Broken Inside

21 - The Returnees

Alex was heartbroken and lonely. She kept to herself, staying in her pyjamas all day, and burst into tears without warning. She was a wreck. 

The buzzer rang and Alex ignored it. The buzzer rang again. Whoever it was, they were persistent. When the buzzer rang for the third time, Alex kicked off her blanket went to the intercom. She pressed the button and asked hoarsely, "What?"

"You are home," Zack's voice came through the speaker. 

Alex sighed and asked, "What do you want?"

"I want to know how you're doing."

Alex wasn't sure how to answer that question. She started to sob and felt the tears coming down her cheeks again.

"Alex?"

She couldn't answer him. 

"Alex, let me in," Zack said. Then he added, "Please? I'm worried about you."

Alex sobbed harder. She pressed the button to release the lock on the door downstairs and then she returned to the sofa. Zack came up the stairs and seeing Alex on the sofa, he went to her. Alex refused to look at him. She knows she looked like hell.

"What can I do?" he asked.

Alex cried harder until her whole body shook. Zack immediately sat down on the sofa and pulled her into his arms. He let her cry on his chest, holding her tightly the whole time. When she finally fell asleep, he laid her down on the sofa and covered her with a blanket. Then he cleaned up the mess in the living room. 

Alex woke up in the middle of the night. She was surprised to see Zack sleeping in the lounge chair. He never left. Alex pushed herself up and took the blanket off her shoulders. She covered Zack with it. Then she went to her bedroom upstairs.

The next morning, Zack woke up with a start. He looked around the room for Alex. 

Alex came out from the bathroom in a bathrobe. She was drying her hair with a small towel. When Zack saw her, he got up from the chair and went to her.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked, looking concerned.

She managed a smile and replied, "Better. The hot shower really helps."

She went to the kitchen and grabbed a couple of mugs. She poured coffee into them. She handed one to Zack.

He took the coffee and continued frowning at her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked as she sipped her coffee.

"I don't get how you can get from that," he said, pointing at the sofa where Alex was drowning in her tears last night, "To this." He pointed at her.

"It's called compartmentalisation. It's when you take your feelings, stuff it into a little box and push it to the back of your mind for you to deal with later," Alex explained. "I've gotten quite good at it over the years."

"Sounds healthy," Zack said sarcastically.

"It's essential. When I have to work, I have no time to think about other things."

Zack sighed and took a sip of the coffee. "Hmm," he hummed appreciatively.

Alex chuckled and placed her empty mug in the sink. "I have to go to work. You can stay if you want," she said to Zack. 

Zack set his mug down on the counter and went to her. "Are you sure you want to work today? Can't you take the day off?"

Alex smiled at him. "I'm fine, don't worry. I just need to plough through and move on." Then she hugged him and said, "Thank you for being here. You're a good friend."