Shimmering Falsities

A girl stands in a McDonald's with a phone in her hoodie pocket, dragging the bottom of it down over her tight jeans. Her eyes are stained with tears, and shadows of melted makeup mark her solemn face. Her phone buzzes again, presumably to tell the details of why her boyfriend left her. It didn't matter. She'd find him and explain.

A boy walks along the road, a backpack slung over his bruised shoulders. His hair flops over his face, hiding the black eye that was the last straw in his paper-thin life. One last time. He's gone from his house, from his girlfriend, from his kid, and he's no longer a man. Just a boy. Nobody would believe him anyways, if he tried to explain how she beat him up. It didn't matter. He'd find another life to fit into.