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Walt
Irubmytemples, then crack my neck after releasing a long sigh. I tried yoga, but it didn’t work. The slight headache that formed when I saw Everest and Tucker coming down the stairs with her bags hasn’t eased after two days. I moved her luggage back upstairs the moment they left because I meant it when I said leaving wasn’t an option.
The things Rowe said makes perfect sense, but I don’t know why we’re here. My mind is mainly blank when it comes to Moonlight. From the moment we’ve met, my preference has been Everest. I’m sure I’ve done everything to show her that. How did we get here?
Whit and Moonlight are on a mini couple’s getaway. He thought it was best with the current climate in the house. It’s been tense, to say the least. Summer is ending for the kids and Rowe has finally relaxed enough to be going for days without thinking I’ll disappear again. Now, the two people who have the most reasons to stay here are in the middle of a standoff. Both of us are mad for different reasons.
She’s jealous, like she said before. She should talk to me about it, not freeze me out. When I was upset, she knew exactly what was wrong with me. I don’t have that luxury. Doing things on her own is a default setting that she’ll need to adjust for us to work.
I confirmed with Whit, relationships are new for me. I know she’s more important to me than any woman has ever been, but I know the blank parts of me isn’t helping our relationship any more than her desire to shut me out.
Sighing for what feels like the eightieth time, I pull out my phone. If the current state of our relationship is my fault, then I’ll reach out.
Me: Ready to talk?
I can see that she’s read my text, still there isn’t a response. My headache causes me to close my eyes. Laying back, I decide to rest and give her a moment to respond. I must have fallen asleep because the sun isn’t as high when I open my eyes again.
My phone is free of notifications. I push my feet over the side. My body is still tight with tension. This isn’t my default way to deal with an issue, and it feels like my body is rebelling against my method.
In an attempt to give her time, I decide to take a long shower. My shoulders feel heavy under the warm spray. The heat loosens some of the tension as I roll my shoulders to get rid of the rest.
Is this love? The question gnaws at me as I bathe. The guy I’ve been after waking up believes he’s falling, but a bigger part of me who has yet to reveal himself cannot answer that question. This is higher than the frustration I feel when I can’t remember something random. Is multiplied because I can’t remember the entire person, Walton Cambridge. What in the fuck would the other me do?
“Just clue me in.” I beg my brain, but it’s still being an asshole. “Fuck!”
I hate this. I hate it so much! The shower isn’t helping. The moment the last Sud washes away, I shut off the shower and dry off. I pull on my boxer briefs and wrap a towel around my hair. There still aren’t any notifications on my phone. My steps fall angrily as I march my way to the door. I’ve had enough. If she wants to be mad, fine, but she will tell me why. It’s one thing to think I skipped a relationship hierarchy, but it’s another thing to be mad this long when she knows my memory is slowly recovering.
I pause when I hear her speaking on the other side of the door.
“Thanks, Jack. I received the keys. And I can move in?”
The side of my fist bangs on the door separating us. “Open the door, Everie.”
She continues to talk on the phone like I didn’t knock. Something inside of me snaps and all the politeness I tried to maintain gets eaten up by the darker part of me that resurfaces sometimes. I hit the door with my shoulder. It cracks but doesn’t break. Stepping back, I survey the damage, then rush forward and hit the door harder. It breaks with a loud crack but hangs on the hinges. I kick it hard, not caring that I’m barefoot, then watch it fall with a satisfying thud.
I take my frustration out of the door and pick it up and throw it into my room. Everest is sitting on the bed with her mouth open and the phone to her ear. I point at her because now I’m seething.
“No more fucking doors for you. You’re in here ignoring me in my wing about something we could have solved over dinner. WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK EVEREST!”
“Jack, I’ll call you back,” she says to the phone and hangs up.
Still intent on not talking to me, she folds her arms and looks away from me. I rip the towel off my head because it’s annoying me.
“That’s it? You can talk to everyone but me over something I can’t control? Fuck, what’s the actual issue here, Everest? It’s not a fucking taco. I refuse to believe that.”
Her eyes dart my way for a second and then back to wherever she was looking before. Moving more into the room, I bend until I’m facing the side of her face.
“Keep on acting like I’m not in here talking to you and I’ll drag you out of here by your fucking ankle, then tie you to me so you can’t fucking breathe without my cooperation.”
Everest turns to look at me for a second. We’re almost nose to nose since I got into her space. Her eyebrow lifts a little and I see her raise her leg to offer me her ankle. It pulls a smirk out of me before I can stop it. I grab her by the jaw, kissing her hard until she moans, then pull back.
“Don’t play with me, Everie. I don’t say anything lightly. Now, tell me what’s your problem before I lose the little mind I have left.” I drop my forehead on hers. “You know there is nothing between me and Moonlight.”
“There is no way you’d stay in the house with my ex, Walt.”
I sit on the edge of the bed and look her in the eyes. “Most likely, no. But if you had a sister, and that ex was very much in love with her, I’d be able to look past it. If I couldn’t, WE would go somewhere else. Either way, you would have known immediately if I had a problem with it. I wouldn’t just pack up and leave you.”
She shakes her head. “I know. You’ve attacked two of my co-stars already. I’m not trying to leave you. I just need my space.”
