The Broken Pieces

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## The Broken Pieces

### Director

Potato Flakin

***The Broken Pieces*** is the first chapter of *Two-Sided*.

## Synopsis

Daniela's life remains normal, but when a nudge for her girlfriend to come out ends in bloodshed and trauma, she begins to travel down a brutal and dark path.

## Content Warning

*This chapter contains extensive blood and violence, in addition to homophobia. It also explores panic attacks, suicide, and other scenes with disturbing or distressing content. Viewer discretion is heavily advised.*

## Transcript

*Imagine living the life you've wanted since you were young, only to have the rug swept out from under your feet.*

*Then you become so shriveled, violent, and desperate to fulfill dark desires, practically villains, who live in your head.*

*But then you become lost from there, and you ask yourself a question.*

*What did I do to get where I am now?*

My life was fine at first. I was the happiest little sweetheart, the love of my mother, who raised me alone with no father. She was roughly edged out in some places, but she loved me very much. I was very thoughtful, silly, fun-loving, and chatty. I loved meeting new people, often at the park, my grounds.

One day, I met a beautiful young girl. Compared to my amber eyes, her eyes were ice-blue. Her hair was done in a sandy-brown pixie cut. And she was wearing a white shirt with black sleeves and a pink collar. Her signature outfit.

She was a loner, strange in a way, but unique. Her name was Winterlyn Falin McCormick, and she went by Winter, a name which I find pretty. I instantly warmed up to the girl and became her best friend. We were so so close, closer than glue could ever bound some object to a piece of paper. That friendship bloomed so rapidly that I was swept up in Winter's every move and action, and I'd do anything with her.

We fell for each other. She was a lesbian, only interested in girls. On the other hand, I was bisexual, and interested in both genders. I didn't really care for my sexuality then, I only cared about my relationship with my girlfriend. But I had an issue with Winter, an issue that soon became blatantly obvious. She couldn't come out to her own father. I came out to my mother and she accepted me. I didn't want Winter to keep the secret forever.

Sometime in the fall, I tried pushing her to do it. She refused, and I began to think that something was wrong with her. I didn't know why she didn't want to do it. She *had* to be ready. What was she holding back? Winter had nothing left to lose. She was my girlfriend, and I didn't want her being secretive forever. I was losing my patience. She was the only one I was close with, as I hardly ever had anyone else in my life. So, I made a plan to give her a nudge.

It was just a peaceful night on that sofa; I slept snugly next to Winter, who was watching TV. I briefly felt the spikey bob end of her hair. Taking a deep breath, I sat up. My eyes were clear, and I was ready to put my plan into action.

"Mr. McCormick? Winter has a secret she'd like to tell you."

*Those words would go down in infamy for the rest of my life.*

Winter knew *immediately* what I was talking about, and she glared at me, her eyes mixed with apprehension and a hint of disgust directed toward me. I backed up, proudly ready to support her. I did not realize then how stupid I freaking was for doing that.

The next thing I knew, I'd scarred her permanently.

She came out. Her father was homophobic. I froze in fear, did nothing, just stood there, as he attacked her. She screamed. She pleaded for my help. But I was just stuck. I didn't do one thing.

Five minutes later, Winter dragged herself over to me, bloodied, a look in her eyes that was so full of strong emotion. I looked at her with a blank expression on my face, panic overwhelming me.

She grabbed my shoulders, tears rolling down her face.

"Why didn't you help me? You betrayed me. I told you I wasn't ready to come out yet!"

I fumbled around for a response, trying to dig up something and explain. Another feeling washed over me then. A feel of friction, holding something back. What couldn't I say or do? Nonetheless, I only ended up making things worse.

"Oh, I didn't know it was going to escalate."

*That came out in contempt.*

Winter was broken. I'd broken her. And now I just made a remark in contempt. I was so bad at trying to justify myself that what I just said made me look like an ungrateful fool.

Hate was burning in Winter's eyes. I looked into them.

If her eyes didn't confirm it, what she said next did.

It was over.

"You betrayed me, Daniela. And now I'm emotionally scarred. You didn't even help me! I hate you. I thought I had someone, but now I have no one. It's over. Goodbye, Dani."

Winter grabbed some of her precious belongings and her backpack, and the next thing I knew, she had run away, seemingly forever. I'd lost the girl I'd loved for a long time, and she would never appreciate me again.

Then I turned to her father. He had a crazed look in his eyes, making me panic and back up against the living room wall. I did not even care about what I had just done to my now ex-girlfriend. I only wanted to leave... Alive. In that moment, I only cared about myself.

