Heartbreaker

The ghost of his heart haunted her. Especially on rainy nights, when the raindrops fell through the leaves of the maple tree outside her bedroom window. Each precious drop of rain reminded her of the teardrops that had fallen from his empty eyes.

It was a blind date that had brought them together. She was cynical and her heart was more scar tissue than flesh. Battle wounds from the broken relationships she had experienced over the years. He was naïve, surprisingly so, for someone his age. His heart was his prized possession and he worshiped it the way a miser worships his gold.

That first night together they spent sitting in the sand with the warm waters of the Pacific washing over their feet. They spoke of many things some serious some nonsense. They tried to count the stars and they watched quietly as the full moon danced with the crashing surf.

Despite herself she could feel some of the scar tissue softening, healing. She wanted to believe but history made that difficult. They returned to their cars with the rising of the sun. She was sure he would ask her out for a second date and she was just as sure that she would say no. Not because she did not like him but because she was afraid of him and what he represented.

He asked and she surprised herself by saying yes. He took her number and promised to call. He drove away without even trying to kiss her good by. This had floored her. Goodnight kisses were part of the ritual, part of the dance. It also intrigued her, what kind of guy would sit and talk with you through out the night without making at least one pass.

They dated for more than a month before he had kissed her good night. He may have moved slowly but she thought to herself it was worth the wait. They spent many evenings at the beach just talking and getting to know one another.

He was falling for her hard and that scared her. She was afraid of commitment, afraid of having her heart broken one more time. She was afraid of the pain.

One summer evening found them sitting around a small campfire somewhere in the Sierra's. With the moon and the stars as witnesses he dropped to one knee and asked her to be his wife. She had know this moment was coming, had even expected it to be this weekend. In her dreams she had said yes over and over again. Now in the moment she found the word no had escaped her lips without conscious thought.

Once said a word like no in that situation cannot be taken back. She tried to explain herself but the words sounded hollow even to her. The look in his eyes scarred her heart more than any user ever could have. It was frightening because the look she saw was the same one she had seen in the mirror looking back at her every time her heart had been broken.

In unspoken agreement they packed their supplies and returned to the city. No words were exchanged for the entire three-hour drive. He left her in front of her apartment and she never heard from him again.

His heart though, his heart haunted her and spoke to her from the darkness each and every night. With each tear it cried it mocked her and reminded her that she had become what she most despised: a heartbreaker.