“Excuse me?” I ask.
“I get you’re pissed but you know you love me. You know that whatever anger you’re feeling doesn’t outweigh the pain you’d feel over not being my wife.”
“Wow. Someone’s full of themselves.” I roll my eyes and turn back around to make my coffee when I hear something flung against a wall. I snap my head towards the noise to see he’s thrown his stool at the wall and he’s stalking around the bar towards me.
“This isn’t a fucking joke, Olivia,” he snaps. “What we have is fucking real, and you know it hurts not being together.”
“If it’s so fucking real why did you ruin it?! Why did you break us?!” I snap back. He doesn’t say anything and I shake my head. “I can’t keep doing this with you. I asked for space so I can clear my head, I’d like for you to respect that. Please. I’m begging you.” The tears have started to fall and I can’t stop the feeling like my heart is breaking inside my chest. His hands frame my face, wiping the tears and I relish in the contact even if I know it has to be short-lived. His hands are warm and I just want to curl up in his arms and stay there forever. But I know I can’t.
I have to be strong.
“I’ll give you this space…but you have to promise you’ll come back to me,” he says.
“Bennett…”
“Promise me.” He stares at me, and my heart breaks at the words I have to speak.
“I can’t make promises I don’t know if I can keep.”
Bennett left that day.
It was hard.
Much harder than I thought it would be. Watching him walk out that door felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach and knocked the wind out of me and I struggled to breathe for the first full hour after he left. I sat on the floor of my kitchen, with a glass filled to the brim of pure vodka as I tried to nurse my broken heart.
He told me he was going to his mother’s and to call him day or night if I wanted to talk.
I didn’t.
As a matter of fact, I didn’t talk to anyone for three days. I ignored my mother and Alyssa and work and sat on my couch with fast food and vodka and horror movies because the idea of watching people in love made me want to jump from my seventh floor window.
It isn’t until the third day, that I hear keys in my door.
I’m not sure who I expected but Caroline Clarke surely wasn’t it.
“Oh Jesus take the wheel.” I let my head fall back with a loud groan as I take in my mother-in-law. I hiccup as I pull my drink to my lips and take a long sip. Thank God, I showered today and look somewhat human.
“Jesus is not amused young lady,” Caroline says as she pulls off her Chanel jacket and steps into the kitchen.
“Jesus and I aren’t exactly on speaking terms at the moment,” I tell her as I watch her root through my refrigerator.
“Well, He’s listening should you change your mind,” she says and I want to ask her where this newfound sense of Christianity came from when she always seemed to be pretty tight with Satan. I roll my
eyes and wrap the blanket tighter around myself. “Pizza, Chinese food, wings…honestly, Olivia, how do you keep your figure?”
“I’m not thirty yet.” I deadpan and she chuckles.
“Fair, but you should eat better.”
“Why? Your son is hellbent on killing me at a young age anyway. Why not clog my arteries?”
She closes the refrigerator and moves into the living room. “You’re drunk.”
“What was your first clue?” I hold up the glass. I’m not drunk, though I’m not far from it, but maybe a sign of intoxication would get her to leave me alone.
“He would hate to see you like this.”
“Well, good thing he’s not here.” I sigh. “Which reminds me, why are you?”