Member-only story
All My Love Stories Are Tragedies
It’s just the truth.
Sometimes it’s just a friend sitting across the table from me.
He’ll exchange banter with the girl next to him, and I’ll keep peeking at him to see if he looks my way. It never happens. His laughter stings as she captures his attention with no hint of competition.
I’ll simmer on low, but I won’t lose my smile as my other friend draws me back into the loop of conversation.
Other times, the setting changes. Tonight it might be a bar with dim lighting, the jukebox playing an Ed Sheeran tune as a guy leans over the counter to grab the drinks he ordered. He doesn’t cast a glance my way as he almost spills a beer on me. All I get is a quick “sorry” before he’s on his way back to his table.
I try not to be offended at being ignored, but later I’ll look in the bathroom mirror and study my reflection. The same old face will stare back at me with loathsome eyes burning with a special kind of hatred.
What’s wrong with you?
Tomorrow might be better. Maybe the cashier at the grocery store will smile at me, inviting conversation as we both try to get through the day. Or maybe it’ll be one of those wayward days where I hear from the elusive friend currently traveling the world.
