Susy's Corner

One-Sided Love (Warm-Up Exercise)

This piece is actually from my Harry Styles trilogy series. It's from the second book, but I never actually published this because I did it for a class.

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I looked back up at the gray sky. It smelled like iron and humidity. A thunderstorm approached and it soon reached this town, yet that didn't bother me. I walked under the porch of my old abandoned home. The once luscious garden and green grass was now a deadly yellow. Cobwebs littered the inside and the outside of the windows as they held their prey hostage. The once lit home was dark and gloomy from every direction. It no longer held the warmth and inviting atmosphere I recalled from two years ago. What a difference time can make on a once beautiful place. I took a deep breath, and with shaky hands I unlocked my home's door. I closed my eyes before I took another deep breath before I walked inside. The home was dark, and the hallway was littered with cobwebs just like the inside of a pyramid. Slowly, I walked down the hallway with as my heart thumped in my chest. I looked at the empty picture frames as I passed. They used to hold pictures of me and Daddy and Amelia. I could still hear the ghost of our laughter echo through the empty still home, and Amelia's sickly sweet tone that held hidden deception.

I heard Daddy say as if he were beside me, "Where is my little gem? When I find her I will tickle her until I let her go." He then snuck up behind me, and true to his word, tickled me until my six year old tone begged him to stop. I loved the gleam in his eye every time I called him Dad. These constant memories reminded me of the good times I had with him. I held a weak smile on my face as the laughter echoed, and my heart yearned to hear his voice and laughter one last time. I averted my gaze from the empty picture frames and focused on the gray hallway. Dust littered every inch of the hallway's floor, and my feet left foot prints with every step I took. The trail led to the front door, a trail that reminded me of my broken heart. Our home still smelled like him. His warmth still surrounded me even though he wasn't here. I knew he wasn't here, but his warmth and pineapple mixed with eucalyptus scent lingered everywhere. I remembered the last time he hugged me was before we were separated and we both ended up in the hospital. He promised he would be fine, but he wasn't. I woke up to no recollection of my memories, and retrieved them when it was too late. On his last day, I remember I held onto his hand tightly as his coma induced heartbeat slowed until it a flat line replaced it. Even though his face held a smile as he died, I still have not forgiven myself. I hugged my arms tightly to myself as I tried to focus back on reality and the silenced laughter.

The only thing I heard after the laughter died was my own jagged breath. As soon as Daddy's last cold breath was released, my misery and guilt began. I couldn't help but feel as if everything was my fault. If I was never born, Amelia would have never hurt us and cause Daddy's death. Her wicked laughter started to fill the hallway as I tried to helplessly regain to what little sanity I had left. I slowly walked towards the hallway wall in my disoriented state. I slid down the wall as soon as my back made contact, and tears fell from my never-ending water ducts. Dust fell over me just like it did to the empty home. Soon it would cover my heart, memories, and my pain. The darkness of the home reminded me of my life as Amelia's laugh started to take over my senses. The echoed laughter mixed in with faint happy laughter soon became too much to handle just like the coldness of my home. For once in four weeks I screamed my heart out for the one person I loved and is no longer with me. I screamed out to try and lessen the pain, but the only thing that surrounded me was warmth and the smell of pineapple and eucalyptus before it vanished into the home's depths along with the laughter. The gloomy home echoed everything in my heart once the only thing I heard was my strangled sobs.