“I don’t think you should go…”
From behind her coffee cup, Melanie’s tearful eyes glanced up at her husband. Sitting across the table, Kyle was looking back stoically in her direction. Was he really suggesting she ditch her parents’ funeral? A bit confused, her mind replayed his words to reassure her that her clouded thoughts hadn’t allowed her to mishear what he had to say. But before she could draw a conclusion, he cleared his throat and spoke up again.
“You have deadlines to meet and quite frankly, there is nothing for you back in Hartsville anymore. You should just stay home and focus on work, it's in your best interest Melanie.”
Focus on work? Did Kyle truly expect her to go about as if she wasn't notified of her parents' deaths just mere hours ago? A look of disbelief settled across her face as Melanie searched her brain for the proper words to say in response to her husband’s distasteful suggestion. But she was freshly heartbroken and completely devastated over the tragedy that had just occurred. Focussing on anything else in this moment, including the proper response, was an impossible feat. Instead, Mel simply responded with a hesitant shake of the head as she forced out whatever words she could say.
“No Kyle…” she finally spoke, her trembling voice barely a whisper. “I-I can’t do that. I have to go.” As far as she was concerned, the topic wasn’t up for debate.
But Kyle wasn’t having it. In response, the male abruptly sprung to his feet and let out a frustrated huff. In one swift and angry motion, he pushed the table away from him, using it to pin Melanie to her chair. From the center of the table, a vase of daisies swayed back and forth. In a complete state of shock, Melanie’s eyes fixated on the flowers watching them seemingly in slow motion. But despite her urges, she couldn’t react. Frozen in place, she continued to watch as the vase toppled over, water spilling from its mouth as it rolled across the table and then fell, shattering on the floor. Melanie flinched, but she was unsure if her response was a result of the broken vase, or Kyle’s unexpected outburst. For a moment, her brown hues observed the mess of broken glass and scattered flower petals that now covered the floor before they slowly trailed back to her husband.
“So you’re just going to throw away the opportunities that I’ve gone out of my way to provide for you?” Kyle snapped as he paced back and forth. His eyes meeting with hers, he let out an outraged chuckle and shook his head. “I can’t believe this. I can’t believe you.”
Perplexed, Melanie blinked back her tears. Kyle’s behavior was completely unexpected and without a doubt, unwarranted. She felt as if she were suffocating, her breath escaping her as she attempted to process the situation at hand. Kyle had always been assertive, stubborn even. But this… this was different. She was broken and instead of comforting her, her husband chose to instill fear.
“Kyle…” Melanie whispered as her eyes pleaded for him to stop his eruption. But her pleas were ignored, instead he only continued.
“Wipe that look off your face, Melanie. I can’t deal with the tears or this pitiful expression. You are ridiculous and I cannot be bothered with your nonsense right now.”
His words stung like a dagger through her already broken heart. But despite everything Kyle was shouting, Melanie wasn’t upset with him. Nor was she angry with him. She was afraid of him. For the first time since moving to New York, she didn’t recognize the man before her. He had gotten her tangled up into his web of lies and now he was going in for the kill, breaking her spirit and showing his true colors in the process. But with the news of her parents, Kyle was all she had left. Melanie had no where to go and nobody to turn to. She was stuck... and she only had herself to blame.
