The Neighbor

The Wife

Eventually you exited the bathroom, less because you were ready to face Diane and more so because your ass was falling asleep from sitting on the floor. You'd never forget the panicked look on her face when you saw her, you knew it would always be seared into your brain. She looked afraid which was almost enough to send you back into a fit of tears. 

She loves you; you knew she did. It was clear that she was terrified of losing you. You felt a tiny flame of guilt spark up in your chest because you doubted her love for you. Hadn't she done enough to show you that she loved you? But did she love you more than anything?... or in this case anyone. 

You could almost understand why she put off confessing the truth. You could come to terms with the fact that she lied... eventually. But you didn't know if you could get over knowing she loved... no LOVES another woman. You were sure seeing her love this other woman would be equivalent to her ripping your heart out your chest and feeding it to this MiLDreD. 

This had planted a seed of doubt in you... of her love for you. You knew she loved you, but clearly not enough to forget Mildred. 'Does she love her more than me? Of course, she does she was the original... she's fucking married to Mildred. The plan was for both of them to rope me into their crazy ass lives'. You thought to yourself. 

You couldn't help but feel like the addition of Mildred would make your relationship with Diane mean less... that you'd mean less. After all, you were just supposed to be some silly little third wheel that they took for a spin while it suited them. 

You refused to speak to her as you stormed past her. And that's how the rest of the week passed.  You refused to speak to her. You talked but only about things that needed done around the house or about what was for dinner. Your short responses and evasiveness clearly bothered her, she attempted to snuggle, and fuck, and talk and talk and talk... but you always made your disinterest clear. Not to the point of being outright mean, but you weren't your happily bubbly self. 

Diane had clearly grown accustomed to you begging for her attention this past month and was having a difficult time adjusting when the shoe was on the other foot. 

She'd been on her phone far less, but the topic of Mildred wasn't going to be forgotten. The first time she brought it up you were both sitting down for a movie. You sat next to her but kept some space between you as you didn't feel like snuggling.  

.................

Diane set down the remote and fumbled with her phone a minute. 

'You seriously have to text Mildred right now?' you thought rolling your eyes. 

"I know this is still fresh, and you're still upset which is completely understandable baby girl.... but I thought that maybe seeing her would help." Diane said holding her phone out to you. 

You huffed but gently took the phone from her hands. You couldn't deny that the woman on the screen was beautiful. She was smiling brightly at the camera making her laugh lines more prominent. She was roughly Dianes age if you had to guess, maybe a few years older. Her hair was a dark red, a much deeper a color than Daines, you wondered if it was natural. Her lips were painted a bright rouge, and her hair was pinned back into a bun. Okay okay you'd admit she was pretty... okay maybe more than pretty but still you weren't interested in seeing this woman. Mildred looked to be more feminine presenting than Diane. Diane was not butch by any means, but her style was more flannel and jeans or long flowy skirts. Dianes style gave mother and suburban housewife vibes. Mildred clearly preferred to wear more makeup and was dressed up; her style was a bit classier than Dianes would be considered. 

"You can scroll" Diane said while fidgeting with the blanket over her lap. 

"If- if you want that is.. there are more pictures." She added clearly nervous about your response. Diane was always sweet but dominating and confident... it was odd seeing her in a constant state of worry and unease. It was stupid that Diane thought a pretty face would persuade you to want to be with this woman... well you were thankful she wasn't ugly... because did you even have a choice?

You scrolled through the pictures of Mildred swiping a few times. There were images of her dressed in a nursing uniform so clearly that was her job. The uniform was flattering on her, cut to fit her curves and the color contrasting her hair and fair complexion. The photos where Mildred faced the camera all were filled with bright smiles, but the ones that were clearly taken without her knowledge showcased her resting bitch face quite well. 

After you scrolling you handed the phone back to Diane taking care to keep your expressions neutral. You didn't say a word as you reached for the remote and pressed play.

.................

Throughout the week Dinae had pestered you to look at more photos, this time with her and Mildred together. You offered no comments at first which of course Diane grew tired of and demanded to know what you thought. 

You wanted to be rude and tell her that Mildred was ugly and to stop showing you fucking pictures... but that'd be dubbed an obvious lie by anyone with eyes. So, you settled on stating the obvious 'you two look happy.' 

Daine found ways to bring Mildred into the short conversations you did have with her. She went on about how Mildred was excited to meet you and had been looking forward to seeing you for so long. Even going as far as to say Mildred loved you, which you thought was fucking ridiculous. She looked so happy and hopeful as she spoke about how she 'knew you were going to love Mildred'. 

It made you feel insecure to see how she lit up talking about Mildred. You couldn't hate her, as much as you tried. If you could've it would've been after she had basically blew up your life. But somehow this felt worse, which was a terrible thought. You were a horrible person for selfishly thinking that sharing Dianes love was worse than murder. But you were starting to except that maybe you just weren't a good person... and maybe you were okay with that.