Page 19 of Takedown

She returns, dressed in black yoga pants and a gray hoodie.

“So, we should get a few things straight.” I arch an eyebrow at her serious tone. I put a plate of bacon and eggs in front of her and take a seat. I start eating while I wait for her to begin.

“I will pay you rent. Tell me how much. And you’ll only need to be the doting mate when my mother is around.”

“I can easily afford this place, and Iamthe doting husband. Whether your mother’s around or not.”

“And I’ll take you up on your offer to redecorate this place because it’s hideous. Your taste sucks.” She looks around with a pinched expression. “And I’ll buy my own groceries.”

“Sure, my taste in decorations can be better, but my taste in wives? Perfect. Another thing, you’re treating me like a roommate.” I can already feel the color creeping up my face. “We’re married.”

“And by the way, I’m on birth control. Thanks for making sure before you jizzed inside of me three times last night.”

“Like I said, we’re married.” I give her a dismissive shrug.

“Only for a year,” she reminds me. “At the absolute most, so don’t try to trap me with a baby.”

“Any other decrees, Mel?”

“Yeah, your WiFi is down. Fix it.” She slams the laptop shut, runs out of the kitchen and into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her for the second time today. She didn’t touch her breakfast, so I finish her food and my coffee before going to find her.

She’s lying in the middle of the bed with her face buried in a pillow.

“Leave me alone,” she says, her voice muffled.

I sit down and put a hand in the middle of her back. Her body goes rigid at my touch, but she doesn’t push me away.

“Mel.” I slowly rub her back.

“I said leave me alone.”

“I can’t leave you alone. I live here.”

“Fine.” She roughly shoves my hand away and gets up. “I’ll leave.” She grabs her opened suitcase, and all her clothes fall to the floor. She drags the damn thing out of the room while her clothes spill out along the way.

“Where are you going?” I follow behind her. “We’re in the middle of a blizzard.”

“Great! Just another thing I’ve fucked up!” She drops the suitcase and kicks it across the room with so much force, it slams against the wall. “I can’t do this, Adam. I can’t! You got what you wanted out of me last night. You finally got to fuck me. Three times, I might add. That should be enough for you.” When she starts to pull the ring off, I hold both her wrists.

“Mel, you don’t control the weather. And where are you going? You said you can’t live with your mother, and we’re in the middle of a snowstorm.”

The tears start, and that’s my undoing. I can never stand a crying woman. Especially not one I care about, and one who looks so defeated right now. I pull her close and wrap my arms around her.

She buries her face in my chest and cries. Something inside me breaks at the sound of her sobs, but I don’t let her go or offer any words of comfort. She doesn’t need words right now. She needs me. I keep her wrapped in my arms and rub her back until the sobbing stops. When no more sounds come out of her, I pull back and cradle her face.

“Why do you say stuff like that about yourself? How can you accuse me of only wanting one night with you? I said until death do us part. And this woman standing before me is not a fuck up. Not in a million years. Maybe you’ve made mistakes, Mel, but we all have.” I pull her into my arms again. “Give this a year. I’ll be a good husband. If you want, we can move. I’ll break the damn lease, and we can go somewhere else, but let me be your husband. I’ll be the one you can always count on without any judgment.”

“I don’t want to become your problem. This was supposed to be my year, Adam. I had it all planned. I was going to start looking for a house in the spring and hopefully move out by the end of summer. But I’ve fucked everything up like I usually do, and now you’re involved in my mess.” She lets out a choked sob and buries her face in my chest again.

“I promise you didn’t screw anything up. I want to be married to you.” That gets her to sob louder. She pulls away, and I look into her face. Tears are streaming down her cheeks and her eyes are red and puffy. It breaks me to see her this way. It breaks me that she can’t see what I see when I look at her.

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” she says between sniffles.

“Come on.” I scoop her in my arms and walk back to the bedroom. I gently put her down and lie down next to her. She already has her body turned, giving me her back.

I cover us with a comforter and wrap my arms around her waist. She turns, and I wait for her to pull away and get off the bed, but she surprises me when she rests her head on my chest.

“I’m sorry,” she finally says. “I’m usually not a blubbering mess.” I caress her cheek and rub my thumbs along her bottom lip. She licks where my fingers just touched.

---