Broken by Christa Cervone Page A

I saw my reflection out of the corner of
my eye. Stopping at the mirror I stared at myself. I looked almost
unrecognizable from the girl in those pictures. I was much thinner.
My cheeks had a sunken appearance. Funny I had never noticed
before. Of course, there were dark purplish circles under my eyes.
I had almost become accustomed to them. Isn’t that why they made concealer make-up? With the reality of my looks setting in, my
stomach did a somersault. I quickly ran from the bathroom and into
the kitchen. I poured a large glass of Diet Coke to settle my
stomach. I stood at the kitchen counter for a few minutes staring
off into space.
    My cell phone began to ring and
brought me back. I quickly walked back into my bedroom and picked
up the phone. “Hi, Mom.”
    “ Well, she finally answers
her phone,” the tone in her voice told me she was pissed at me. I
promised her when I left for college, I would call her every other
day to check in with her.
    I immediately blurted out, “I’m sorry
I haven’t called, I had a wedding Saturday night and I slept most
of the day yesterday.” I was trying to smooth things over with her.
My mother really did love to blow things out of proportion,
especially when it came to me. She once again reminded me of my
promise I had made to her when I left for college.
    “ Yes, I know, every other
day. Mom, I’m fine.” I was getting aggravated.
    I understand she’s my mother and she
worries, but I’m a grown woman for Pete’s sake. There was no reason
for me to have to report in to her every other day. Quickly trying
to change the subject I said, “Hey, you want to have lunch today?
If you give me about an hour to get ready, I will meet you in the
parking lot.”
    “ Sure Honey, I would love
to meet you for lunch, we can further this discussion in person.” I
could almost picture my mother’s face as she said these words to
me.
    “ I will see you in an
hour, Mother.” I quickly hung up the phone and jumped into the
shower.
    I was ready and waiting when my mother
finally arrived to pick me up. My mother was one of those people
who were always late. She pulled up in her sporty black Honda
Prelude. Even though the car was older, it was practically in mint
condition. She loved it, and it was the perfect size for her. She
stood only four feet eleven and had dark brown hair. She was very
young looking for her age, and we often got asked if we were
sisters. Of course, my mother ate that up. It used to bother me
when I was younger, but now I just laugh and play along.
    As I climbed into her car, she gave me
a once over. “Hey Honey. Yikes, you look like hell.”
    I shook my head. “Thanks, Mom. It’s
great to see you too,” I said sarcastically.
    She reached her hand over to me and
rubbed my arm. “Oh, honey. I was only joking. Is everything
ok?”
    Taking a deep breath I replied, “No,
not really." My voice was shaking.
    As we drove to our favorite Chinese
restaurant, I explained to my mom I ran into Garrett at the
wedding. I could tell by the look on her face she was less than
thrilled about the news. I told her he was there with a date and
things didn’t end very well between us. I ensured her nothing was
going to happen with him and me. A look of happiness appeared on
her face as she tried to hide her smile.
    As my mother began giving me almost
the identical lecture that Nicole had earlier, I abruptly stopped
her. “Mom, please spare me the lecture, I’ve already had this
conversation with Nicole.”
    “By the looks of you, I think you need
to hear this twice. I haven’t seen you look this bad since you and
Garrett broke-up.” Her voice was beginning to rise.
    “Ugh, Mom. Please!” I said throwing my
head back towards the head rest. “You don’t think I know this. .
.”
    “Leila, I spoke to Nicole this
morning. She told me she thinks you need therapy. I am not sure
exactly what is going on with you, but looking at you right now and
the state that you are in, I have to