Read Online Broken & Damaged Love by T.L. Clark - Free Book Online

he ran away in terror. He just wanted to get away from the banshee in front of him.
    What the hell had he done to make her react like that? She was totally batshit crazy. No wonder nobody else had dated her. She should come with a warning note.
    Tina was left alone on her bed to cry. She finally got the images to stop, but her tears continued to flow long after.
    How long was she going to be haunted by her past? She felt like it was always going to be there. She couldn’t see any way she’d ever be rid of it.
    It took a considerable amount of time to realise Julian wasn’t there. Then she started crying all over again.
    Wow, she’d really fucked up. There was no way he would ever go near her again. She must have looked like a complete psycho.
    If only he’d not used those words. She’d been really proud of herself up until then, she had become tense, but she thought she would have been OK.
    Sadly, Tina’s fears were confirmed. She saw Julian the next day at college and he could barely look at her.
    She tried to talk to him but he turned away. It was days before he would actually listen to what she had to say.
    “Julian. Will you just let me apologise?” she finally shouted at him outside.
    She was desperate and frustrated and hurt.
    “Fine. You’re sorry.”
    “Yes, I really am. It wasn’t you.”
    “Yeah, it’s not you it’s me.”
    “But it really is.”
    “Just save it, Tina. I don’t know what happened, but I really don’t want to hear it. There’s no way I’m going there with you again. I’ll always be expecting you to freak out.
    “I’m sure there’s a really good excuse. But I just can’t handle it. I’m sorry. I really liked you. But this is too much for me. It’s over.”
    Tina’s heart sank to her stomach. She knew he was right. She’d hurt him with her outburst. He would never trust her again.
    It was for all the wrong reasons, but she agreed there was no going back now. What she thought was love was yet just another deception in her life. 
     

Chapter 5 - Escapism
    Just as Tina had begun to hope something good was going to happen in her life she just found she’d made it worse.
    She cursed herself for flipping out. She really couldn’t blame Julian for distancing himself.
    So, she was back to square one, just relying on herself to get her through.
    Her counselling course had ended, and her mother wasn’t prepared to pay for further sessions.
    As a result Tina had plunged back into her pit of despair. Dark thoughts consumed her.
    She wondered what the point was in living. She couldn’t see anything bright in her future.
    She didn’t feel she’d ever be able to have a ‘normal’ relationship, her dad was in prison, her mum still seemed to hold it against her, and she had nobody to talk to.
    She kept hoping she’d get a sign, some sort of Divine Intervention to give her some hope, but none came.
    Tina had retreated back into her shell. She hadn’t fully come out anyway. She’d merely popped her head out, found it wasn’t safe, and crept back inside, into a sort of hibernation.
    She immersed herself in her studies, hoping that would give her a way out.
    The summer holidays arrived, and Tina was relieved. She was able to shut herself away in her bedroom and paint.
    Her art teacher at school had been really encouraging, and her talent grew. She wasn’t doing art at college, but she no longer needed guidance.
    There were some art books in the college library that she’d come across, with fantasy figures in. It had given her inspiration, and she’d sketched some characters, which now she had time to develop.
    She sat down with her brush in hand, and started painting the dark green hues of a lush tropical forest.
    The forest was dark as it was night time, but a full moon shone down in a clearing, highlighting a magnificent white unicorn.
    A beautiful fairy with softened, glowing wings approached the animal.
    There was a pool of water behind them, shimmering in the