Hello again my lovelies, it's time for another Use Your Words, the group challenge where 17 bloggers get together and swap words with each other. We each submit a group of 4 - 6 words and in return we get someone else's words, and then we have to try and build something around those words. Below is a list of all the bloggers participating this month, so that you can be sure to visit them all and share the love around.
So today my words are wall ~ tree ~ reading ~ piggy bank ~ fan and they were submitted by the lovely Eileen at Eileen's Perpetually Busy.
Today's post is a continuation from the last two Use Your Words. If you want to start from the beginning, you can find part 1 here and part 2 here
The last few hours had been a blur. She really should be more used to her life being so out of control, but it still took her breath away every time the rug was pulled out from underneath her. She'd grown complacent. That was always how it started though, with the small things. You start taking for granted the fact that they will always pick your towel up where you drop it, then they start assuming just because you didn't mind them watching the football game on telly one weekend instead of doing something together, you'll let them do it every single weekend. You both bite your tongue at first, still not willing to let the honeymoon be over, but eventually the real world comes crashing in through the wall bringing the first big argument with it.
Things had been going well over the past six months. Given they lived an hour apart they really only got to catch up on the weekends, but they alternated whose place they stayed at each weekend, and caught up the rest of the time through daily phone calls and the odd mid-week visit when work schedules permitted. Given they only spent two days a week together, the opportunities for arguments were few and far between, and they were usually fairly small grievances that were sorted out quickly with a few placatory words. This time however, things were different. The conversation had started innocently enough, they were lying in bed together, she was reading an e-book on her tablet, and he was playing poker on his, and she asked him what he wanted to do the next weekend. He admitted he'd already made plans to catch up with his mates for footy and beers. The initial disappointment that she'd miss out on seeing him for two whole weeks quickly turned to annoyance, as she remembered she'd been invited out to catch up with her girlfriends next weekend as well, but had turned them down so that she could visit him.
She had tried her hardest to hide her frustration and disappointment, but being stoic had never been her strong suit, so he picked up immediately on her mood. Instead of comforting her as he usually did, this time he became defensive. "I haven't spent any real time with these guys in months, and I just felt like catching up with them" he said, the almost whiny tone in his voice setting her teeth on edge. Before she could stop herself, she spat out the words "Well I'm terribly sorry I've been hogging up so much of your time lately. I'll be sure to check your diary next time, just to make sure you can squeeze me in." He rolled his eyes at her. She knew she was being slightly crazy about the whole thing, and as much as she didn't want to be the crazy girlfriend right now, the words kept spewing out of her, and she quickly felt herself losing control of the whole situation.
"I'm sure the fellas will be much more valuable company than me next weekend anyway. I'm sure they won't care when you clip your toenails in the bed, nor will they care if you leave the milk carton in the fridge with just a dribble of milk in it. And hey, I'm sure they'll just love it when you burp so loud you could rattle the window panes every single night after dinner like it's some kind of damn compliment." She stopped to catch her breath, but the look of hurt on his face told her she should stop entirely. He waited for a second then started speaking very calmly. "First of all, that was one time, and I excused myself. And second of all, did you store up all of these grievances in a piggy bank to yell at me at the opportune time? Because I gotta tell you, that was a pretty big list to come up with on the fly." She thought for a second and realised she had stored all those things away, remembering every tiny detail when they happened, and the thought horrified her. Now she was just as disgusted at herself as she was at him, but it didn't seem like the time to yell at herself, so she turned her attention back to him. "I'm sorry that I notice things around me. I happen to be observant you see. Unlike others in this room, who can't even remember to turn the fan on before they shower. The bathroom turns into a rain forest any time you go in there." She knew she was clutching at straws now, but she needed something to be angry about, as angry was easier to deal with than disappointment or self loathing.
Realising she'd run out of things to yell about, but not willing to stop and admit she was being an idiot, she wrenched back the blankets and got out of bed. She started grabbing up her clothes and pulling them on. He sat in the bed with a bemused look on his face as she dressed. As she went to walk out of the room he called after her. "Where are you going?" he said pulling himself out of bed. I'm going." She replied. "Clearly I'm an inconvenience to your super busy social life, so I'll fix that problem by leaving." "Don't be stupid" he said, walking after her. "Come back to bed and we'll talk about this in the morning." She desperately wished she could turn around and walk back to him, but that meant admitting she was being dumb. It also meant admitting she cared more than she was willing to say that she was going to miss seeing him the next weekend. That thought brought a lump to her throat and she ducked her head and walked away from him, not willing to let him see her cry. "Forget about it" she called behind her. "Say hi to your friends for me" She walked out the front door, slamming it for extra effect and started walking towards the street. She spent the first few blocks willing him to chase after her, but she was alone. After twenty minutes of storming along the empty streets she stopped to catch her breath and leaned against a tree. Unable to hold it in any more she burst into tears, hating herself for throwing away the best part of her life. She sat under that tree for an hour crying before the sobs finally died down, then she was left alone with her thoughts, the only sound to be heard were the leaves rustling above her, and the footsteps on the path behind her...
TO BE CONTINUED...
I hate to leave it there, because there is more to this story, but it was starting to turn into a novel, so I've decided to leave the rest for next month. So if you want to know what happens next be sure to come back here next month and read the rest of the story.
I come for the coffee, I stay for the padded walls and straight jackets
No comments:
Post a Comment