Miranda sat alone in the crowded bar, happily sipping her cocktail, not caring she was on her own on Valentine’s. Valentine’s was for lovers, human lovers, and she definitely wasn’t one of those.
Her gaze fell on hazel eyes, staring back at her. He smiled. She ignored him. But she knew he was walking over. He placed his glass at the table. “Mind if I join you?” he asked, sitting himself down without waiting for a reply. “Ben,” he offered.
“Miranda."
“It’s free to smile you know,” Ben said, giving her his best smile. She half heartedly smiled back, wondering if he could be like her. ”I know your problem. You have a broken smile. Does that go with a broken heart?”
“No.” How could something she never had be broken?
”That’s something.” He finished his drink, watching her. She knew he wasn’t going to leave her alone unless she told him to. But she wasn’t going to do that. She needed the company, could feel the energy of love oozing from him. She wasn't meant to be alone for this long. Someone out there must be like her. Why not Ben? “How about another drink?” She nodded.
A few hours later, Miranda was still in his company, letting herself enjoy his stories and his attention, forgetting her track record, forgetting the disasters that usually plagued her when she chose the wrong man in her search. He was so easy to be with, he was making it all too easy. She had to just go along with it, knowing exactly where it would end. Like it always did, until she found her own kind.
Her place.
She let him kiss her, undress her, caress her, bed her.
“You know, smiling is free," he murmured, nuzzling her neck.
“I can’t,” she admitted. She was so fed up, despondent with the way things always turned out.
“Sure you can, just turn the corners of your mouth up and there you have it. A beautiful smile.” He grinned, so cheesy with a perfect set of pearly whites and dimples too.
“Just fed up with being alone."
"You're not alone,”
He just didn't understand. All she needed was to find someone like her then she wouldn’t have to endure lonely nights, sharing the love of others in bars like a parasite. “Come on, we’re so alike already, so much in common. Just let yourself go,” he said enthusiastically.
The invitation to let herself go couldn’t be ignored. She pushed him over on his back and straddled him, her eyes ablaze, the need for a companion too great to resist. She had to know if he was like her. Unfortunately, there was no other way to find out. If he was like her, he would survive and they would live forever, together. It was how the female of her species found her mate.
She stroked his smooth chest, could feel the power, his love surging through her fingers. Her nails dug in and he laughed, liking the sensation of the shy girl gone bad. But his laugh turned to words uttered painfully. But still she dug, consumed with a need to know. He couldn’t bare the pain any longer and screamed as her hand ripped through his chest, blood spewing out like a fountain. She pulled free, her hand dripping crimson, clutching the love he wanted to share. Miranda held her breath, looked down into his hazel eyes, the life fading quickly.
"Dam," she sighed. Ben wasn’t like her, she was still alone. Leaving Ben amongst the blood splattered sheets, she walked over to a wall where she pressed a button. The wall slid back revealing rows of small wooden boxes. She picked one and opened it, placing Ben’s heart inside. Her collection of failures.
Her search would still go on to find someone like her, Miranda; the girl with no heart. Ben’s words came back to her; the girl with a broken smile. Maybe that was it. Maybe to find someone like her, she needed to find someone with a broken smile.
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Written for #LoveBites Blog hop, but seeing as one of the judges, it doesn't count. Written for fun. xx
