A Sea of Broken Hearts

Prologue

Everyone has regrets. Everyone has dreams. Everyone has fantasies, wishes, hopes, thoughts, and ideas. Have you ever woken up one morning and saw your life flash right before your eyes? Then you wish you never had done or said that. Have you ever loved and lost? If you could embrace everything you ever wanted in split seconds, would you do it? Or would you just let it slip out of your palms?

I remember like it was yesterday. Years have passed. Long, painful, hurting hours have drifted by slowly. If I could change, I would. If I could take back all the tears, I would. But it’s too late now, and I’ve missed my opportunity.

This is story of love, a tale of hurt, an adventure that now holds two broken hearts. If you are one of those who have experienced what I have, join me in the sea of shattered dreams, crashed fantasies, and broken hearts.

Chapter 1

I sat down at my computer and began to type from the beginning. There was a boy and a girl. He was a writer. She was nothing but herself, full of spirit and life. She had the blondest hair and brightest eyes. They were a deep blue and held secrets. She was always there for the boy, the writer, always there for me.

It all started at the age of thirteen. Young love was in the air. I moved out to the country. I was a city boy. All the wide open land swallowed me whole. She worked in the barn with the horses. I saw her and hoped she would be my friend. She tied up the horse she was working with and came over to me. She introduced herself.

“Hey, you must be new here. My name is Crystal,” she said. She held out her hand and shook mine. She had a country accent. Nothing too thick or annoying, but cute in a way. She was unique.

“Hi. Um, I’m John. Where should I go?” I asked. I felt so stupid.

“Right over there,” she said pointing to a nice ranch.

“Uh, thanks. Bye,” I said.

“See ya round,” she replied and started to take the saddles off of the horses. I walked over to the house, not far, but a fair walk. I knocked on the door and my step dad answered. I smiled weakly at him.

“Hey son! Been a while since we’ve seen you round here. Glad you came. Your mother is in the kitchen making dinner. Throw your stuff somewhere and get all set up. Your room is down the hall and to the right,” he said. I took my suitcase and went down the hall and took the right. There was my room. Average size. A mattress next to the window, a desk, and dresser.

I put my suitcase on the bed and unlocked it. I felt weird. Like I was out of place. I didn’t fit in. Maybe it was just me. But I didn’t know. I put my clothes in the dresser and threw ten thick notebooks onto the desk. Ten wasn’t enough for me. I loved to write novels, short stories, anything. Ten would only last me a month or so. Hopefully there would be a store near by. My step father came into the room and threw some folded sheets at me.

“Make your bed son,” he said. I sighed and picked up the sheets that he threw. They were wrinkled now. I made my bed and walked slowly to the kitchen. I sat down at the table with three chairs.

There was my mom. She was working hard. She always loved to cook. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the best cooking. Something always ended up burnt or tasting like rubber. She realized I was there and ran over to me. She hugged me and smothered me in kisses.

“Oh hun it’s been forever! I miss you so much! Thank God you’re home. You’re here to stay for good, right?” she asked. I didn’t know. At the rate things were going right now, no. I wanted to leave. Only friend I had was Crystal. Was she even considered a friend?

“Yeah mom,” I replied. I had to make her happy. I didn’t want to see her upset again, so I had to say whatever I could. Whatever made her feel better. Since the divorce, she’s been the one out of place. It completely threw her off course and ruined her future. Now she was stuck out here in the country and married to some guy I hardly knew.

She served us dinner. My step dad would take a bite, glare at me like I did something wrong, smile at my mother, and then take another bite. A repeating cycle that irked me. I nibbled at the food. I couldn’t get past the first bite. It was thick, chewy, and tasted like old shoes.

“How is everything?” she asked.

“The food is great,” I lied.

“No silly. Not about the food. How are you?” she asked.

“Good,” I lied again.

“Meet anyone?” she continued to question me.

“This girl named Crystal. She’s nice,” I said. My mom smiled. It wasn’t her normal smile. It was a strange smile, a forced smile probably. It wasn’t comforting. It just made me think, get a life. Get over the divorce. Get over everything and just move on. I felt cruel after thinking that.

“Mmhm, so tell me more,” she said. She sipped her water. I hadn’t tried the water. I was worried what it would taste like. My throat grew dry from all the talking she made me do.

“She’s not shy. She works in the barn, and yeah. I don’t know too much. She seems really friendly,” I explained. I tried to please my mom with the information I had about Crystal, but I barely had any. All I had were guesses.

“That’s good,” she said. My mom and step dad continued to talk. I felt like a shadow. Just sitting there in the darkness being ignored. I didn’t mind it, but then I didn’t mind anything. I was just some dummy for people to order around. I got up and left to go to my room. I pulled out one of the notebooks and started to write.

It was a way to release all my thoughts and emotions. I had trouble communicating with people. If I wrote it down for a made up person to feel, then it would be easier. It made me feel like I wasn’t the only one out there. I wasn’t so lonely after all.

I got in the small bed and dazed out. Eventually I fell asleep. Morning arrived and the sun shined in through my window. The light was in my eyes and it woke me up instantly. I put my head under my pillow and moaned. I stretched my arms and legs followed by a yawn.

I headed to the bathroom and showered. The hot water was gone and I was left with icy cold water, cheep shampoo, and no soap. I got out and changed into some clothes. I skipped breakfast, if there was any, and went outside. There was Crystal riding a horse around the open area. I sat down on the steps to the front porch and watched her ride.