"You're... You're not going to hurt me, are you?" I asked fearfully.

He slapped me on the face. Hard. Pain shot through me as I clenched my jaws together, putting a hand to my cheek. He then told me something disturbing.

"Get out of here, Vunquist. If you come back, you will *never* know what hit you."

I was scared. So, so very scared. I ran out as fast as I could, ran the short distance back to my mother's house. My eyes were pink, raw from the tears that fell down my face and splashed onto the pavements lit up by the stars and moon.

Bolting into my house, I slammed the door shut, getting the attention of Rex. She glanced up at me, her eyes concerned upon seeing how I looked.

"Dani! What happened?"

Everything that had happened immediately flashed back into my mind. Winter's father jumping on her, cutting her with the sharp blade of a pocket knife. Winter breaking up with me as I struggled to explain. Then her father assaulting me with a blow to the face. I could feel myself burning inside, all the pressure ripping me apart.

"Dani, honey?" Rex called again, not seeing me respond. She put a hand on my shoulder, and finally, I snapped.

"**LEAVE ME ALONE**!"

Upset with everything, I ran away from my startled mother, slamming the door to my room shut, causing the house to almost rattle. I sat on my bed, beginning to sob from the memories tearing into my soft-hearted soul. A photograph of me with Winter laid on my nightstand, and I picked it up. We looked so happy, but now, I only saw pain and sorrow lining it. I violently threw it to the corner of my room, wrapping myself in my favorite Washington State University blanket, and burying my head in a pillow.

Later on, Rex came in to comfort me, picking me up in her arms and letting me cry into her. "Dani, sweetie, what's gotten you this upset?" She asked, gently carressing my hair and wiping away tears from eyes.

"*Winter broke up with me*!" I cried. "I tried getting her to come out, and her father attacked me, and she... She ran away! I was hit on the cheek..." I choked out everything that had happened.

"Oh, Daniela. You did what you thought was best. It wasn't the best thing, but I know you had good intentions. As for Winter, if she doesn't return in a few days, we'll send out search parties. I'll see if I can get her father arrested. And for you, I'll keep you safe, I promise."

"Thanks..." I mumbled, soon falling asleep in her arms, feeling slightly more hopeful.

That feel soon faded, however. Winter was never located, and her father was only sentenced to half a year of community service. My mother's promises to me had backfired and had only made me feel empty and hopeless. Then the other half of the school year added insult to injury.

I was regularly bullied in school. At lunch, people spat food at me, despite my pleas for them to stop. I was hit in class, felt nails pierce my neck, and those students always got away with it no matter how many times I got adults to punish them. In gym, people would often treat me roughly in sports drills. I gained bruises and scars from balls being thrown at me and from being hit with objects.

"Coach Samoski! They're being too rough. Can't you get them to be less violent?"

"Daniela, all sports are competitive. They're going to be rough. How are they going to stay fit if they are soft?"

"*I got wacked on the side of the face*."

"Miss Burton Vunquist, is this a big deal? No. Go back to the locker room and get changed, please."

His excuse only made me even more upset than I already was. Sad because of me being bullied, and angry because everyone always got away with it too.

I tried pleading with Rex to do something, and I told her everything in immense detail.

"Dani, what happened to your face?"

"Bruised because one of my stupid classmates hit me with a football!" I snapped. "And Samoski *dismissed it* because all sports are *apparently* rough."

"I'll see what I can do, honey. I'll talk to Coach Samoski about his class. But you need to remember that he isn't entirely wrong, either. Sports are violent. You've seen it before too."

"Can't you at least punish the students?"

"Dani, I'll try, but I can't guarantee they'll change if I put them in detention. You need to learn to ignore them too, okay?"

"Okay... Thanks..." I remained skeptical despite her little talk. Rex did end up placing those kids in detention, but when they did their time, they only decided to harass me more.

"Oh look, *Buntail* is hopping around in the hallways again!" I looked at that student, hurt in my eyes. She had mocked me because I couldn't really put my hair in a ponytail. So I put it in a bun that kind of resembled a ponytail. Now I was being bullied for it.

*Ignore them, ignore them,* I told myself.

"Hey *Dumbiela*, why so jittery in computer class?"

Once again, I was beginning to get upset. I tried ignoring the continious bullying, until I finally broke down later on, not being able to ignore the comments anymore.

"Bet Dani can count the total amount of time she spends lost in thought!"

"**SHUT UP**!" I screeched in the hallway. Everyone turned to face me with shock on their face. I was seething mad, and that bully jumped back, but retained the mocking tone in his voice.

"Aww, I made the crybaby upset, how sad!"

