Marcus was gone, when I unlocked the door of our old home. The house was half empty, and I knew, he must have been planning it for days. Planning to leave. To finally, walk away, as I had walked away from him. This was my reaping, I thought. What right, had I to complain? I went to sit in the backyard, where we use to. Mist rose up off the lake that circled off the property, floating under a moonlit sky. I sat there for hours, numb emotionally, and eventually, physically as well. The sound of nearing footsteps should have startled me, but I heard them, as though off in the distance. Then, I felt Marcus' hand on my shoulder. I turned to his solemn face. My heart shook inside.
"I've been watching you from the window for quite a while now," he spoke dryly. I stood so fast, I nearly lost my balance, as I rushed into his arms. He pushed me away forcefully, and tears flooded to my eyes. "Is this what it takes for me to get you here?" His eyes were stayed on me, like they would burn right through me. He had never intimidated me before now. Words barely made it through my tears as I spoke.
"You can't just leave the country I need you." He was still staring at me, intently. I couldn't see the man I knew him to be. I saw something else, a hardness, that I knew I had created.
"What about when I needed you?" he finally spit back at me. "You didn't care then, you only went running into the arms of another man."
I couldn't say what I was thinking; that I had been promised the world. How Trey had given me everything I ever wanted, at least every material thing. But my love was lost on him. The man I loved was standing in front of me, with a hatred in his eyes, I had never seen. I thought about how materialistic I had become, and all that it had cost me. And I felt sick inside, as a hard knot twisted and turned in my stomach.
"Why did you come back here for me?" I asked, thinking of nothing else to say. He didn't answer me, and I knew he wasn't going to. Finally, after a moment, I saw what seemed to be a flicker of love flash through his eyes. His body shifted as though in defeat, and he seemed to soften a bit. He walked back to the patio, and sat down on the steps. Then, he looked at me for a moment, before he buried his face in his hands. I walked to him slowly, and reached out to touch him carefully. He didn't look up as he spoke.
I'm taking you with me, away from here. I imagine it'll take time for us to heal. We'll have some hard days ahead of us, but I know you love me, and I love you too. You can search all over this world, but your home will always be with me. I figured you'd come back, when I told you I was leaving, that maybe it'd bring you to your senses once and for all. But trust me, when I say, that I will never let you walk into the arms of another man again." I knew it was something he needed to say, and it was something that I knew, I would never do again. So with as much conviction as I could find, I spoke:
"I don't want to walk into the arms of another man, not ever again. I'll spend the rest of my life, if that's what it takes, to prove to you that you are all I want."
"Yeah, you'll be doing that and more." He said it with a rudeness, but I knew it was little compared to what I deserved. I moved to sit next to him, hoping he'd let me, and he did. I breathed a little easier and prayed inside that I could make things right again. I felt his body next to mine, tense, and unmoving. I felt small timid, and I sheltered beneath him like a lost child. I'd never leave his side again.
