Open your eyes

Quietly open your eyes

Open your eyes

Now, open your eyes

This doorway led to a room filled with what looked like giant house plants on either side and a pathway in the middle. There was another boy standing in the middle of the pathway. He didn’t turn his head or acknowledge that she was there. She took a couple of steps forward.

He was shorter, only slightly taller than she was and overall smaller than the other two boys. His hair was black, styled in an undercut, with a line shaved on the left side of his head. He had a striking jaw, sharp chin and rounder cheeks. His eyes were dark brown, almost black and looked glazed over. His mouth formed a scowl. He seemed to be immersed in thought. He had three ear piercings and she wondered if that was the same on his other ear. He wore a white turtleneck that he had pulled up to under his mouth. He was wearing a red jacket over that and had on black jeans as well.

She waited.

Waited for him to say something, do something or even just look at her.

She waited for him to do something magical that would show her some other distressing image. That’s what happened with the last two boys. So why would this be any different?

He didn’t move.

He was too engrossed in his own thoughts to notice her.

She cleared , hoping to get his attention. He jumped slightly and opened his mouth. It looked like he gasped, but no sound came out.

His eyes widened before a look of recognition crossed his face. He beckoned her to come near with his hand. She obeyed, ready to get this over with. She couldn’t possibly imagine what she would see next.

When she was near him he moved toward her and put his arm around her waist. He pulled her close to him. He looked down at her with a soft gaze. A chill ran through her. The feeling she got from him was strange. He was radiating a feeling of affection toward her. Maybe it could’ve even been called love. Which was ridiculous of course because these boys were out to ruin the amazing life she had. Still, she couldn’t deny that he had some feelings toward her, he didn’t even have to say anything for her to know. She felt fairly safe in his arms so she relaxed against him.

His expression suddenly turned into one of regret and sadness. He looked like he was trying to convey a message of apology to her. She grimaced but nodded at him. Telling him that it was alright to show her the next thing that was wrong with her life. Reluctantly, he lifted his hand and waved it at the plants on the wall they were facing. The plants parted and revealed her parents.

She was already dreading what she was going to witness.

The scene started playing in front of her. Her mom was holding a packet of papers. Both of her parents looked extremely angry. They started to scream at each other. Screaming over one another. She couldn’t make sense of what they were arguing about. However, she heard one word. A word that broke her heart and made her feel like her life had completely shattered at that point.

Divorce

She couldn’t bear to think about it. Her parents were perfect. They loved each other. They cared about each other. They were one big, happy family. She’s never even seen them bicker, let alone full out arguing like this. Had they been hiding this from her the whole time? Putting up an act so that she would be happy?

She fell onto her knees and sobbed. She could’ve accepted losing her boyfriend. She could’ve even handled losing her closest friends. This was too much though.

The boy next to her knelt down and brushed his lips against her cheek. Her breath hitched and she looked at him.

He wasn’t there.