“i had a feeling so peculiar that this pain would be for....evermore.”
Faint sunlight streamed in through the slits of lavender curtains, illuminating the room in a soft glow. Entangled in silk sheets laid a small frame, heavy sighs leaving parted cherry lips as she sat upwards to embrace a new day. Raven locks cascaded around dainty shoulders, framing sharp features as though the girl was a work of art. Her eyes scanned the surroundings: empty wine bottles, cigarette buds, leftover take-out. Another night alone.
Elena felt a cold breeze dance around the room, sending shivers down her spine. Wrapping the sheets closer around herself, she reached over to the dresser to grab yet another cigarette. In her other hand was a glass of bourbon from the night before. She took a swig, the liquid burning as it slithered down her throat, coating her insides with the taste of such sweet poison. Then, she inhaled in the familiar smoke, feeling a sense of ease washing over her tired bones as her wary gaze redirected to a photo on the nightstand.
A grin from ear to ear, a slight sparkle in the eyes. That girl seemed long gone at this point. It was as though she was staring into an empty abyss, a symbol of the past that disappeared like grains of sand through her fingers. No matter how hard she tried to maintain grip, it would slip away, gone for evermore.
Something was wrong. She couldn’t quite pinpoint it. It seemed as though the days were cast overhead with grey, the nights consumed with an aching for a home she had never experienced. Everything she once knew was merely a fragment of the past, one that she seemed reluctant to push aside. She should have known. Living in a lie would mean the punishment of a cruel truth: nothing in her life was real.
Tapping the cigarette against the glass, she watched the ashes descent into the contents of the glass. They swam in the drink, spinning in circles as though lost with no control. Ironic.
With her knees pressed to her chest, the girl laid her head atop of them. The feeling of hopelessness lingered within. She allowed her eyes to flutter closed, lips trembling as the dawning realization drew closer: Elena Vega was a fucking fraud.
