Clare tried to keep the tears from falling as she approached her house. When she got there, she saw her mother's car in the driveway and sighed heavily. She wasn't in the mood to see or talk to her mother. She walked in to the house and immediately spotted her mother walking toward her.
"Oh hi sweetie" her mother said hurriedly while looking at her watch.
"I have some errands to run and I won't be back to late. Now, since I trust you so much, I'm going to allow you to invite Eli over to keep you company" she said with a smile. Clare felt weak in the knees at the mention of his name and leaned against a wall to steady herself as her mother grabbed her keys and looked at her daughter curiously.
"Are you okay sweetie? You look kind of flushed" she said reaching her Clare's face but Clare put her hand up to block her.
"I just need to lie down. I'll be okay" Clare said walking up the stairs.
"Um, okay then. Get some rest and I'll see you later. I love you sweetie" her mother said before leaving.
Clare went to her room and slammed the door shut. She looked around her room and all she could see where moments of when Eli had snuck in to her to hang out or make out. She went straight to the window and locked it and shut the blinds. Then her attention turned to the mirror by her dresser and all she saw was Eli's arms wrapped around her waist as she tried to put on her make up. She felt heat radiate through her body as she moved to the dresser and angrily swept all contents on the dresser on the floor. Glass bottles of perfume and make up shattered and splattered on her floor.
Everything in her room reminded her of him and it made her sick to her stomach. She ripped the sheets off the bed and broke framed pictures she had of them together as well as any and all CDs she had borrowed or that he had made for her.
"Screw a break up box" she thought to herself. She opened her dressers and pulled out the shirts that he had left there or that she had stolen from his house when she stayed over and threw them down the stairs.
She grabbed a gray dead hand shirt and she couldn't bring herself to put it in the pile at the bottom of the stairs. She loved him in this shirt. It brought out his eyes and it still had his smell all over it. She clutched the shirt to her chest and finally let the tears she had been holding fall. She fell to floor screaming and started to sob heavily. She had no idea how someone could hurt her so much without laying a hand on her. Her body shook violently as she cried and dry heaved. She felt like she couldn't breathe but she couldn't stop crying.
"Maybe it's my fault. I mean since KC left me for Jenna and now Eli's cheated on me. Maybe if I…." she shook her head trying to stop her thoughts.
She stood up and looked at herself in the mirror. She was a mess, mascara running down her face and red, puffy eyes. She still had tears running down her face but the sobbing had subsided and she still had his shirt in her hand. She looked and ran her hand over her face and body as if trying to see what was wrong with her when she spotted her ring on her finger.
She raised her hand to eye level and inspected the ring. "NO! It's not my fault that I'm not ready or that I care enough about myself to wait until I'm married or at least truly in love."
She looked around the mess she made and sighed. She looked at the shirt in her hand and threw in the back of her closet and went down stairs. She picked up the shirts she thrown down the steps and walked to the kitchen and put them in the trash. She opened her cell and dialed a number that she hadn't used in a while. When the person answered all she said was "I need a girls' day."
"I'll be there in ten minutes" the voice said before hanging up. Clare was completely drained and moved to sit on the couch. She blocked Eli's number from her phone before closing her eyes. For the first time that day her thoughts didn't drift to the green eyed boy who hurt her and she smiled before drifting to sleep.
*** 1) I can't expressed how grateful I am for the comments I've gotten for this story and I really appreciate the interest. I hope this was satisfying and once again the story can end right here, making it a two shot. 2) I wanted Clare to be a strong character but I figured that given her feelings for him, a breakdown of some sort was necessary. I think or at least hope I found a decent balance.
