Her blue eyes had turned grey. 

She wasn’t sure when it happened, but staring back at her was someone she didn’t know.  A mere suggestion of what she used to be, it almost seemed that as the color of her eyes faded into grey, so did the rest of her.

She used to be filled with life and vibrancy.  She practically effervesced with this passion for living that transferred to everything around her and made her surroundings glow.  She made you want to smile, just because.

Now, the proverbial black cloud seemed to follow her, as if an extended shadow.  It was obvious to those that cared about her the most, and noticeable to those that had just met her.  She was fighting it, but it was a losing battle.  Nothing seemed to truly pull her from her sorrows, and it was heartbreaking to watch such a beautiful creature fall apart.

He had been studying her from across the room for a while now.  She was oblivious to his gaze, caught up in the novel clutched in her small hands.  She sat tucked in an oversized arm chair, wrapped securely in a large sweatshirt that he knew was his.  She looked so small, as if the chair could swallow her whole. 

His eyes flitted across her face, over her hair still wet from her shower.  He noticed the slight frown that settled on her lips, and he wished in that moment he knew how to truly make her smile.

When he shifted in his seat her eyes were torn from their page and moved over in his direction.  She caught his stare and did her best to force a smile.  It was a halfhearted attempt and they both knew it.  Something had wedged itself between them, some unseen force, and there was a gap in their relationship. 

He loved her, more than anything, and he agonized over her sadness.  He didn’t know how to fix her.  She had fallen for him almost instantly, and she was still captivated by this man, but she didn’t know how to fix herself either.

Something had wormed its way into her heart, her soul.  Some unsettling feeling had crept into the recesses of her mind, until one day, she broke.  Years of hidden pain and strife had come to the surface and it was all she could do to stay standing.

This invisible imposter had imposed itself upon their relationship, and both of them were struggling to salvage the pieces of themselves that were left.  Neither of them knew what was wrong, so they were lost at how to fix it.

She felt alone.

She felt so utterly lost and alone that she was fighting to find a reason to keep on going.  She held onto him at first, determined to focus on the love he gave her, but she was afraid of needing him too much.  She didn’t want to drain the life out of him too.

It didn’t matter where she was, or who was there.  In a room full of people she felt as if she were invisible.  She felt worthless.

These inner demons, those voices in her head, they told her that she wasn’t worth the attention, the love.  No matter how hard she fought to make them go away, she couldn’t help but wonder about their veracity.  It didn’t matter what he promised her, or declared to her.  She was still afraid that she was going to lose him too.  That one day he would wake up and realize that she really wasn’t worth the fight.

The ironic part was that she was becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.  With each day that she distanced herself from him, with each mention of her worthlessness, he fell farther and farther behind.

Stirring herself from her thoughts, she pushed off the floor with her feet and stood from the chair.  She padded over in his direction and planted herself gently into his lap.

            “I love you.”  She whispered before kissing him softly.  “I’m fighting this for you…for us.”  She declared.  His eyes shut for a brief moment before opening to stare into hers.

            “I know.”  His voice came out more unsteady than he would have hoped for.  He didn’t want her to see him weaken under the pressure.  He wanted to prove to her that he was not going to give up, but his resolve was breaking with her spirit.  “I love you too.”

Time stopped for a moment as the two held each other tightly. 

Tomorrow, he would tell her that he needed some time.

Tonight, she would make one last attempt at finding the girl he fell in love with.

Tomorrow, she would become her self-fulfilling prophecy.