(tw: mild mentions of abuse)

BAM!

Another slam on the bathroom door jolts her awake from her daze. She scoffed and muttered, 'side-splitting, life-changing, end-of-the-world, huh...' Those were the very words she once scribbled inside a diary as a teenager and carried forward to her adult years to find the 'one'.

Now, those naive words were what's about to get her killed.

BAM! The doorknob rattles aggressively and she could hear swears outside but she tunes it out. The water from the sink helps exceptionally in that too.

She looks to the side. The floor surrounding her was painted red.

Hah. Her sides were splitting alright.

She doesn't even have the energy to move anymore and yet, it's funny how at a time like this, her urge to laugh has never felt greater. It's been so long since she felt so free to just... be humorous. To just be herself. And so, she laughs; ignoring the pain in her side and the person she doesn't even know anymore behind the door getting angrier by the second.

After a while, she paused to look at the ceiling light. The door slams and her pounding heartbeat in her chest creates a somewhat calming background noise.

Was it wrong to be herself? Frowning, memories flowed into her mind. Countless moments where she had to alter her own behaviour out of 'sincere' comments from him. Then, whenever she hesitated, the relationship would turn sour for a while. It was never enough, all until she couldn't even recognize herself anymore. All these signs...why didn't she see.

She closed her eyes, the lights had become too blinding.

Was it wrong to wish for true love? No- more specifically, was true love supposed to hurt? It's not supposed to, right? All the efforts to find true love...this one's not him, right? If so, that means...

BAM! This time, the door gives way a bit. She knows her time is about to come to a close. She tries to gather one last bout of vitality to stand up, falls on her knees and tries again and again until she manages to stand and hold a defensive stance.

The door finally burst open, the man came strutting in with a knife in his hand. His entire face was gleaming with sweat and popped veins. His anger was at an all-time high.

She wills her hands to stop shaking and takes a deep breath. Shaking her head, she focused on what she just thought about.

"You're not him," she stated. Firmly, she decided.

"What the hell are you going on about?!"

Firmly, she decided.

She'll fight to see another day and maybe...

Maybe, one day she'll meet the one true love that's written for her.