I had her. He ran from her, so she ran to me. An escape from a man that's more of a man than I am. I was what she vented to whenever she thought about him. They both knew the truth. They would never get over it. Maybe that's what really triggered the senseless acts. Kemper and I always bumped heads, but I never thought we would literally bump heads when it came to her. I don't know if I have this intense amount of jealousy or if the more she talked about him pissed me off. She doesn't know about the times she would scream his name in her sleep. How could I be mad at something she can't control? But that one day. I was so close to calling it quits because I could always see the love she has for him. It was weighing me down.
Instead of me standing up to her and telling her I wanted a break, I invited a coworker to the house. We never physically did anything. But, that was only because she walked in on my lips being half a second away from her lips. This may sound like the worst excuse in the book, but I don't think I realized how much I do love her. I would've never invited that lady over, never thought about cheating. I never thought about how it would hurt my pregnant fiancé. She was frozen right there. Tears were forming. I never noticed my coworker running. I only locked on to Gecko.
"Baby, wait." She wobbled with sobs through the living room. I grabbed her. I was crying, too. "I'm sorry. Really, I am." I don't know if my words were slurred or if I sounded sober. I knew she could smell it. She kept pushing me away and that frustrated me. "You still love him anyway. He ran. Maybe he wanted you to chase him." I know that killed her. "I'd rather you run than cheat in my face. I'll always love him." And for some reason that enraged me and I thought some of everything. Was she cheating? Was she seeing him? I blacked out and hit her. She barely made it out the front door. Maybe she was cheating. Maybe she talked to him on a regular. Maybe they were together. Maybe she saw him today. I thought everything I was thinking was true when I saw him about to take her into his arms.
Jess
YOU ARE READING
"Untitled"
Short StoryChamyl Ati Leumas's collection of short stories tells three different points of view from the husband, Kemper, the abusive ex, Jess, and the traumatized Gecko that lost her voice and memory in a terrible accident that delivered her baby early.
