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Writing Prompt #3

Fighting With the Person you Love

The door slams behind me and my heart shatters into a million pieces. It hurts. Fighting with him is worse than any pain imaginable. I force myself to make it to the elevator before I completely fall apart. Love is a tricky thing. Probably the most complicated emotion. On good days it has you soaring on a natural high that is matched by nothing. On normal days it leaves you with a smile and the thought that everything is going to be ok. On bad days it leaves you feeling hollow and broken. The pain is so immense you wonder if you'll live to see another day, or if eventually you'll give in and it will be over.

Today was a bad day for us. We've both been working a lot. Long hours with short turnarounds and I guess today it just became too much. I came home around 8' o'clock and he was sitting in his recliner watching tv, desperately trying not to fall asleep. I smiled when I saw him. I miss him a lot, but with the kids needing new clothes and the cars breaking down we can't really say no to the hours. I walked over to give him a hug but once I was a couple feet away I could smell it. Alcohol. He'd been home maybe 2 hours and was already completely trashed. And the kids bedtimes were only 7:30.

I straightened my spine and walked over to him. Once I reached the chair I abruptly shook him awake. "What the fuck Claire!" he yelled once he realized it was me who shook him from his groggy state. " You're drunk." I said simply. " Yeah, so what?' he responded. "So what? Our kids have been asleep less than an hour and I know you didn't start drinking half an hour ago. That's so what Mikeal! We have rules around here and one of them is that you don't get plastered in front of the children! You know how you get when you drink. Fuck, are my kids ok??' I yelled while rushing to their room. He grabbed my arm after a couple steps and spun me around. "OUR kids are perfectly fine Claire. You'd know that if you ever managed to come home at a decent hour." He spat.

It got worse after that. A lot worse. And I'm mad, down right pissed, but not completely at him. Granted he shouldn't have drank tonight, but I should be home more. A family means nothing if all the members aren't present, A family's happiness is measured by the amount of love present in a home. Not the amount of dollars in a bank account. I wipe my tears away and stand up, determined to make this ok. Mikeal made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes, but I love him and because of that I will do whatever it takes to make things ok with us.

The elevator opens to our floor and I step out,but as I walk down the hallway I smile when I look up and see Mikeal walking towards me. When he sees me he walks faster and envelopes me in a hug. "I'm so sorry Claire." he mumbles into my shoulder. "I messed up, please forgive me. I love you. Please." I smile and hug him tighter as I begin to console him, " Shh sweetie it's ok. Everyone messes up. Just no more drinking in front of the kids ok?" he pulls back and looks at me " Of course I won't. But why aren't you angrier? I messed up Claire, I messed up real bad." I just smile as I respond. " Because Mikeal, I love you. And when you love another person you always try to make it work. Because fighting with someone you love is never worth it. It hurts everyone involved and no one ever wins. Because true love is about forgiveness. And there's no doubt in my mind that what we share is true love." I grab his hand and we walk back in our condo. We grab some coffee, sit down, and figure out how to solve the problems in front of us. And at the end of the night I go to sleep with a smile and a feeling that everything is going to be ok. Because he is my best friend. And although I may fight with him, I will never stop fighting for him. For us. Because that is the most important battle in life.