Page 80 of Beyond our Forever

“Calm down, dickhead,” he says, patting me on the shoulder. “I’m going to call my boss tomorrow and ask for a few days off. I’ll stay here as long as you both need.”

See? This is why I believe family comes first, who else can you trust when facing situations like this?

There are exceptions, I know, but ours is like a rock. Like a diamond, rather, but don’t tell Warren, he’s going to say I lost my nuts somewhere.

The fact is that my brother-in-law staying should give my mind some peace, but that is the least I feel now. It is me who should be here, with her, in the same bed, by her side, hugging her. But I have to hold back, be patient and wait.

So my soul stays by her side.

Nuts and everything else, wherever I left them.

???

Time continues its course and with each passing day, my anguish grows. The information the detective brought to the office about this Mikel Kroph is quite strong. I immediately sent it to my wife through my brother-in-law, and without her knowledge, I hired a security company to watch over the house.

And yet, nothing can keep me calm.

I have been giving her space, clinging on each one of the words that she publishes in the blog she started a few weeks ago. Reading it discourages me, but it also helps me understand what is going through her mind. Everything she’s feeling, without restrictions. She has no idea I’m following her, but I am. Of course I am.

“How’s everything around here?” asks Brianna, one of my sisters, as soon as she gets into the car at the airport. “Sorting?”

“Hopefully,” I admit with a heavy sigh. “Ready to take care of my three kids?”

“You can’t even imagine, mother is like crazy, she has painted half the house and bought the entire toy store, don’t be surprised when they return you will have to pay for excess baggage.”

Like I said, thank God for family. Mine is really awesome. What would I do without them?

The following week begins and it seems that even the weather has conspired to make me feel worse and worse. It is pouring rain and the humid heat leaves a torpor that I find unbearable. Just like my mood. The poor three interns who are in my charge and my assistant, they have had to deal with this shit.

On Wednesday and with the excuse of storms in the county, I go check on the house. I can’t wait any longer, she sinks day by day in that sea of solitude that surrounds her. She’s plunging into it, so much so that I fear losing it to the slightest carelessness.

I’m tired of waiting. Now is the time to act.

Facts and not words.

That is what my wife needs. What we both need.

I’ve made reservations at a Downtown boutique hotel. Getting her out of here will be good for both of us. We will break with the routine and, if everything goes as planned, we can start again. With the right foot.

The wind blows hard. I don’t have a lot of time. I have to get her out of here and it has to be soon.

“Ilythia!” I shout as soon as I open the door. “Baby, where are you?”

She doesn’t answer, I look for her like a madman around the house, to finally find her in the studio, with the headphones on, typing at full speed on her computer keyboard.

“Dear God, Bruce,” she squeals, alarmed once she’s noticed me. “You almost scared me to death.”

“Sorry,” I say, offering her a smile that corresponds with some shyness.

“What are you doing here?” she asks, disposing of the headphones. She is dressed in an old T-shirt and a pair of pants that stick to her legs and leave very little to the imagination. She looks… like a wet dream.

Certainly like mine.

“I thought I wasn’t going to see you anymore.”

“Is that what you want?”

I close my eyes, silently asking that her answer is negative, that a no comes out of her mouth, that she revives my hopes.

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