Courtney Houston, Lea Burn
Paper Dolls
language
(Vellichor Aug. 9, 2017)
I almost convinced myself she wasn’t real.
That I had made up this beautiful woman to stay sane and give myself a purpose—finding her.
And when I did, she was everything and nothing like I’d imagined. Beautiful, smart, willful…and broken.
But it was all a mistake.
I didn’t belong. Not in this place and not with her.
I didn’t think I could tell her the truth of what brought me here.
Because that truth would bring darkness and disruption to her already troubled life.
And I was right.
The proof is in the blood on her hands.
That I had made up this beautiful woman to stay sane and give myself a purpose—finding her.
And when I did, she was everything and nothing like I’d imagined. Beautiful, smart, willful…and broken.
But it was all a mistake.
I didn’t belong. Not in this place and not with her.
I didn’t think I could tell her the truth of what brought me here.
Because that truth would bring darkness and disruption to her already troubled life.
And I was right.
The proof is in the blood on her hands.