"Just go away and leave me alone!" I stormed off before anyone could talk to me. All this mental pressure was making me feel so sick inside. I couldn't get it to stop no matter how hard I freaking tried.

Shortly after that, things only got even more horrible. After school days, I'd walk into my house, feeling too nervous, dizzy, and tired to speak with my mom. One time, I tried speaking, but had collapsed onto the ground, crying out for someone to help.

"Dani!" Rex picked me up into her arms, seeing the fear lit in my eyes. "It's okay, I got you, I got you. You're alright."

"Mom! I can see those bullies coming for me. What if they clown me or hurt me? What if they kill-"

"Daniela, don't think about that! I promise. You're *alright*. I'm not going to let you get hurt."

But what had happened only went on every day. My anxiety attacks only got worse until I had even passed out for two hours once.

Finally, my battered self couldn't take it anymore. Upon looking at the mirror that was in the bathroom, I found my reflection staring back at me, and I saw my battered self in it. Almost at once, it began to move toward me, anger in its voice. "What are you, some weakling? Stand up for yourself!"

"No, I'm not confident enough!"

"You fool! You being mama's little softie and having a simple split break you into pieces. Pathetic! Maybe you should just die already!"

Hearing that voice inside me made me feel so mad. It filled me with white-hot rage. Snapping, I smashed my head into the mirror and cracked it. Pain seared through my forehead as I fell back, collapsing onto the ground, blood dripping down the side of my face. Rex heard the noise and screamed, finding me eerily still on the floor. She rushed me to the doctor that day, and while I cannot remember what happened, I returned home with medicine I had to take for one week.

That was when the nightmares started. The bad, horrific, scarring nightmares that came with the week of medicine that didn't really help me at all. I dreamed about being graphically shot in the heart, being cut or being touched on the cheek by some adult stranger's hands. Being smashed into pieces, or straight-up dying a horrible death. I'd wake up crying in the middle of the night, disturbed heavily.

One night, however, a thought crossed my mind.

*You let yourself be broken by a girl who had issues regarding her sexuality from the start. How could you let that make you weak? Winter is nothing to you now, and there's no way you'll ever see her again.*

Understanding dawned in my eyes, which began to get a little brighter. Maybe Winter *was* the reason I became so weak.

*You've been wracked with all these attacks, scarred by bullies, even landing a trip to the ER because you smashed your head in the mirror. All because of one breakup. Oh, naive Dani. Why not go after those people and give them something to remember? You want to make your mark on the world. Do it. Make a stand, make a point.*

Clarity hit me, and I smiled, almost like any villain would. I thought I had the answer to what I was looking to stop. This thought rattled my world, and now, I was ready to take back my life.

*Yes! That's my girl. You're no longer the weak, nice girl everyone thinks you are. You are rebellious, cold, apathetic, and you're going to make those who've hurt you suffer.*

*You don't realize what's about to hit you, Pineshadow. My name isn't Dani anymore. I have no girlfriend. I'm not a bisexual coward who's going to let some sexuality burden her. I don't suffer panic attacks. I don't even love. And if you hurt me, your life will NEVER be anything but normal again.*

"My name is Daniela Burton Vunquist, and I'm ready to prove to you just how far I really can go."

## Cast

* **Eden Riegel** as Daniela
* **Mae Whitman** as Winter
* **Jim Pirri** as Edwin
* **Nora Dunn** as Rex
* **Dee Bradley Baker** and **Kari Wahlgren** as additional voices

## Trivia

* This chapter was originally titled *How It All Began*.
* This chapter marks the first apperances of Winter's father, Edwin, and Rex since Season 1.
* It is revealed that:
	+ Daniela has no father in her life, and Rex raises her alone.
	+ Daniela forced Winter to come out because she had lost patience with her refusals, secretly believing she was ready.
	+ When trying to respond to Winter following the attack by her father, Daniela was struggling to find a response, having been overwhelmed with stress, and her infamous remark accidentally came out in contempt. Thinking she didn't care about her, Winter snapped, broke up with Daniela, and ran away.
	+ Daniela was frequently bullied, and despite everyone trying their best to help her, things stayed the same. She also began to suffer frequent panic attacks and mood swings, though a doctor just thought she was going through a phase normal for that of a young teenager. This, combined with frequent nightmares, led to her turning evil.
* The scene where Daniela breaks a mirror with her head was inspired by a piece of art made by Lencellychan on Instagram. However, it has since been taken down.
* When Daniela describes hands feeling her cheek in her dreams, this is a reference to Dev being touched by black hands throughout the music video for *In the Dark*.