Serrated
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She stared through the window of the little coffee shop lost somewhere in the shopping mall. December, the night air was cold and filled with white noise from the people’s mouths as they climbed the escalators and made their way into gift shops and boutiques. It blended into static and fogged the windowpane as she drifted closer to it.
A hand reached for hers from across the table and caught it, gently pinning it between two sweating palms.
“So… I think we should try again, make it work this time.” He put on his best smile and tried to look beyond her glassy eyes. She forced a smile and tried to look past her reflection again, past the bruise above her left cheekbone she had tried to hide with make-up. His grip tightened. “Love at first sight doesn’t exist. True love doesn’t exist. We’re not living in the fairy tales.”
She looked up then, a sudden fierceness in her eyes but said nothing. Her throat tightened.
He lost his smile and rolled his eyes, she could see he was losing his cool composure.
He sighed and flexed his hand. He was thinking of letting go. “You’re making this a lot harder than it has to be. It’s not that big ah deal.”
She looked out the window again at the people and their shopping bags, at the couples holding hands. In her mind, threads stretched between them. Each person became part of a net that tied them to everyone else.
He gripped her wrist and pulled her closer. She resisted. He pulled harder. Her elbow knocked over a regular coffee without cream. The hot liquid stung her skin and seeped into the fabric of her coat. She gritted her teeth and wrenched her arm free.
The people waiting for their orders looked up. A collective gasp sifted through the net of the crowed little coffee shop. She stared into his eyes. The threads that stitched them together before were strained, frayed, and hanging idly. His eyes had gone cold, his glasses fogged from the steam of the spilled coffee. She stood up sharply “No…” and gave her best serrated grin, “I don’t think we should.”
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I liked this piece a lot. I loved the imagery with the threads that tie all the people together, and how the threads between the man and the woman in the story were fraying and thin. You said a lot without stating everything specifically...just a great job in general. :) Awesome! +1!
I was really hoping the poor girl would stand up for herself and you didn't let me down. I like the emotion in this, you don't spell it out but the character's emotions come through very passionately.