I slumped into the chair just like I did every other day.

My eyes were heavy and it seemed a permanent frown had been etched onto my face.

I wasn't happy.

The days just seemed to blend together more and more as time went on and I was left unable to remember what events occurred when or with whom they occurred.

I slouched further into the chair and stared at the blank TV screen. Nothing was playing. The TV was off. Yet, I made no move to turn it back on. Instead, I inattentively gazed at my reflection, unbothered by my lifeless eyes.

I reached down beside the chair, on the ground, and grabbed a bottle of Sunny D.

I held it loosely and focused my eyes on it, bored.

Once upon a time, Sunny D was the main source of all my happiness. Many of my best memories involved Sunny D in some way. Just taking one sip of it after a bad day would heal all of my pain and I would feel renewed.

But that was in the past.

Now I drank the liquid carelessly and without much purpose. If no longer brought me joy like it once did and it did not make me feel any better. Why did I keep drinking it? Why? Why? Why?

Maybe it was because I had hoped that one day, it would bring me joy again.

I had drank the whole bottle without even realizing it. I tended to do that a lot.

With a sigh, I discarded the empty bottle and picked up a new one.

How had it all come to this?

I was tired. So, so tired. That's all I knew.

I gulped down another bottle of Sunny D and sat in a pool of my own self pity and regret.

I sniffled, but I refused to let any tears fall. Instead, I just drank more and more Sunny D.

You could say that I almost despised it now. It reminded me of a time when I was happy and I felt like it was mocking me, reminding me of what I couldn't have.

But I still drank it, no matter how much I now hated the foul taste of it. Perhaps I did it as a punishment to myself or maybe I just really hated myself that much. Probably both.

Four newly empty bottles now lay on the floor, scattered at my feet. I reached beside me to grab another, but my hand only grasper at air.

That was when the tears started flowing.

I cried in that chair for several minutes, wondering why I still existed.

Then I got up and went to the kitchen, searching for more Sunny D, tears still rolling down my face.

I grabbed all of the Sunny D I could hold and turned around slowly, shuffling my feet. I was too tired to even put effort into walking.

As soon as I turned around, Ben came into the kitchen carrying bags of unknown items. When his eyes landed on me however, he dropped everything that he was holding.

"(Y/N)?" He asked, making his way quickly towards me.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" He questioned, resting his hands on my shoulders and gazing deeply into my eyes.

I simply blinked at him and shook my head, pushing past him and returning to my chair.

"(Y/N)?" He asked again, much softer this time. Concern was written all over his face.

"Hey," he began, barely above a whisper, "talk to me," he pleaded.

I looked into his eyes and I only saw love and concern for me.

So I talked.

And I told him everything.

And Ben listened to each and every word, even when I didn't think I was making much sense.

And when I finally finished speaking, he gently removed all the Sunny D bottles from my arms and pulled me into a tight hug.

"I love you, (Y/N). You can cry all that you need to, because I'm here now. I'm sorry that I wasn't here when you were falling apart, but I am now. You can fall apart all you need to, don't worry, because I'll be here, holding you together, okay?" He squeezed me tighter.

And I cried.

And I cried and cried and cried.

I fell apart completely.

But Ben kept his word and held me together.

"Thank you," I whispered, a long time later.

Then I fell asleep in his arms.

•••••
749 words

Unedited

This one was a request! : )