A positive Valentine's Day

This story was written for:

A Picture Is Worth A 1000 Words Contest  [ASR] #1101926 Write a story in 1000 words or less to a given picture prompt. [Hiatus!] by iKïyå§ama

(Prompt #1)

“Why today of all days?”

“It had to be done.”

“But on Valentine’s day?”

“Yes.”

Alexis sat on the end of her bed, her face now buried in her hands.  Tears were streaming their way down the sides of her cheeks.  She kept herself turned away from the man sitting behind her.  She was too upset to let him see her cry.  She started to turn her head and look at him but stopped short.  She didn't want to appear too emotional so she stood up and made her way to the bathroom.

“Where are you going?”

Without turning around, she answered him.  “To the bathroom.  Am I no longer allowed to do that?”  He didn’t answer her as she knew he wouldn’t.  In the bathroom, she sat on the tub and let the tears flow.  It had taken her so long to open up to him.  She had trusted him with every aspect of her life and all of her secrets.  Ones she had never told anybody, not even her best friends.  Alexis had felt so close to him that she actually thought he was the one.  Until now.

She got angry.  It was the only other thing she could think of.  She opened the medicine cabinet and started dumping things out.  It landed in the sink but she pushed it off the counter onto the floor. A piece of makeup caught her eye and she picked it up.  Utilizing the stick as a pen, she wrote a message into the sink: I HATE YOU (Prompt #2)

Now satisfied, Alexis exited the bathroom to find him still sitting on the bed, his back against the wall.  He had not even bothered to find out what she had been doing in the bathroom making all that noise.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “I wish there was some other way.”

“You wish there was some other way?  This was your decision, not mine.”  She reached for her clothes and started to put them on.

“You don’t understand.”

“Oh really?  Explain it to me then?  What was the last year about, huh?  What was last night about!  You gave me the best loving I’ve ever gotten from you.  Did you do that because you knew you what was coming?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t understand where all this is coming from.  You were the most sweetest guy in the entire world.  And we fit so well together.  We finish each other's sentences.  You sold your dog for me.  I introduced you to my family.  We were going to move in together.”

“I promise you that I am doing what’s best for both of us.”

“I doubt that but you go on believing your denials.  If that’s what helps you sleep at night.”  She had finished getting dressed and grabbed her purse and keys as she was leaving.  “I will get my stuff later.  I just can’t stay here anymore.”

“Goodbye.”

“Whatever.”

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There were more than fifty drawers all of the same color at least five feet high.  All of them had no labels of any kind so she wondered how the attendant was able to tell which one to open for her.  Alexis had been dreading this moment since she received the call but it had to be done.

“Are you ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

He looked so good.  All of her memories came flooding back.  The nights they spent together, the surprises he threw at her, even the times he seemed to read her mind and give her exactly what she needed.  That night just before Valentine’s day crawled back into her mind.  Nothing seemed right after that but it all had accumulated to this point right here and right now.

“Is this him?”

“Yes."  The attendant pushed the sliding table back into the drawer and closed the door sealing him in.  Alexis worked hard to hold back her tears.  She had let them flow that morning when she received the call and now she wanted to go again.  “Um…How did it happen?”

“He had an inoperable tumor that was diagnosed in early February.  It spread to his brain and grew too quickly, cutting off all circulation of the blood.  He never had a chance. I am real sorry for your loss.”  The attendant handed her an envelope that laid on the desk behind her.  “All of his personal belongings are in this envelope.”

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Using the keys she found in the envelope, Alexis let herself in the apartment.  It had not been more than two weeks since she had last been in the apartment but it looked like nothing had been changed.  She made her way slowly through, taking stock of everything. She had yet to pick up her items and all her personal affects were still sitting on his dresser where she left him.  She opened up the bottom drawer and found her stash of clothes still folded as she left them.  She continued threw the different rooms remember how well the two of them fitted together.  The way part of her seemed to flow threw every room put a smile on her face

It suddenly occurred to her that maybe he was thinking of her when he broke up with her.  As much as she didn’t agree with it, he had been doing it with her interest at heart.  She continued on to the bathroom.  When she opened the door, she noticed that all the items she tossed out of the medicine cabinet had been cleaned up and put back where they belonged.  When she stepped forward, she looked down to see that her message was still in the sink except for a small change.  It now read: I LOVE YOU

- 967 words