A girl lied alone in her bed. Her comforter had been tossed to the ground and the other sheets were tangled together, barely hanging off of the corner of the mattress. The girl was curled around a large, white teddy bear. Strands of her blue hair was stuck to her face, the rest was a tangled mess that jut out in every direction. She found no point in brushing her hair. She wouldn’t change out of her pajamas. She had been wearing the same pair of sweats and white T-shirt for what would soon be two weeks. She was a mess. Octavia Melody was to blame.
Her head was clouded with the memories of her precious Tavi. Her laugh. Her smile. The light shove followed by, “Oh, Vinyl!” The day she dumped her, she gave Vinyl a cut that seemed like it would never heal. Octavia broke her.
Vinyl sniffled and buried her face in the bear. Octavia gave her the bear a few months into their relationship. It was a way of making the bed seem less empty without her. The bear could never fill the empty space left in Vinyl’s heart.
The two seemed like the perfect match. They were always together when neither of them were busy with work. They looked perfectly happy together. No one would have guessed that the relationship was falling under, not even Vinyl. She thought everything was going so well, but it was falling apart right under her nose.
Vinyl heard footsteps down the hall. Do they ever knock? Her bedroom door slowly opened. Lyra turned the light on before stepping in. She gasped at the disaster Vinyl had created during a tantrum. The floor was covered in shards of glass from several picture frames, ashes from the half burned pictures, feathers from a pillow, and pieces of a swivel chair. One of the walls had three holes from the impact of Vinyls fists.
“Watch your step, Bon-Bon,” Lyra warned. She stepped cautiously, Bon-Bon followed her every movement. Vinyl never bothered to look at the two. Lyra sat down next to Vinyl. “Hey, how are you feeling?”
Vinyl held the bear tighter to her chest. It should be obvious how she feels. She feels shity. Lyra sighed and put a hand on her arm. “I’d imagine you’re hungry. We brought you some food. Will you eat it?”
She hadn’t eaten since Octavia dumped her. Vinyl nodded and sat up, still holding the bear tightly in her arms. “Can we go somewhere cleaner?” Bon-Bon asked, showing her discomfort. She held a tote bag loosely in her hand.
“Yeah,” Lyra answered. “Let’s go to the living room or something. A change of scenery could be nice for you. I don’t know how long you’ve been cooped up in this room.”
Lyra stood up took a few steps away from the bed. Vinyl slowly got out of bed. Lyra walked out of the room, stepping in the same spots she stepped in when she entered. Bon-Bon held her hand out for Vinyl to take, but Vinyl didn’t move. Bon-Bon just took her hand and led her out of the room.
“Much better,” Bon-Bon sighed once they reached the living room. She looked back at Vinyl, who stared at the floor. Bon-Bon frowned. Vinyl’s usually a vibrant character who can mask their pain and eventually lift herself out of whatever mental mess life has thrown her into. She really cared about Octavia. She loved Octavia. Bon-Bon worried for Vinyl.
Lyra sat down on a far end of the couch. Bon-Bon dropped Vinyl’s hand and sat on the other. Vinyl huffed and plopped herself between them, then looked at Bon-Bon who held the bag of food. Bon-Bon, getting the message, handed the bag to her. Vinyl set the bear on the table and reached in the bag. She pulled out a blue bowl sealed tightly with a lid. She peeled the lid off to reveal two sandwiches stacked on eachother. Vinyl grabbed one and stared at it.
“Everything ok?” Lyra asked. Her answer was Vinyl setting everything down on the table. Vinyl leaned back on the couch and stared at the television, it wasn’t on. Like eating anything would fill the void.
“Ok… Maybe not food,” Bon-Bon mumbled. She looked around the room to see if there was something that could help Vinyl feel better. She looked at the table next to the front door and saw a pair of sunglasses resting on it. She stood up, retrieved them, and sat down again. Bon-Bon slid the glasses onto Vinyl’s face. “There she is. There’s the cool girl we love.”
