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“That’s it! I’ve had enough!” Jenn yelled.
She slammed an image book on the large green couch they sat on. Matt jumped at the sound with wide eyes.
“What’s going on now?” Matt asked.
“I’m tired of you not giving me attention Matt! You weren’t even looking at the image book I made you for our anniversary.”
Matt’s ocean blue eyes quickly shifted from Jenn to the book before he looked back at her and shrugged.
“It’s nice.”
Jenn closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. The living room of her boyfriend’s house had a center desk that contained miniature glass menagerie sculptures.
There were two dark green couch sets that are perched in front of the white walls of the room. There was also a shelf with framed family photographs.
The living room was connected to the kitchen, which had a grandfather clock that was monotonous, like a broken record in a vinyl player.
Jenn would always grit her teeth at the sound or clench her fists but in this occasion, it was the only source of tranquility she had.
It’s been six months. Jenn never anticipated for their relationship to be so problematic. She always believed that their relationship was supposed to be full of bliss and endless love.
Instead, Jenn opened her eyes to see Matt on his phone. His eyes were trained to the screen and a smirk emerged. Jenn’s lips pursed.
“You’re not paying attention to me, are you?”
She was met with silence. Jenn’s eyebrows narrowed and she snatched the phone from Matt’s hand.
“Hey! Give it back!” Matt reached for the phone but failed to retrieve it.
Jenn sat up straighter and crossed her legs on the couch. She clasped her hands together and looked at Matt.
“I feel like our relationship has been different for the last six months. I feel like the way you are around me is different.”
Matt looked down at the couch. The clock continued ticking as the silence continued to extend. Eventually, he cleared his throat and shrugged his shoulders.
“I think it’s fine.”
Jenn watched him, her frown deepened, and her fists began to clench. She rose up from the couch suddenly. The sounds of the clock became rapid.
“I feel like you don’t care Matt. It’s like I am the one bending over backwards to make our relationship work while all you do is ditch me for your friends and ignore me.”
“You’re not the only thing I have going for me Jenn. Stop making it seem like you’re the only thing that has to matter in my life.”
Jenn’s jaw dropped. Her eyebrows narrowed to the point her veins would pop out of her forehead.
“That is not what I am trying to say, Matt! I am your girlfriend, that’s something you should care about!”
Matt shrugs.
“We’ve been together for a year.”
“So?”
“Being with you for that long should mean that I care.”
Jenn sighed deeply and walked toward the kitchen to try to keep herself calm.
“This is what I mean, Matt. You don’t look at me, you don’t hug me, you don’t kiss me, you don’t make time for me, and you’re not demonstrating commitment.”
“Jesus, Jenn, what are we? Married? We’re only 16!”
Matt gritted his teeth.
“Of course we’re not married!” Jenn shook her head. “But you don’t need to be married to show how dedicated you are to what we have. All I want is for you to care about me, to…love me.”
There was silence once again. She could feel her own breath become uneven, and her body start to shake. She watched Matt look at the ceiling before sighing and putting his hand over his eyes.
“You’re doing too much, Jenn.”
The clock’s ticking was deafening. It was pounding in Jenn’s ears. Her fists were clenched, and her breaths were rapid.
Her fists suddenly slammed the glass of the clock, causing pieces of glass to disintegrate onto the carpet. Matt took a step back.
“I’m doing too much?! I’m doing too much when all I’m asking is for you to care about me! Gosh Matt! You are so selfish!” Jenn walked to Matt, who remained frozen in place. “I feel like you don’t even want to be with me anymore! Just be honest.”
Matt looks down at the carpet, it has always been nicely polished. His mom was always meticulous about it being clean.
He knows that he will hear it all when she comes home and sees the footprints of his sneakers as well as glass on the floor that came from her favorite piece of furniture in the house. He might as well lift one boulder from his shoulders now that he can.
He took a deep breath.
“I don’t want to be with you anymore.”
Jenn reached into her back pocket to take out Matt’s phone before shoving it to his chest. The phone fell to the ground.
“We’re done.”
Matt stared at the phone on the ground as he heard Jenn leaving the house and the door slam behind her. There was a crack line visible on his phone screen. He didn’t know what to feel at the moment.
There was relief in the fact he no longer had to be overwhelmed with Jenn, but there was also fear that this would not be the last time he would see her.
He always knew that she was a persistent girl who never took no for an answer, The persistence came with being overly assertive, and it all amounted to the arguments that erupted constantly for no reason.
Many of the arguments were from him refusing to do what she would demand for him to do. Overtime, he grew to regret his decision of saying yes to her proposal to date him out of fear.
At least it’s done now.
Matt raised his head to look at the clock. No sound could be heard, yet the silence was deafening.
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