Coral: The Mask ...Again!

 

He’d barged into her house the same night
Without a second thought... jerking her by gripping her arm   
He pulled her up from her crouched position
He knew she was hurt, was aching and lamenting
Crying over what she had done
but nothing could stop him today
he was furious, at her, for being reckless
at himself, for not being able to stop her
 
His rage taking over his senses
he slapped her right across her face
“What the hell were you thinking, Coral?
What made you cross the boundaries,
you had set for yourself?”
He looked at her tear-stricken,
hurt and broken stance
He sighed and pulled her to him
Hugging her, lending her support
For he knew, he understood her
He knew her too well to know the reason
she’d let him kiss her, touch her, feel her
He also knew that she would have never
………. Never ever broken the last cord
He knew it would break her completely
 
Still in his hold…...
“What did he say?” she choked
Her BFF he was, he loosened his hold on her
Looking down at her incredulously,
He stared at her in disbelief….
“you knew he was going to brag about it!?”
It came out more like a statement than a question.
He could not understand, why she had let him….
 
“I was hoping… wishing, that maybe
just maybe, he would love me the way I do
just maybe, he will not leave me if I ……. “
She had answered his unspoken question
lingering in his eyes.
 
She looked up at him,
squeezing his heart in his chest
with the naked hurt and misery on her face
her blood shot eyes lined with unshed tears
He could just not see his friend breaking like this
She had loved him too much, truly madly deeply
and he was a witness to the extent of her madness
 
He knew she would mask it all once the sun was up
But right now, he had to fix her,
gather the broken pieces for her fragile heart
 
He held her face gently between his palms
pulled it up so that he could see her
“you do know right?
he is never ever going to be with you!?
you are an experience for him,
you do realise, don’t you? he cooed softly
He talked to her as a father would talk to his child
She was his precious and he would do anything
just anything to make sure she stays happy and smiling
 
“Look at me” he whispered,
“You didn’t do what he is bragging about, right?”
Epiphany it was ……. she jerked up as if hit by tornado,
a whirlwind of emotions hitting her hard
her eyes filled with apprehension trepidation dread
and foreboding of the impending storm
which was all set to hit her brutally …………
she nodded her head left to right and right to left
She could not hold it anymore
her lungs released the air she was holding with a whoosh
her face burning red with anger at herself
for letting her guard down
She bit her lip trying to swallow
the scream ready to erupt from her mouth
She knew it well……… she was a ‘time pass’ for him
Her double-crossing heart betraying her
She grabbed the breaking thread of hope
a few ‘maybes’ and few ‘what ifs’ lingering in her head
trying on the garb of optimism,
she’d walked that extra mile for her love
 
He knew she needed to cry and let it out
He could not let her once again crawl back
into the pit of darkness of self-loathe, and self-harm!
He held her close to him and let her sob
let her anguish flow away with her tears
They sat for God knows how long
He let her go, knowing she had calmed down
 
what he saw left him stupefied
The MASK was on ……… AGAIN
it didn’t take her anytime to be her
ABNORMAL SELF!!!
She looked at him with a bright smile
and said “Chill handsome, shit happens!!
and you know my life is exclusive……. I AM FINE”
And he knew she WASN’T!!!!!!!

                                                - M. B.