there Courtney! Please tell me what I did wrong!"
"…"
"Do you hate me?"
"…"
"I'm coming in."
"GET OUT!"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
"CANT YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?"
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry Courtney!"
Silence.
2009
"Bridgette?"
"Oh, hi Geoff. What's up?"
"Um, I, uh…"
"C'mon, just say it. I won't judge."
"Do…do you wanna go out with me?"
"On a date?"
"Um, yeah, but, er…"
"It's okay, I'll listen. I'm not going anywhere."
"Do you…wanna be my girlfriend?"
"Oh, uh…"
"It's okay if you say no. No one really pays attention to me anyways."
"Don't worry, Geoff. I'd love to be your girlfriend."
"Really?"
"Yes really."
"Haha, cool."
"So, what do girlfriends and boyfriends do?"
"They kiss, I guess."
"C-Can I kiss you then?"
Silence.
2010
"C'mon Bridgette! The party is about to start!"
"I'm almost ready."
"You've been in there for like twenty minutes, what are you doing?"
"N-Nothing! I'm just…doing my makeup!"
"You don't even wear makeup, what's wrong Bridgette?"
"I-I'm just…brushing my hair!"
"For twenty-minutes? Your hair doesn't have that many knots does it?"
"I-I know. That's why I'm coming out."
"Thank god."
"…"
"You don't need a jumper it's not even that cold."
"No Courtney wait-"
"WHAT THE HELL BRIDGETTE? Is this blood?"
"Y-Yes…"
"Did you cut yourself?"
"NO! I just scraped my arm on the glass. I swear!"
"Okay, but promise you'll never try to harm yourself again, okay?"
"I promise."
Silence.
2011
"Babe? Hey babe!"
"Geoff you're drunk! Sit down or something!"
"Nah, babe. Damn, since when were you so hot?"
"W-What?"
"Babe, take your top off. You'll look hotter that way."
"Geoff! Stop it!"
"Stop teasing me, babe. C'mon I'll help you."
"No! I don't wanna take my top off."
"Please babe?"
"Geoff, you're drunk! You need to sit and calm down!"
"W-Why are you y-yelling at me?"
"No Geoff, don't cry please."
"Don't touch me!"
"Geoff-"
"I hate you Bridgette. Go away! I'm breaking up with you!"
"W-What?"
"Geoff you're drunk! You don't mean this!"
"No! Fuck off! I never want to see you again!"
"But-"
"Get out of my house! Now!"
"…okay."
Silence.
2012
"I can't believe I got into Yale!"
"Congrats Courtney. You deserve it."
"I mean, I knew I would get in, but it feels so satisfying to be told so!"
"You'll do great. I'll miss you."
"What college did you get into Bridgette?"
"…Um…"
"…What's wrong?"
"I…I didn't apply for college."
"What? Why?"
"I don't know. I mean, your mom has to pay enough money as it is to get you into Yale. I didn't wanna be a bother."
"But…what are you gonna do for a living?"
"I surf, remember? I'll make money by going into competitions."
"Are you sure? I mean, you could get a veterinary diploma."
"Courtney! I will be fine! You don't have to worry about me anymore."
"Alright. Promise you'll keep yourself safe."
"I promise. Now, go! Your mom's calling you!"
"What are you gonna do?"
"I'll be over in a minute. Don't worry!"
"Okay, please be quick."
"…"
"Thank you…thank you Mom."
Silence.
2013
"Oh, good morning Bridgette."
"Morning Janice!"
"…"
"It's so silent without her, am I right Bridgette?"
"Yeah, it is."
"Y'know, I wonder how she's going right now."
"Same. I haven't heard from her since September."
"…"
"Bridgette? Can I ask you a question?"
"Uh, sure. Fire away."
"Your father called the office today. He wants to see you."
Silence.
2014
"Hello Bridgette."
"Hi."
"Um, I know it's hard and all, seeing as it's been 20 years since I've seen you."
"You never saw me though. That's what my mom said."
"Ah yes, how is your mother?"
"She's dead."
"Oh. Darn shame."
"Like you cared. Where were you my whole life?"
"Well, you see Bridgette, things change and-"
"I got nothing from you! No letters, no phone calls, no even a lousy birthday card!"
"I can explain-"
"Bull. You've been a ghost my whole life. Ever since mom died, I had no one to turn to. I was lucky that Janice allowed me under her roof otherwise I'll be at some orphanage where I'd have no friends, no career and no family!"
"Bridgette, calm down."
