Walking Fragile Lines

No Turning Back

Brian awoke the next morning with the worst hangover he had ever experienced. After Liv had stormed out of the bar, he had decided to hit the bottle hard and didn't really remember much from the rest of the night. His last clear memory was of Joe telling him Bessy had called to tell him Liv would be spending the night over at his place, and after that Brian continued to drown his sorrows. But he felt awful. His guilt weighed down on him like a ton of bricks as he contemplated getting out of bed. Their fight hadn't been the worst one they had ever had but the remorse he felt was incredibly intense, probably due to it leading Liv to spending the night away from home for the first time he thought, and all he wanted to do was make this right.

Brian slowly got out of bed, nursing his throbbing head in the palm of his hand as he grabbed his robe from the back of the bedroom door and headed downstairs. He was filled with instant relief to see Liv sitting down at the dining room table as he rushed towards her.

"Liv - baby - I'm so sorry about last night. I was an ass. Again - but I - Liv, I love you so much", he gave a breathy chuckle as he looked at her, waiting for her to say something. But Liv didn't say a word. She just stared at him, silently, her eyes sunken and red with dark bags underneath them. She looked as if she had spent the whole night crying, but her eyes were still glossy and Brian ached as he looked at her. "Liv? Say something baby. Please", he pleaded. Suddenly, Liv slammed her hand down flat on the dining room table before lifting it to reveal a pair of lacey red underwear. And then, it hit him. There was a reason Brian's guilt had been so intense that morning and now he began to recall the night before once more. A young woman had approached him at the bar. He was out of his mind drunk and angry at the world, but more so at himself, and he now remembered the woman somehow making him feel better, filling his drunken head with things he so desperately wanted to hear. And then he recalled making a move on her, having been left alone to wallow in self pity, before inviting her back home with him. What had he done? What was he thinking!? How could he have been so drunk that he woke up that morning with no recollection of the woman now in his memory. But now as he thought back, he could see her clearly - her long curly blonde hair and her green eyes were now etched into his mind as he begun to feel nauseous.

"Who do these belong to?", Liv asked him simply, her voice gravelly and low. Brian didn't know what to say as he watched her nervously, silently encouraging himself to say something. Anything! "Because, the last time I checked? I'm definitely not a size 6 and Maci's a little young to be wearing this kind of trash!", she roared as she threw the underwear at him, getting out of her seat as she paced over to the sink, leaning over as if she were about to vomit. Brian immediately jumped out of his seat, standing nervously behind her as he panicked.

"Liv I - I was so drunk. After you left I - I felt like such an ass so I - I just drank and I kept drinking and-"

"Oh! Okay!", she interrupted his attempt of an apology as she spun on her heel to face him, chuckling breathily. "I guess I'll have a few beers, get in my car and drive real fast and maybe hit someone. But it's okay! Because I was so drunk, so no harm done", she said sarcastically as she shrugged.

"Liv. I'm so sorry", he said quietly, ashamed of himself as he struggled to look at her.

"Was this the problem all along?", she suddenly asked as he dared to look back up at her. Brian had never seen her so upset. "Were you just looking for an excuse to meet some pretty girl from a bar, take her home and fuck her?", she continued, thick tears now rimming her eyes as she looked at him. "Take her to our home - our kids' home - and fuck her in our damn bed!?", she bawled, picking up a nearby empty mug and throwing it across the room, smashing it on the bannister of the stairs just behind Brian. Brian dared to approach her, taking a chance as he searched for, what he hoped would be, the right words to say.