Work Text:
She didn’t want to be alone anymore.
Her brother left when she was three. She doesn’t remember much about him, but she remembers her parents crying a lot and going to weird party for him where everyone was sad and he wasn’t even there. People took turns talking about him and saying how he was in a better place now. She didn’t understand, but she knew that she couldn’t see him anymore. He was the first person to leave her.
Her best friend left when she was six. Madeline has said that she was lame and that she’d have to change if she wanted them to be friends again. Chloe didn’t want to change, she liked who she was. Madeline told her that it was her loss before ditching her and going to hang out with a boy called Dustin. Chloe was left alone during the rest of break. Madeline was the second person to leave her.
Her dad left when she was eight. Ever since her brother left, her parents always argued. Her dad would always drink something called beer and her mom would always yell at him when she came home from work. It had been late one night when Chloe was woken up by their screaming. She heard things being thrown around and heard doors slamming. She saw the lights of her dad’s car turn on and heard it leaving the driveway. She never saw that car again. Her mom told her at breakfast the next morning that her dad had to leave for a while and she wasn’t sure when they’d see him again. He was the third person to leave her.
She met Brooke on the first day of middle school. They had been assigned seats together in half of their classes for whatever reason and started talking. They found out that they both liked a lot of the same things and Chloe found out that girls are pretty. Like, really pretty. They ended up making a promise to one another, saying how they’d be best friends forever and how they’d never leave each other. Brooke promised to stay. Promised not to leave her.
Chloe found out that a lot of people make promises they can’t keep. Jake promised to stay, but he left her for Madeline. Rich promised to stay, but he left her for Michael. Brooke promised to stay, but left her for Jeremy. Chloe was alone, out of promises. Out of people she could talk to without being judged. Out of friends. Out of hope.
Brooke promised to stay, but she left. Brooke promised to stay, but she left. Brooke promised to stay, but she fucking left.
And Chloe realised that promises mean absolutely nothing. People always leave.
Hell, maybe it was because of her.