Apologies. Those two words. "I'm sorry ".

Those sinful words rammed yet another rock into her already crammed heart,
weighing it down another tonne, and stabbing it further with their blunt,
jagged edges. Her blurring eyes met Thomas'. Her heart was hesistant yet
hopeful, withering yet wondering, and so, she tried once more, "Thomas.."
He, too, apologised. He was the tenth.
That did it. That same dry, icy tone. That two words, repeated, raw, and
revolting. That crashed out of her supposedly close friends' throats, crashing
her world, crashing her system, crushing her. The last apology had punctured
the hole to her terribly tormented heart.
Anger, agony, and aggravation spread like blood in her veins.
Her eyes burned. Behind those eyes, the dam finally burst. Those tears, too
often held back, finally flowed unstoppably. It flowed like furious rivers. It
flowed like the moonsoon rain. It flowed, and flowed, then slower, and slower,
and after awhile, it stopped.
And then, Perrie stood still. Unmoving. Unblinking, almost, for an hour.
Something in her eyes, in her heart, in her, changed. Stiffened. Hardened.

By Sheila (written in 2015); applying rule of three (mostly)