Summer break would be over soon and school would be back. I would be going to a new school and meet new friends. At least I had Crystal. She slowed the horse so it trotted over to me. She yelled, “Whoa!” and pulled back on the reins. She hopped off and tied the horse up to a post. She came over to me, totally cowgirl. Boots, a hat, and all.

“Morning,” she said.

“Hey, good morning. It’s really early. Are you normally up this early?” I asked.

“Yup, you get used to it after a while. So how was your first night in the country?” she asked.

“It was okay,” I said. She sat down next to me.

“It’ll get better. So where you from?” she asked.

“The city,” I replied. She nodded her head.

“So you a city boy, eh? Well, welcome to the country. It’s a huge change alright. I came here and didn’t like it at first. I, myself, used to be a city girl. But I had fallen in love with the country. Now you can’t separate us,” she said. She laughed a little and smiled at me.

“I don’t know if I’ll fall in love with anything here. It’s just… different,” I said. For a second she looked sad, but her eyes lit up again before I could tell for sure.

“Alright, well, I’m gonna go. Maybe we can hang out some time. See ya,” she said. She untied the horse and cantered away. I could tell it was going to be a long day.

The rest of summer passed by and school was going to start. One week into school and it was already my birthday. I tried not to develop the country accent, but it was hard. Not everyone had such a light accent. Some were thick and heavy. My fourteenth birthday came. I was now in eighth grade and I met a few friends.

I asked my mom to get a cake made from a store, not by her. I said it more nicely than that. I couldn’t hurt her feelings. We all sat at the table with the lights dimmed and the cake lit with fourteen candles. Crystal was invited and they all sang Happy Birthday. I took a deep breath, made a wish, to find love, and then blew out the fire on the candles. Everyone clapped and cheered.

There was this real cute girl at my school. Her name was Anna. She wasn’t from the country, but the suburbs. She didn’t have an accent. She was so fun to be with. We would spend days together. Then I popped the question, “Hey Anna, you doing anything tomorrow? You wanna go on a date with me?” She smiled and hugged me.

“I’d love to! Do you think you could pick me up?” she asked. I nodded my head.

“Of course, anything for you,” I said. I meant it. She was a star. I would do anything for her. She gave me a small peck on the cheek and went to her next class. I walked with Crystal and told her about Anna.

“Oh… Anna, eh?” she asked. She sounded sad.

“Yeah, she’s real pretty and funny. I asked her out on a date and she said yes,” I said. Crystal looked away and stopped at her locker.

“Sounds like things are going great for you. I’m glad. Have fun on your date,” she said. She focused on the combination of her locker and grabbing the right books. I started walking to my next class when I saw her close her eyes and shake her head slightly. She sighed. I thought for a second, but I decided it was nothing.

Class droned on and on my way out Anna slipped me a note. All the looks, all the smiles, all the different ways she flowed her words made me fall for her even more. She was one of those girls who had flawless hair, perfect smile, and nice body. I was just like every other normal guy, wants a girl who looks hot.

Tomorrow came and I got a ride with Crystal to Anna’s place. We picked her up. Crystal and her mother dropped us off at the movies. I waved thanks to Crystal and reached for Anna’s hand to hold. During the movie I had a craving. Anna was just sitting there with her head on my shoulder. I wanted to kiss and hold her.

I whispered in her ear and she giggled softly. I made the move and placed my lips to her neck. I pecked it lightly making my way up to her lips. She kissed me back and wrapped her arms around me. Before I knew it, my craving was satisfied with a make out session.

The movie ended and we ran out of the theater holding hands and giggling. We were loaded up with energy from the caffeine, the sugar, and the tobacco smoke around us outside. We cuddled for a while. I pulled out my cell and called up Crystal to provide us a ride home.

“You two have fun?” she asked.

“Oh yeah,” Anna said. She smiled and put her hand over her mouth holding in her adorable giggle that I loved to hear.

“Uh huh,” Crystal said. She sounded distracted.

“I live here,” Anna said. The car came to a stop and Anna got out. She mouthed, call me, and winked at me. I stretched my arms and leaned back.

“Man Crystal, I had an awesome time. She is so hot,” I began to say. I saved the rest for later when her mother wasn’t in the car.

“Mom, pull over here. I wanna walk and talk with John. Okay?” she asked. Her mother agreed and let us walk together. She drove off. Crystal shoved her fists in her jean pockets and looked over at me. “Obviously there is something else.”

“We made out. It was great. She’s an amazing kisser,” I said.

“Are you?” Crystal asked. Why’d she want to know about me? I was talking about Anna.

“Um, I don’t know. Anyway, do you think we’re moving too fast?” I asked. Crystal looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

“Let’s see, first date, make out, and you don’t know if you’re moving too fast?” Crystal stated. She made me sound stupid.

“Alright, fine. Maybe we are moving faster than normal, but I really like this girl. Crystal, you have to understand that when I’m with her, I’m the happiest I have been since I moved here,” I explained. I swore I saw her role her eyes at me.

“Oh and I don’t make you happy?” she snapped quickly and crossed her arms. I wondered where that came from. I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to apologize. Apparently she was offended. But would saying sorry be the right thing?

“See ya Crystal,” I said. I knew this small fight would be over the next day. What I didn’t know was everything else behind it all.