"You don't know how difficult this is for me! I was eight when my mom died! Eight years! And now I'm twenty and I run into my biological father for the first time! You can't take custody of me, I'm over eighteen already. I'm an adult now! I'm an adult when I finally meet my father!"
"Bridgette-"
"You don't know how much taunt and torment I had going through school! Everyone knew I was an orphan or more specifically an adopted child! Everyone thought I was freak! I was torment and bullied, constantly being told that my parents much absolutely hate me because they a) walking out on me and b) committed suicide! I don't know why my mom committed suicide and will probably never know, but at least I can learn why my horrible excuse for a father walked out on me."
"…You really wanna know why I walked out on you?"
"I wanna know why you were never in my life. Why the room always fell silent when you were mentioned."
"Okay. I'll make it quick then."
"I'm listening."
"You see Bridgette…I was a playboy during high school."
"And?"
"And well, I had sex with a lot of women. One of which was your mother, and unfortunately, I got her pregnant. And you do know how much bad imagery teen pregnancies get nowadays, right?"
"Yes."
"Well, when I learnt that she got pregnant, I freaked out. I was scared of responsibility, I was scared of settling down, and most of all, I was scared that the baby wouldn't be raised right."
"And then?"
"I moved away. I was so stricken by the fact I had gotten your mother pregnant that I forced my parents to move away to Texas where I cut all tabs from my life back in Canada. But no matter how much I tried, I could never forget about your mother and how much guilt I had for causing her to become pregnant and likely to become depressed."
"You mean that you moved away because you were guilty and scared of pregnancies?"
"Well, yes."
"You know how frigging selfish that is? My mother was a miserable woman her whole life. She cut herself away from the world, only ever going out for my own needs and sometimes to work. She dropped out of college when she was seventeen, and you know what could have happened if she never had me? She could have lived a happier life with a man she truly loved and had a job that she could actually enjoy, rather than bartending at some low paying bar! You caused her all this grief, you filthy man!"
"That's not the only things that scared me though."
"Oh, there's more now?"
"Well, yes. You see, when it comes to babies, I'm okay with fathering one. But, when your mother told me that she was having twins, I flipped. I can't take care of two babies! One baby is enough, but I didn't want to tell her to get rid of the second one. That's the real reason I ran away."
"…you're such a horrible person."
"I know, and I'm absolutely sorry. You don't know how much guilt I've carried around on my shoulders for twenty-years."
"You deserved that."
"I know. And by the way, where is your twin sister or brother or whatever? I'd like to meet them too."
Silence.
2015
"Mom! Bridgette! I'm home!"
"Hey Courtney! How's Yale been?"
"Great, I have such a great roommate. Her name is Gwen, and she's studying arts!"
"Oh thats nice, I'd like to meet her one day."
"Don't worry about that! I've invited her here in advance for a week or so."
"What a pleasant surprise."
"So, um, where's Bridgette?"
"Oh…well…"
"I-Is something wrong, Mom?"
"Well, you see…Bridgette's father came back last year."
"Oh my, how did she cope?"
"Pretty badly, actually."
"Oh dear, he didn't take her away, did he?"
"She's a grown woman, remember Courtney?"
"Yeah, can I see her though?"
"Uh, sure. C'mon, I'll take you down."
"…"
"Mom, why are we at the beach?"
"I want to show you something."
In loving memory of Bridgette Margaret Turner
September 12th 1994 - April 27th 2014
A sister, a daughter, a friend
"W-What? S-She d-died? W-W-What h-happened?"
"She committed suicide, Courtney. One day, she jumped on her surfboard and just began paddling and paddling into the ocean. I tried to stop her but she was too fast for me. I called the police but when the went to search for her, she was nowhere to be found. A few days later, they found her surfboard and her corpse on top of it. She hid a knife in her wetsuit and stabbed herself with it."
"Oh my god…t-this isn't real…"
"I'm sorry Courtney. I tried to tell you, but you know how poor we were."
"S-She promised…she promised she'd never harm herself."
Silence.
21 years of silence.
okay, so I've been having a rough week lately. A few family issues have had me a little torn and upset these days, and out of the blue, I'd like to release this small angst one-shot for you guys.
this was written in a period of 2 hours, before I edited it. I wrote this all today so it's probably not in the best condition. Apologies for my lack of knowledge of the Canadian/American school system for I am Australian and do not have a similar school system.
thanks for reading. sorry for lack of dialogue or actions - it's strictly dialogue.
- blue xx