Shattered

14. Chinese Take Outs

Melissa was standing there, her hand outstretched in front of her, reaching out for him. Around her, Alec could only see darkness. She was calling out his name. "Alec! Alec.... you are forgetting me. You don't remember me. Alec...."

"Baby, I can never forget you, you know that. Come back to me. Come here." He opened his arms.

"But now you stay with her, you are falling for her. You are beginning to forget me. You don't want me anymore." She walked backwards, away from him.

"Darling that is not true." He tried to walked ahead, but he couldn't. Something was holding him back. He couldn't understand what. "Melissa I always need you baby. It not true. I still love you, I still need you."

"Then why can't you come here? Look at you, stuck there. You cannot walk back to me also. You are stuck there!" She was crying.

"Yes, I am stuck, but I want you. I still love you! Don't cry, come back to me babe." He called again, but she only moved further away, darkness consuming her. "Babe!"

"You don't need me anymore. You have found new love. You don't need me! You don't need me!" She shrieked and wiped her tears, then turned away and ran into the darkness.

°

He woke up with a jolt and found himself back in his office. He looked at the watch, it was almost time to go back home. It had been a tiring day and though it rarely happened, he was tired enough to fall asleep in the office. He didn't remember how long it had been but the nightmare felt like an eternity. Melissa was running away from him. And he couldn't stop her anymore.

And this time Beth wasn't around to calm him down. Beth knew how to calm him down. The nightmares had lessened over the months and only returned occasionally after Beth moved in his room. But whenever they came, he only saw Melissa's face.

But he only felt Beth's touch. Her touch, he could still feel it on his shoulder. Her hand always first came on his shoulder when he would wake u screaming, and then she would cup his face and whisper, "Hey, it will be fine, it will get better but first you need to come back here." And a sweet kiss from her tender lips was all it took for him to believe in love, hope and all it's wonders.

He drank a little water to soothe his parched throat and remembered Beth's words. He imagined her deep brown eyes that always pulled him back into reality. Her eyes and the magic they held. Even she didn't knew the magic they held.

You are falling for her, the image of Melissa from his dreams came in his mind. He was beginning to like Beth more and more as the days were passing, he was beginning to fall for her.

He opened his desk drawer. A vanilla envelope was laying on top of all his documents inside it. He opened it and read it for a thousandth time. He had received it two days back. It was for a function where he was getting awarded for his work over the years.

The invite was for two people, him and..... his wife.

He kept it inside his briefcase. He was planning to ask about it over dinner.

He took in a deep breath before calling his secretory to check for any meetings. When he was confirmed there were none, he called it a day and went back home. He was taking Beth out for dinner, if she would be able to make it. He had been planning this for days now, but every time Beth didn't show up at the restaurant. She would be either sleeping on the sofa in her oversized t-shirts or would be working in the hospital.

Beth's oversized t-shirts were huge grey coloured ones that she always wore to bed and always without any pants. With her hair tied over her head, she looked much younger than she normally did. She always slept on her side, with her back towards him. He usually slept on his back, in his sweatpants, without any t-shirt. Some nights he would turn towards her and find her curled up, in a ball. Like him, even her demons didn't let her sleep on some nights and he would find her by the piano, late at night. Other days, it would be the hospital at fault for the empty bed.