Listen Before You Speak

Chapter 3

This chapter is dedicated to my long time friend, boyfriend, and now fiancé Corné. I wuff you honey! (And yes, I know you will never read this, because you don't read! Lol.)

The surprise as she pushed me away from her caught me off guard. She looked at me like I was some sort of alien to be honest. Damn woman! What would it take to make you happy? First you want me to talk, and now that you hear my voice you look like you want to slap me into another dimension. What is going on with that? I should have just kept my mouth shut.

"Did you just..? Did you..? It's okay..?"

She wasn't making much sense, but at least she stopped crying. So I just shrugged, stood up and walked away. It was not like I was going to try and talk to her while she was all hysterical and not making sense the way she was now.

I listened to her voice sounding after me all the way up to my bedroom where I closed the door, and then smacked myself in the face. I forgot to get food and I was seriously hungry for a change! So back through the door that led to the underworld, and one step at a time into hell...

"What the fuck Eli?"

I could tell she was furious by the way she shook. She wasn't happy about me talking. She was mad. See, I knew it. Not speaking keeps you out of trouble. I shrugged and went to sit down at the table, grabbing a slice of pizza, and getting to know it better right away.

"So you can talk?" she asked as she sat down right across from me, trying to make the eye contact I was trying very hard to avoid.

"Yes." It was plain and simple.

"Then why? Why would you not speak? Why would you let me pay for the therapist?"

So that was what it was about? Just the money? Not the fact that you have been too blind to see what was happening right before your eyes? Hey, maybe I needed that therapy? Maybe I needed someone to talk to? Maybe you should have spoken to me from the get go instead of pawning me off on the nearest therapist, while you barricaded yourself in your room and not coming out of there for months? This is what is on my mind and that is why I don't speak to you! Don't you get that? But instead of voicing my mind I gave another of my infamous shrugs.

"So you're not going to answer me?" she said, fuming at the ears, her nose wiggling a little bit like it did when she was getting seriously pissed off with someone.

I just shook my head in reply.

"No! You are going to talk! Right! Now!" she spat the words. The eyes from earlier slowly coming back, but this time with anger and not sadness.

"No!" I screamed. Where did that come from? Then, calmly I sat back into my chair and continued eating my pizza.

"You know what? You are the most ungrateful person in the world. Don't ever talk again if that's what you like, but I will no longer drive you around. I will not buy you clothing. I will not make you dinner... Unless you ask. And not with a pen and paper. Not by making weird faces and shaking or nodding your head. If you want something you will ask, and if you don't you can go without it."

Her chair scraped backward over the floor, making my teeth hurt at the sound of it. Then she turned her back to me and walked out of the kitchen. I could hear every step as she went up the stairs as if she was deliberately trying to walk as hard as she can just to annoy me and get me to yell something at her, but I kept my composure. Then... The slam of the door.

"Damn woman... It's not like the door did anything to you," I muttered into my pizza which was all of a sudden the most terrible tasting thing I have ever put into my mouth.