Barely Breathing by jarkin33

 

Barely Breathing by jarkin33

Official Summary: A love taken for granted, we don't always realize what we have until it's gone. "They say bad things happen for a reason and I'd like to believe that's true." A story about realizing what's important.

Review: 

Barely Breathing starts right in on the action - Edward has had a busy day at work (really he's had a year-long string of busy days) and has to cancel special dinner plans with Bella.  He comes home to the apartment they share to find a tired, haggard-looking Bella sitting on the couch with a packed bag at her feet.

The dreaded "I just can't do this anymore... This, Edward... us," brings Edward to his metaphorical knees.  What's worse is what Bella leaves by the door on her way out: a platinum engagement ring with a note: "Please marry me."

Switching to Bella's point of view, you feel the sting of rejection when Bella gets stood up, especially since it happens on the night she plans to propose.  Yes, it's unconventional, but she doesn't want to wait for Edward to make the move and she knows she wants to be with him forever.

Edward's cancellation is the straw that breaks the camel's back.  His work has been consuming his life and their time together for too long and Bella just can't take it anymore.

Barely Breathing is a short story, less than 10,000 words, but the emotion is so raw and powerful, it's easy to get swept up.  jarkin33 doesn't go into a lot of unnecessary details about Edward and Bella's lives and I really appreciate that.  She tells us what's important - just how much Edward and Bella mean to each other, just how far they went wrong, and just how much they want to fight for one another.  I don't want to spoil the story with a ton of quoting, so I'll leave you with just these two little bits.  At their core, these two passages, and the story as a whole, are a reminder to all of us to cherish what we have.  They're also a warning about taking things and people in your life for granted.

They say bad things happen for a reason and I'd like to beve that's true, but it's getting harder and harder to do.  I want to call her, I want to go to her and tell her that the best part of me was always you and I want to remind her of what we had.  I want her to know that I'm falling to pieces without her... I'm still alive, but I'm barely breathing.  She took her suitcase and I took the blame.

 

[H]ow do I tell this woman that I love and adore her and how do I tell her not to give up on 'us.'  How do I say I'm sorry and have her believe me and how do I tell her that I can't have a life without her.  How do I make her see that I'm nothing without her and no matter what she says she will always have my heart.  How do I do all that without some sort of grand gesture?  What if she doesn't want that with me anymore?

 

Author Interview:

How did you come up with the title of your fic?

This one was based on the song Breakeven by The Script, but I thought that would be too ... easy! LOL - so my lovely friend and I brainstormed and came up with Barely Breathing - now it makes me think of the song by Duncan Shiek when I think of the title!

Do you have any writing rituals?  What is your writing process?

No rituals at all.  I just have to be in the mood.  It's the worst feeling in the world to sit in front of the computer and not be able to go go go.  I am not an outliner.  I usually have a basic idea in my head of what I want to do with each chapter, but getting from a to b is never really planned.

What made you want to write this story? What inspired you?

Liek I said, the story itself was inspired by the song Breakeven by The Script.  It's so damn sad but they always tell a good story with their music.  I really love the idea of this as a story, but there was NO WAY I was going to be able to write it the way the song ended.

What was your main inspiration for your lead characters?

I think the situation Bella and Edward are in in this story is incredibly believable and it happens all the time.  We take the other person in our lives for granted, just assuming that they are happy, that they will always be there.  This time was just the last straw for Bella.  We all need to feel like we're important to the ones we love.

Which fanfic authors inspire you the most?

Ohhh this is tough - I love tons of authors and am inspired by creativity a million and one times a day... anyone who can tell me a good story and keep me riveted and begging for more pushes me to write better.

Specifically: phoebespromise, samrosey, littlesecret84, denverpopcorn, cosmogirl7481, lillybellis, abstractway, carenl, whatsmynomdeplume, cescamarie, Fiction Freak 95, BellaDCullen, troublefollows1017, solosintwilight, mandyleigh87, lola-pops

What fics do you reread often?

Love is the End, Rhapsody in B, We Come To Life Beneath the Stars, Conversations Over Coffee, The Best I Ever Had, Little Plastic Castle, Edward Cullen: Dick for Hire, Vines, Dead on my Feet

When fic-diving, what do you look for? (e.g., humor, angst, slash, canon?)

Humor and Romance... I'm a diehard flangst lover (fluffy angst).  I don't want to hurt too much when I'm reading a story and I think it's almost harder to write a funny story than an angsty story.

When you aren't writing, which fics are you reading right now?

Meet the Masens, In Your World, There is A Light, Once Upon A Desire, Animate Me, Captivate, Lust on a Deathbed, The Roommate, Rosebud

Are you in the closet or do your RL friends and family know about your love and obsession with all things Twilight?

Some of my family knows... my twin sister definitely knows about the writing.  My mom and friends know about my RPattz obsession but not so much about my fic stuff.

How were you introduced to the fandom?  Do you remember which story was the first you read?

I think I first read The Rain Season - maybe... god it seems lik eit was a million years ago when in all actuality it was only just bout 2 years ago that I first found fanfic.  I can't remember how exactly, I think I was on twitter and started seeing people talk about stories, etc., and got curious and clicked on a link or two and voila!

If you were stranded on Isle Esme, which two Twilight Saga characters would you want with you?

Um, Edward for sure... second - maybe Carlisle.  I mean, he'd be helpful if I got injured or something... and who wouldn't want to be stranded with them! LOL

Do you have anyone that you'd like to thank for helping and supporting you through this fic?

Gah - phoebespromise - I wouldn't have done it without her.  She is the one who talked me into writing it.  I wasn't going to and she said I should give it a try. So I did.

Do you have any other projects going on? Any planned for the future?

Projects... yes - my collab account with phoebespromise is aftrnoondlight - and we have a short story called Beneath the Undertow that we are going to be posting the final outtake for in the near future.  We also have a final "season" (chapter) for Willow coming soon.  Lastly, we have a story called Outbound in the works.  The first chapter was submitted as a part of the Fandom4SAA complication.  We can post that publicly on August 1st and will be updating that regularly until it's done!  Teaser videos etc can be found on our ffn page!

Is there any information that you would like to share that was not already covered?

I have a blog - www.jaimearkin.blogspot.com - and thank you... to everyone who has given me a chance and has read and reviewed. I truly do appreciate it.

Thanks for reading!

TFDB staff

@sapphirescribe

Posted in: AH,Bella,Drama,Edward,PoW,Romance,sapphire