Page 12 of Monster Bully

Grim didn’t stop her.

She left the dining room and he heard her retreating footsteps starting to fade. Now he was even more pissed off. He didn’t want to hurt her and yet he had managed to do exactly that. Grabbing his bowl, he tossed it across the room with so much force it hit the wall and smashed. The food had already left the plate.

When was he going to fucking learn?

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Eve had gone to one of the spare bedrooms. She expected Grim to find her, but he must have known she needed space. After a long shower, she had changed into a pair of pajamas that felt so soft and warm against her body, and then crawled into bed.

Grim always kept a few rooms made up. He never had guests, nor invited people over. At least, he never had in all the time she’d been living with him. Eve couldn’t even recall meeting any of his friends. She hadn’t even asked about his friends either, or work colleagues.

There was so much about his life she didn’t know about.

The warmth surrounded her as she laid in bed, but it was nothing compared to the warmth of his arms. She missed him so much.

Eve had thought asking for a divorce would be easy, that it would be the right thing to do. She had considered what it would mean.

Divorce.

Free of Grim.

Never seeing him again.

Never getting to touch or make love again. Yes, she didn’t like that he lied, and he terrified her a bit, and there were so many other thoughts and feelings inside her head that she couldn’t quite focus or think.

Never, ever seeing or being near Grim again filled her with a terrible feeling of loneliness. She hated it. How could she feel this way when at the same time, she didn’t know what to do with him?

Grim wasn’t the man she thought he was, but he was right, she had never asked questions. She had always assumed.

Tossing and turning on the bed, she couldn’t get to sleep. Eve didn’t know what to do. Her parents were gone. She was married to a man she didn’t truly know.

The minutes ticked by, but Eve was pretty sure they could have been hours. She hadn’t finished her food, and her appetite had diminished at his words. She took a deep breath and then blew it out. Sitting up, she saw only a few hours had passed, and it was nearing midnight. She hated snacking late at night, but she was hungry and thirsty.

She pushed the sheets back, stepped out of the bed, and then padded across the floor. Opening the door, she made her way down to the kitchen and went straight to the freezer. In the middle of the night, only ice cream would do.

Grim knew of her weakness for all kinds of ice cream. She was a sucker for all flavors, and he had made sure to purchase enough to fill two drawers. On top was vanilla and chocolate. Good flavors, but tonight she needed something different. Chocolate fudge was a must, as was strawberry cheesecake, and then as a last offering, chocolate mint. She grabbed three different spoons for each ice cream so she didn’t blend them together and stood at the counter. Freezer closed, three tubs of deliciousness in front of her.

All she needed was a good hot chocolate so she got to work making herself a mugful. Instead of using a saucepan and heating milk on the stove, she went to the good old reliable microwave. There were times and places for the right way. Tonight, only the quick way would do for her to get that comforting taste she craved so much.

She stood at the microwave giving the ice cream a few minutes to melt. The house was nice and warm. She hadn’t looked outside yet, but she had no doubt there was a layer of snow blanketing the ground. Eve loved snow. She loved fall and winter, her favorite times of the year. Spring and summer were okay, but there was something special about fall into winter.

With her hot chocolate made, she walked back to the ice cream. She tried not to think of Grim and the scary words he had spoken over dinner. Ice cream was a much better thought.

She decided to start with the strawberry cheesecake. Closing her eyes, she embraced the taste. Putting the spoon down, her next choice after a sip of hot chocolate had to be mint chocolate. She was a sucker for the chocolate-and-mint combo. With that eaten, she then ended with a fudgy chocolate, and knew which ice cream she wanted—mint chocolate.

She put the lids back on the other two and placed them in the freezer, turning back to the counter, only to come to a stop when she saw Grim in the doorway. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, but he did have on a pair of pajama bottoms. Some of his ink was on display and she nibbled her bottom lip as she looked at him. She loved his ink. It was all so perfectly placed.

“You couldn’t sleep?” he asked.

She shook her head because right now, words failed her. Pretty much everything failed her.

“Ice cream. What is upsetting you, Eve?” he asked.

Taking a deep breath, she scooped up some ice cream and then looked at him. “You are.”

“I am upsetting you?”

“Yes, you know you are. I’m not an idiot, Grim. I know what you’re doing.”

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