Unhappily Married ✓

17. Promise

What was I even thinking? It was so immature of me to do that.

Todd and I haven't even talked for more than two days now. We just ignore each other's presence, but I don't think that's a good thing to do. When you're living under the same roof with someone, you ought to be friendly with that person.

Getting along for a little while will make the remaining twelve days endurable for the both of us.

*****

I've been tossing and turning for like an hour now. Todd and I haven't been sleeping together since our fight the other night and to be honest, I feel sleep deprived without his presence. I know it sounds weird, but that's the truth and I just can't seem to sleep without him lying next to me.

I need to talk to him. And that's what I'm gonna do now.

Taking a deep breath, I swing my legs out of the bed and pull up pajama bottoms.

With a faint hope, I turn the knob and push open the bedroom door. As I walk into the living room, I find Todd sitting on the couch and watching History Channel. He should be asleep by now because it's like two in the morning and he never stays up this late.

His eyes are still glued to the TV when I take a seat beside him.

I clear my throat. "Uh, Todd?"

His eyes slightly widen. "Did you know the largest tooth of any carnivorous dinosaur found to this date is that of a T-rex? It is estimated to have been around thirty centimeter long."

He loves these shows so much, doesn't he?

"No, I didn't," I say, licking my lips, "but I do know now."

He snaps his head in my direction, blowing out his cheeks. "I didn't realize you were here."

"Yeah, sorry for scaring you."

He nods, turning his attention back to the TV.

"Um, Todd, I think we need to talk."

"About what?" he asks, not even looking at me.

"Look," I say, rubbing my hands together, "I think we should forget all our fights and start afresh. What I mean to say is that after twelve days, I'll be gone out of your life, so to make these few days bearable for us both, why don't we become friends."

He turns his head, narrowing his eyes at me. "Friends?"

I sigh. "Yeah, what do you think?"

I've been thinking about this all day long and I'm sure this is the right thing to do at this time. After a few days, I'll be out of his house and then, we won't have anything to worry about. However, to make these remaining days less dreadful, we should probably befriend each other.

He nods.  "Okay." 

I smile, extending my hand. "Friends?"

I know this will help us to live together peacefully in this house. At least, we won't be ignoring each other anymore. It just doesn't feel good when Todd doesn't talk to me.

But somewhere I don't feel good about this friendship plan and I don't even know why.

Do I want to be more than just friends? No.

We're only twelve days away from getting what we've wanted for so long and there are no doubts at the back of my mind. I want to get a divorce and so does Todd, so there shouldn't be any elements of ambiguity.

He shakes my hand and a smile spreads across his lips. "Friends."

Yeah, we failed at marriage, but maybe our friendship won't have the same fate.

I look into his eyes. "We'll still be friends when we have more wrinkles and fewer teeth, right Todd?"

The corners of his mouth tug upwards in a smile. "I promise you that."

"Great."

After taking the Ben and Jerry's tub from Todd's hands, I sit cross-legged on the couch. I take a spoonful and gobble down the delicious caramel flavor ice cream.

"You know what I found in the basement today?" I ask, giving him a tight smile.

"Cockroaches."

I roll my eyes at him. "No."

"Then what?" he asks, turning to look at me.

"Our picture frames."

Earlier this evening, when I came back home, I decided to find our picture frames. I don't know what drove me, but I just wanted to know where they were. When I was searching in the basement, I had no idea if I'd find them or not, but I wanted to give it a try at least.

I found our picture frames in a small cardboard box in the basement and when I saw those happy pictures, it pierced my heart. However, it makes me feel good that Todd hadn't throw them away. It's nice to know that I'm still a part of his life, even if an unimportant one.

"Oh."

I run my tongue over my teeth. "Why did you keep them there, in the basement?"

He scratches the back of his neck. "I don't know, uh, I mean, you had gone and, and—"

"Todd," I sigh, "it's okay, you don't have to explain yourself."

I am not upset with Todd because I understand why he removed our pictures and if I were him, I would do the same thing. Those frames are a constant reminder of how we've failed in our marriage. I believe it's for the best if we just keep those frames away from our sight.

When there's no relationship, then why keep its memories?

A few seconds later, Todd takes the tub of ice cream from my hands and fills his mouth quickly with a few spoonfuls.

He puts the tub back on the table and clutches his head with both his hands.

My eyes slightly widen. "What happened to you?"

He shakes his head. "Brain freeze!"

I laugh, throwing my head back.

He shakes his head one last time before getting back to normal, but I continue to laugh.

"Don't laugh at me, Stella."

"Okay, I won't, sugar puff," I chuckle.

He makes a face, narrowing his eyes at me. "Where did you learn that word?"

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Hey, I'm so sorry for updating late, but I hope you enjoyed it. What do you think is going to happen next? Please comment your thoughts; I would like to hear from you guys.

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