Alone And Miserable

Sierra’s boyfriend, Liam, excused himself to go to the bathroom. This was her chance. She grabbed his unlocked phone, and she looked through his texts. She didn’t have to look hard to find Courtney. The last texts sent were “I love you baby. Good night!”, and Liam’s response “I’ll break up with Sierra soon, don’t worry. Ily.”. Sierra’s thoughts were getting loud again. While she stared at her boyfriend’s text messages with another Courtney, her mind screamed “He can leave you at any second, be the girl he wants to stay with.” She quickly put his phone away.

Liam exited the bathroom, and they resumed their dinner. “Hi baby, I love you,” Sierra smiled, trying not to think about Courtney.

“I love you too,” he said, but smiled without his eyes, “Why do you bring it up now of all times?”

“I just thought that I should say it more since the amount of times I usually say it doesn’t reflect how much I love you.”

He sighed. “I have been meaning to tell you something. Something about us—”

Sierra cut him off, fearing what he might say if she didn’t. “You want to get married?” She laughed a bit and sighed.

“No, I want to break up with you.”

Sierra couldn’t believe it. He was really breaking up with her, and for a basic girl named Courtney. It wasn’t fair. Sierra stormed off. She couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. She thought she forgot what it felt like, but it was still so clear in her mind.

A memory flooded her brain. The tears on her cheeks were the same, but the environment was different. A tall person, her elementary school teacher, put their hand on her shoulder as the sun set. Time passed by like the speed of light. Eventually the teacher left her all alone. Alone in the dark waiting for someone, something, anything. The tear stains on those stairs of her elementary school probably were still there. It happened so often that the teachers put up a schedule of who would watch her as she waited for her parents.

Her now ex-boyfriend chased her when she ran, and he put his hand on her shoulder like her elementary teacher would, with pity. At least someone was there to give her that pity.

“Why? Why are you breaking up with me, Liam? For Courtney? I’m so much better than Courtney! Stay with me please!”

“You knew about Courtney? And you still stayed with me?”

“Yes, because I love you. I don’t care if you love me, I just need you to stay with me.”

“Shouldn’t a relationship be about love? Don’t you want to find someone who truly loves you?”

“Of course I do, but such a man does not exist. If you couldn’t love me, no one can, and no one will.”

“I believe someone will. I will give you that opportunity to find him. Find your true love. I found Courtney, and so will you.”

He walked away. Running away to his beloved Courtney. Sierra was alone once again. She had returned to that sad little girl on the playground.

Sierra had no one left. Her parents wanted nothing to do with her after she left for college, and although she tried to make friends, they would never stick around. Maybe she was too clingy? Maybe she was too enthusiastic? Now she’s struggling. All that college debt forced her to find a job, but the only one she found was minimum wage.

Sierra checked in for work at her local coffee shop. She could barely keep up with the complicated orders and still keep a smile on her face. At least those insufferable people have people that care for them.

Since she was little, Sierra’s biggest dream was to have a family. A family totally unlike the one she had in the past. A family that was always there. A family that loved each other no matter what. A family she dreamed of having with Liam. A family Liam and Courtney will have together.

Not only had her worst fears come true, her hopes had all been crushed in one day. She knew the only next step was to get over Liam. She had to get a new boyfriend fast before the tears came back.

She took a deep breath, activated her dating profile, and she started swiping right on absolutely everyone. None of them could ever compare to Liam, but they would work for now.

She walked back to her house while continuing to swipe on the dating app, but a car was approaching. She was too busy to look up from her phone to see the bright red car. The next thing she knew, she was in a hospital.

The bright lights woke her up as she saw a handsome man standing beside her looking worried.

“Who are you?” She asked the stranger while slowly sitting up.

“I’m so sorry! I’m the one who hit you with my car. My name is William. Again, so sorry I hit you! I’ll pay for the hospital bill, don't worry.”

“Can I call you Liam?” The resemblance William had to Liam was astonishing. Liam may have left her, this new version of Liam didn’t have a Courtney. This guy wouldn’t leave her alone.

“You could call me Liam I guess, but I much prefer Will or William.”

“Are you single?”

“Believe it or not I am not single. I have a girlfriend. Why?”

“I would be a better girlfriend than her.”

“I don’t know you.”

“Yes, I do Liam. I know your birthday is in three days, your favorite color is blue, and you graduated Yale with a law degree.”

“None of that is true. My birthday is two months away, my favorite color is green, and I got rejected from Yale. Whoever you’re talking about isn’t me, I’m sorry.”

“But, you’re Liam.”

“No, I’m William. Here’s the money to pay for your medical bill. Goodbye.” Liam, no, William placed six, one hundred dollar bills on Sierra’s lap.

Sierra didn’t know what to do. She certainly couldn’t just jump to the next person who stands next to her. She’s just going to get her heart broken again.

She closed her eyes for a moment, and in that moment, a memory appeared. Before she sat on the sidewalk alone, she chatted with her teacher for almost two hours. Her teacher had showed up when her parents didn’t.

She knew what she had to do next. She needed to become a teacher. She wanted to be the teacher that inspired her students not only to do well in school, but also to help them in their time of need.