🎶Why does love always feel like a battlefield,
A battlefield, a battlefield?
Why does love always feel like....🎶

🎶Can't swallow our pride,
Neither of us wanna raise the flag mhmmmm...........

Battlefield by Jordin Sparks.

Matilda woke up to hot afternoon.

She stood up from the bed to see that Rory wasn't beside her.

For how long had she slept?.

She looked out of the window, the weather was hot and humid, dark and brooding and it seemed it would alter soon. The sky would be clear, clear blue, soft breeze would alleviate the glow of the golden early afternoon sun.

She looked at the beach, at the bleached sand, the foam flecked shore. It was so beautiful. How she wished she could sit on the bleached sand all day and watch the beauty of the beach.

She went into the bathroom to have a cold bath. She did the necessaries and wore a red oversized collarless top and a baggy trouser.

She opened the door to find out Rory was nowhere to be seen. She sat at the dinning and saw a note

"Good afternoon ma'am".

Confused, she frowned.

Rory left this?

And made her cookies?.

She looked down at the plate of cookies before her.

"Hi" . The voice startled her.

She looked up at the stranger. A dark lady whom she guessed would be in her mid thirties.

"Umm..hello?"

"I'm Karenhappuch but you can call me Karen"

"Oh...I'm Matilda Wrigh... Brown, I mean". For a second, she almost forgot that she was married.

Karen smiled " Do you like the cookies?".

She took a bite of it and nodded curtly at Karen.

"It tastes good"

" Your husband assigned me to do the cooking, I've always cooked for Browns during their summer vacation"

"Oh....nice meeting you, Karen.". She pointed toward the note she has read. "So, did you write this?"

Karen beamed" yes".

She had thought Rory wrote it but why would she think he would write her a note. He irked her so much, so much.

"Where's Rory?"

"He's been out since seven".

"Oh".

Karen was a dark, skinny lady, sha had a smile that Matilda found so lovely.

Karen gave Matilda a pitiful look. She's known for few years now and he is not the one to settle for marriage.
Showing up on a vacation with this beautiful lady whom she had thought to be one of his girlfriends. Realizing, she's his wife, she was so happy for him and at the same time, she was sad - it was so evident that Rory didn't love this lady.

He had acted strangely when she had asked about Matilda. Funnily enough, at first sight, she liked Matilda. She's calm and beautiful.

Moments later, she decided to take a good look around the house, by this time, Karen was gone. She came to a realization that the house was so unloved--just like herself.

Lovely but lonely....

Barefooted, she walked on the beach. The bleached sand tickled her feet making a wide grin appear on her lips.
She sat and watched the tranquil water. The scene was so beautiful.

She could sit there all day and never get tired.

----------

Rory wasn't back untill midnight.

He took a glass of beer in the kitchen and leaned against the cabinet.

He grimaced.

She needed space and he was letting her have all of it. They should enjoy the honeymoon separately, that way, he'd be safe because she's nothing but trouble as it seemed.

"What a honeymoon". He mused.

He opened the door to the bedroom to see that she was fast asleep, just as he had expected.

She was cladded in a see through robe. Although, he couldn't see anything because the duvet was on her breast. He could only see her shoulders.
She was curled up in bed, her pillow beneath her cheek and her flesh was kind of cream against it. Her fingers lay like red tipped flower over the darkness of the bedsheet.

--_--_--_--_---_---_---_---_---_----_

The following day, before she was, Rory was gone.

She decided that she won't be bothered by his absence, even though she was getting pissed off. The only fun thing to do was sitting down and having a friendly conversation with Karen whim she found quite friendly. Then, she would sit at the beach and watch the tide.

Rory's routine went on for a week - leaving very early in the morning, and coming back by midnight.

The more she thought of it, the angrier she became.

She didn't care how long she'd stay up, all she wanted was to straighten things out with him.

What did he take her for?. Did he think he could just dump her here and have fun?.

She sat up and stared at the ticking clock, it was past twelve. Her eyes were stinging, sleep was threatening to take over but she blinked it off.

She stiffened when she heard the main door open. It was oy a few minutes it took for him to open the bedroom door.

He stood at the door surprised, when he saw her sitting on the bed.

To an extent, her cheekbone had increased in height and her face had narrowed, giving her a look of sophistication.

She then realized how much she'd missed him .....

________-------------------___________------------

He stood at the door in surprise. She should be asleep by now, he thought.

He swallowed hard as he watched her breast rise and fall. He couldn't deny the fact that he missed her. The stubborn pursing if her lips, the rolling of her eyes, all of it.

He saw something in her eyes-- fury

Before he could think, she suddenly stood up from the bed and walked briskly to him.
A slap landed on his cheek.

"How dare you!..how can you!. What the hell do you think of me?. You left me here for a week, one fucking week!. You idiot.
Fine!!. I never wanted to marry you, get that into your skull. Now, I'm married to you, don't you think you should have manners. You dumped me here with your stupid chef...

