Till The Clock Strikes Gone

o3 | darling

"How could you?" Eliza's words broke his thoughts and he looked at her eyes which were close to turning red due to her anger. "I tell you we are having a baby and you run off? To get drunk?" she yelled at him, stepping closer.

At the pitch of her voice, William wondered if the whole neighbourhood was already awake and if the media would soon be here to record this whole conversation about the baby.

Baby. He had almost forgotten about it. That little thing was inside Eliza and for a moment William wondered if the thing was making Eliza behave like this with her husband, to yell at him.

No. He couldn't let the baby win. He was William Ray, and he always won. He was Eliza's darling, not that tiny ball of genes.

"I don't care about that thing," he shouted back at her and her eyes widened with shock as she stared at him in disbelief.

She took a step back as he continued.

"I never wanted anything to do with a child. Hell! I never wanted anything to do with you," he went on and Eliza's eyes started filling up with tears.

He wanted to tell her not to cry but the headache was back and he had no control of the words escaping his mouth.

"You are just a burden in my life," he continued.

His heart was requesting him to stop but his mind couldn't shut up and so he spat out the most disgusting things any husband would say to his wife.

"You are just some random girl who barged into my life out of nowhere and expected me to happily spend my life with you. I have. But not anymore. I was about to tell you about the divorce I have filed but you decided to drop the 'baby-bomb' on me. Like seriously, Eliza? You really thought a baby would change my thoughts about you. Well, here's the thing, Mrs Ray - I don't care about you. I just like the way you look, the way you smell, the way you worship me. I use you for one thing only. You are nothing but a sexual distraction which has now become a burden for me. So here's the thing, Eliza — your baby is nothing but a burden to me..." Before he could continue any further, he felt a sharp sting on his cheek. He stumbled backwards with the sudden force that threw him off-balance.

Eliza slapped him. She just slapped him. His wife, who wouldn't even harm a mosquito without it causing trouble, just slapped him. He brought his hand to his cheek when it hurt and his eyes travelled to her.

Rage would be a small word for what he saw on her face. It was more than rage. It was more than anything he had seen in his entire life of twenty-seven years. She looked like she was about to kill him.

"Get out!" she murmured through clenched teeth. She was looking him straight in the eyes, not blinking anymore. She was seething with anger, hurt and grief and he didn't know why he said all that crap.

"It's my house," he said, softly.

That earned him another slap, this time on the right cheek and that too with the back of her hand.

"Get the fuck out and don't come back, unless and until you are ready to fucking apologize," Eliza said as she poked at his chest, slowly pushing him towards the corridor and to their front door.

He couldn't speak anymore. He wanted to kill himself right then and there. He bent down to pick up his coat from the floor where he had dropped it earlier but she pushed it away from him, kicking it with her feet.

He lifted his head to look up at her.

"Get. Out," she said again, fighting hard to keep her voice down.

He stood up and tried to open his mouth to say something but then decided against it as he opened his front door and stepped out into the cold air of December without his coat on. He turned back but Eliza slammed the door shut right on his face, leaving him out alone and with a blinding migraine.

As William stood there, he suddenly realized that he had left his wallet and key inside his coat. He curled his palms into fists and used them as hammers to hit his forehead over and over again.

He didn't want to go in. More like, there was no way Eliza was going to let him in. He was frustrated and the headache was growing stronger with each passing second. He almost screamed in frustration.

Where would he go? He was like a homeless man on the street.

"Shit!" he grunted. "Shit! Shit! Shit!"

In the middle of all the chaos in his mind, a face flashed in front of his eyes. A face of a man with greying hair and green eyes, just like Eliza's.

He would help William. He was a reasonable man, he would understand.

With hope, William stepped down from his porch and reached his gate, opening it and stepping onto the street. The cold air was slipping through the thin material of his shirt and he felt goosebumps all over his skin.

He had to rush if he had to survive, both from the cold and his wife's wrath. He started running, praying that the man doesn't throw him out too.

It was time to pay a visit to father-in-law.