Vinyl turned her head towards Bon-Bon. She didn’t feel cool. She didn’t feel anything at that moment. Lyra sprung up off the couch. “Vinyl needs to get her mind off of,” She paused. “Uh, You Know Who. How about she watches TV and we… Clean her room?”
“That place looks like a tornado took a casual stroll through it,” Bon-Bon grimaced.
“That’s all the more reason to clean it,” Lyra smiled. She made her way towards the room. Bon-Bon was about to follow, but stopped to turn the TV on for Vinyl, who still looked where she was sitting before. Bon-Bon left the room.
Vinyl removed the sunglasses and set them on the table. Before she leaned back into the couch, she grabbed the bear. A familiar sound played from the TV’s speakers. A familiar looking cellist played a piece she played the day her and Vinyl met in the music hall at their high school. It sounded polished compared to the first time. That could only come with years of practice Octavia had dedicated herself to.
The dark haired girl played with her eyes closed. She put her everything into her work. It was something Vinyl admired the most about her. The dedication Octavia had for everything she loved. She doesn’t have anymore dedication for Vinyl. She doesn’t love Vinyl. Vinyl tried to swallow a lump in her throat. Why doesn’t she love me anymore?
A tear slid down Vinyl’s cheek. She lied down and pulled her knees to her chest, over the bear. The DJ cried into the bear, it muffled her sobs. The song came to an end Vinyl looked at the TV. Octavia bowed and looked into the camera. Vinyl’s heart skipped a beat because for the first time in a long time, she looked into Octavia’s eyes. Even if she wasn’t standing in the same room, it was a glance into the dark eyes of her precious Tavi.
Lyra walked back into the room carrying a few pieces of the swivel chair. She paused when she seen Vinyl. She’s never seen Vinyl cry despite knowing her for years. She didn’t know what to do.
“Octavia Melody, who do we have to thank for this wonderful performance?” A man on the TV asked.
Just before Octavia could speak, Lyra dropped the trash and turned the TV off. “I’m so sorry. We should have checked what was on,” Lyra rushed over to Vinyl. She dropped to her knees and began stroking Vinyl’s hair. “How can I fix this?”
Vinyl slowly sat up. She wiped her face with her shirt and hugged the bear. “Hear her voice,” Vinyl’s voice cracked. “I want to hear her voice.”
Lyra nodded and walked across the room. She turned the TV on and sat down next to Vinyl.
“Nobody,” Octavia answered bluntly. “As a self taught musician, I can only thank myself for this piece.” Vinyl looked down at the table. She knew Octavia was right, Octavia did everything on her own when it came to her work, but deep down Vinyl wished she would have thanked her for encouraging her to keep going. For going to every show she could and celebrating with her after each one.
The show cut to commercial. Vinyl was silent. She stopped crying. Bon-Bon walked into the room. “Hey, what’s taking so long?” She looked at her friends. They both looked distressed, Vinyl more than she was before. “Lyra, what happened?”
“Octavia was on the TV.” Lyra turned the TV off, again.
The girls sat in silence for a few seconds. The silence was broken by Vinyl groaning. “Why did you have to leave me, Tavi?” She put her hands on her face and let the bear drop to the floor. “What did I do wrong?”
“You did nothing wrong. Octavia’s just,” Bon-Bon struggled to find words. “Just…”
“It doesn’t matter what she is,” Lyra stepped in. “All that matters is you can move on from this.”
Vinyl dropped her hands to her sides. All that mattered to her was Octavia. She knew Lyra was right, but she didn’t want to believe it. Vinyl didn’t want to live without the one she loved, but she would have to. She sighed, “Thanks, you’ve been very helpful.”
Bon-Bon sat down with the two girls. Vinyl gently kicked the bear farther away from her. That thing will haunt her until the end of time if she keeps it in the house, but she can’t throw it away. “God, damnit… How will I get over this?”
Author's Note
This sucked. I suck. Why is this all terrible?