I'm sorry, Karen, she said within her.

She looked him in the eye" I don't like you and I don't think I ever will. Come to think of it, I don't know how you fit into my life. I don't know why I accepted this..

She was saying trash and she was not making sense, she knew but she couldn't explain why it hurt so much, neither could she explain why she was furious when she didn't have the right to be.

"You imprisoned me in this....what the hell is this place called?!"

"Maine". He said acidly. He could hear and feel the anger in his voice."I didn't Imprison you here, Tilda"

She lifted her hand to slap him the second time. This time, he held her hand.

"Tilda!. This will be the last time you will hit me. If it repeats itself, you will regret it, I promise you!!"

She snatched her hand from his and walked away slamming the bathroom door hard behind her. Rory also left the room and slammed the door harder.

The irresistible urge to cry was sweeping through Matilda. She kept her eyes on the mirror and fought back tears that was rushing like the tide of the ocean.

They weren't a couple afterall, so why did she care whether he came or not.

She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes.
She should apologize, she thought but decided against it.

She wasn't sorry for her action and she never will be.

"'''''''''''''''

Work out at an affordable rice.

91 Auburn street.

207 878 2008.

She smiled down at the handbill before looking up at Karen.

" It's a great idea..you know it's really boring here and Rory...". She paused.

Karen smiled. " Forget Rory, you need to do some fun stuffs like visit the cinema, gym...
To get some things off your mind".

"What do you know about Rory and I?".

She didn't know why she asked the question but ever since came here, Karen have been understanding and she never found it weird that Rory was never home.

Even after the fight they had.

The fight did nothing to change the whole situation. He'd come home late and leave very early in the morning. He has been keeping this up for a week now.
She didn't care much because Karen was here to keep her company.

" Rory is my boss as well as my friend...and I've known him for some time now.". She shrugged.

"Rory is just....

"Lift your aging ass up and go out for some fun". Karen said in falsetto.

Matilda smiled at that. It's been only a week but it felt like she had known Karen for a long time.

How can you know someone for a week and cling to the person ?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Matilda was dressed in a teal tank top and a black pants.

" You look stunning. Rory doesn't know what he is missing".

Matilda sighed. "You already know all about it. We are not interested in each other".

" Tsk tsk...I know".

"Hey, Karen".

She turned" Oh...hi, Smith"

"Did you enjoy the yoga class?".

"Of course. Meet Matilda, my friend".

Matilda accessed the young man who was standing before her. He was wearing a sleeveless cotton top and a cargo short.

She took in his face, all masculine plane and sharp and decided that he looked incredibly good.

Then, she realized he was staring at her,one eyebrow elevated slightly waiting for her to speak.

Oh, nuts..

"Matilda, meet smith. He owns the Gym".

"Hi..".

" He is biracial ". Karen whispered.

"Hi, Matilda"

"Would you ladies like to grab a drink with me?".

"Yes".

*****

AT THE CAFE, Karen couldn't stop wondering why Smith was having a drink with them. She's known him for a few years now, they had met when she was taking curlinary classes in the summer of that year.

He was one of the hottest student that year.

He registered for the class because he had thought he'd be starting a family that year. Unfortunately, he didn't. He broke up with his girlfriend of two years.

They rarely had long conversation.

His sudden nice gestures really meant something.....or maybe it didn't?.

He's never had a drink with her and he suddenly decided to. That could only mean one thing......

Her phone buzzed.

A message popped up on her phone. She read it and almost immediately, she stood up.

"I have to go".

"What?why?". Smith asked.

"My mother met with an accident". She tried to suppress her tears but it came rushing." I have to go".

"Wait, let me drop you off.". Smith said.

"Karen, she'll be fine". Matilda assured.

Karen could only nod and wipe away her tears.

" First things first, I need to pack my things at my Apartment. I'll be traveling down to Rhode island tonight. "

" I'll drop you off".

****

IT WAS HALF PAST EIGHT when Smith parked his diesel truck in front of the beach house.

"Thanks Smith".

"Will I see you at the Gym tommorow?".

" Karen is outta town.....

"I can keep you company"

She smiled" Good night, smith".

She hopped out of the car with a smile on her lips.

She walked lethargically into the house. It was such a long day. She made a mental note to call to check up on Karen.

She slipped in her key into the lock and was surprised to see it was opened.

Stepping in, she saw the lamp on. Rory was sitting comfortably on the sofa. His leg crossed over the other. A champagne bottle was right next to him and he was fiddling with his phone.

She ignored him completely.

"Where have you been all day?". He asked

"Since when did you start to care?". She retorted.

He frowned as she walked away.

Mwah!Mwah!!Mwah!!!.

Kisses to you all for your patience. I'm inconsistent, y'all know that but you are still reading my book . It means a lot.

It means I don't suck after all.

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