A Broken Heart For Christmas- a short story about a romance between two past lovers Lucy and Dean.

**5 Years Ago**

Lucy rushes into her dorm room, tears running down her face as her makeup smudges.

She grabs her laundry basket and dumps her clean clothes on her bed angrily, as she begins grabbing what seems like random items from around her room and throwing them in the basket.

Photos, dried up flowers, stuffed animals, mixed tapes and playlists, jewelry, the list is endless.

She fills the basket up and storms out of her dorm room again. She comes back a few minutes later, defeated as she slinks onto the floor near her bed, covering her tear stained face as she tries to calm her heavy sighs.

A heart was broken that night, and the worst part was, that Lucy knew it’d be difficult to bounce back from.

Dean walks into his dorm room, his head hanging low and his eyes watery. He sits on his bed and looks over at a photo on his end table. He is holding a smiling Lucy in his arms as he kisses her on the cheek. Dean leans over grabbing the photo and looking at it. He throws it on his bed and runs out of his room. As he runs through the halls of the student dorms, he sees a crowd of people gathering near the garbage shoot. He tries to pass, but he begins to see stares and hear whispers.

Dean turns to another guy, a dorm-mate of his.

“What’s going on?” he asks.

“You must have pissed off a certain brunette. Sorry dude,” He says bending down, picking up something and handing it to Dean.

Dean looks down and in his hand lies the same photo he had framed in his room, but this was Lucy’s copy.

Dean looks around as he notices everything he’s ever given Lucy over the course of their 2 year college romance, every trace of him, and their time together was either down the garbage shoot or spilled all over the floor of the dorm hallway for all to see. Like a massive display of humiliation.

Dean sighs.

Everyone notices his presence and starts to clear out.

**Present Day**

Lucy sits in her apartment near her window, watching the sun rise, as she sips her coffee.

Her roommate Kinsley walks out of her room in a sleepy slumber.

“Hey, what are you doing up?”

“I could ask you the same question,” Lucy jokes obviously exhausted.

“I just needed to get a drink of water. Are you still having trouble sleeping?”

“Yup, 2^nd week of torture,” Lucy says in annoyance.

“Hmmm, I’m sorry. Is something on your mind?”

“I don’t know. I mean I feel like this seems to happen when I’m overly anxious about something. But I can’t really pin point anything,” Lucy says.

“Maybe it’s just the holiday stress. I mean Christmas is right around the corner, and there’s still so much to do,” Kinsley suggests.

“Yea maybe you’re right.”

“I’m sure it is. I mean what else could it be, right?”

“Right. Except I keep getting this feeling. Like I’m missing something. Like I’m forgetting about something, or I’m forgetting something that’s coming up.”

“Well maybe it’ll come to you if you don’t try and focus on it so hard. I’ll tell you what as long as I’m up, why don’t I make us some breakfast, while you grab a shower.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Hey, just go on. I don’t mind.” Kinsley insists waving her away.

“Thank you, you’re a lifesaver,” Lucy says walking toward the bathroom.

Kinsley is at the stove making chocolate chip waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, and sausages. All the works.

Lucy walks out of her room and towards the kitchen, dressed in her workout clothes.

“This all smells amazing! What are you making a whole meal?” She says noticing the assortment of breakfast foods.

“Hey breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

“Thank you Kin,” she smiles grabbing some glasses from the cabinet  and the orange juice from the fridge and pouring them each a glass.

Lucy leaves her apartment building and begins walking down the street toward the park. She keeps a steady walk and then slowly turns it into a jog and escalates into a run, making her way toward the track in the park.

Lucy soon stops for a water break and hears her cell phone ring. She reaches into her sweater pocket, unzipping it and answering her phone, slightly out of breath.

“Hello.”

“Hi Hunny”

“Hey Mom, what’s up?”

“Are you okay, you sound winded?”

“Yea I’m good, mom, I’m just out for a run.”

“Oh ok well take it easy and drink plenty of water.”

“I know mom, I do this almost every morning.”

“Ok well just making sure.”

“What’s up mom?” Lucy sits on a nearby park bench, as she takes another sip of her water.

“Well the town is hosting its annual Christmas fair and parade this weekend. Did you not get my e-mail?”

“Oh mom, I did. I’m sorry work’s been really busy, and I haven’t been sleeping well. My head is all out of whack.”

“Well do you think you’ll be able to make it home for Christmas this year?”

“Mom, I don’t know.”

“Hunny you haven’t been home in over a year, don’t you miss it? Don’t you miss your family?”

“Of course I do. It’s just that I left a lot of pain there that I guess I don’t want to rehash.”

“Is this about Dean?”

“Mom, don’t okay?”

“Sweetheart it’s been years. He hasn’t come home since. I doubt you’ll run into him. Come home, please.”

“I’ll think about it, mom.”

“Okay,” she sounds saddened. “Well I just hope you don’t let your past with one boy ruin your memories of this magical town and let it prevent you from celebrating the holidays with the people who love you the most.”

“I’ll call you later mom, I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Lucy hangs up the phone and jumps to her feet, continuing her run.

To be continued…

**I do not take credit for any images used in my edits or otherwise.**

-<3-