The Girl In The Mirror

Suzanna arrived home well past 1 AM. She trudged in with her head held low and Simon's jacket still draped over her shoulders. Sarah was in the living room, passed out on the couch with textbooks, notepads and coffee on the table.

Suzanna approached and pulled the throw blanket over her. The big girl went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. She couldn't see anything.

She had to move closer and look down. A tiny girl looked up at her. Her entire body from the neck down was wrapped in Simon's jacket. The plasters that covered Moolah's claw marks on her face seemed massive, as did her reddening eyes.

"I'm sorry," The girl in the mirror said, as the tears came pouring out, "I'm so sorry,"

Suzanna wanted to answer her. To comfort her, tell her it was okay, but she couldn't speak, from how much her throat began to hurt. She couldn't even stand or see anymore. The damn was broken and there was no stopping the flood.

There was a knock on the door,

"Suzy?" Sarah called, her voice urgent but still weighed down by sleep, "Suzy, are you alright?"

The only word Suzanna could form under the torrential downpour of tears was, "NOOOOOO!"

"I'm coming in!" Sarah burst in and found an inconsolable mess on the floor.

She knelt down, "Suzy! Suzy, come on, talk to me. What's wrong?"

Suzanna raised her face, revealing her crooked lip, snotty nose, huge red glassy eyes and the plasters on her left cheek

Sarah's eyes widened, "Gesù, what happened? Was it that Thompson guy again, or-"

Suzanna could only respond by hugging her, tightly. Sarah hear her back making cracking noises from the big girl's immense strength, but she sucked it up and sucked the air back into her lungs so she could reciprocate the hug.

"Everything's gonna be okay, Suzy," She repeated over and over as Suzanna sobbed and shook, until the crack of dawn.