Page 1 of One Last Time
Chapter One
Kristin
“Just leave then!”I scream at my husband as he tells me, once again, how worthless I am. I’ve had it. Years I’ve stayed by his side, but I won’t do this anymore. No one should feel this empty andunloved.
“I’m not leaving this house, Kristin. If you want this to be over, then pack your shit and get the hell out of myhouse.”
I stare at the man I’ve loved since I was twenty-two. The father of my children. The person I thought I’d grow old beside. The man before me is a mirage of that man. Scott has changed so much in the last fourteen years that he’s unrecognizable. Now, he’s just someone that I used tolove.
The man I knew would never throw me away so easily. He would’ve done anything to make itwork.
“This isn’t just your house, Scott. I’m yourwife!”
He shakes his head with a smirk. “I’m the one who pays for it. How will you afford your designer lifestyle without ajob?”
Designer lifestyle? I can’t remember the last time I bought myself anything. Mostly because I’d rather not listen to how stupid Iam.
“I’ll get a job and do what I need to. I’m not moving out because ofthat.”
He rubs the bridge of his nose. “So, now you’ll work, but not the last tenyears?”
“You wanted me to stay home with Aubrey and Finn!Youtold me to quit my job, you don’t get to throw it back in my face!” I slam my hand on thetable.
It’s likeGroundhog Daywith us. The same fight, over and over, with nothing ever reconciling. I have a master’s in communications, and it’s the one thing neither of us doeswell.
Scott demanded I quit my job as a reporter when we found out I was pregnant with Finn. I was always traveling, covering breaking stories, and he felt I wouldn’t be able to devote enough time to being amom.
At first, it made sense. I always wanted to be the kind of mother who baked cookies or sent the kids off to school with a kiss on the cheek and their lunches made. My mom was that way, and I have the fondest memories because of it. I think she might have been part alien because, most days, I’m lucky if my kids wear clothes that match and have enough money in their lunchaccounts.
My life is nothing like I thought it’d be. Instead of baking, I’m running around trying to keep the house clean so he isn’t angry. I spend an hour at the gym so Scott doesn’t tell me how I’ve let myself go. Between trying to look like the perfect wife and mother and actually being one, I’mdrowning.
And Scott is holding my head under as I gasp forair.
Scott grips the edge of the table and stares at me. “I’m always the bad guy here. Imadeyou leave your job. Imadeyou have kids. Imadeyou be the miserable woman you are. I’m the one who made you cold and bitter, right? I did it all. So fuckinggo!”
Tears spring up in my eyes as he slashes my heart apart. “I’m that expendable toyou?”
Scott’s eyes fill with rage. “You’re the one who wants to leave, Kristin. It’s you standing there, all high and mighty and tellingmeto leave. God forbid, I want a wife who actually likes me. When was the last time you actually wanted to have sex with me? When have you given me what I need,huh?”
Once again, we move to the next part of the argument. “It’s hard to want someone who makes you feel likeshit.”
“And how do I do that, Kris? By telling you the truth about yourissues?”
My issues. It’s always my issues, even when we talk about his. It’s me who causes his reactions. Scott has no accountability for anything that happens in our life. It’s always bounced to someone else. I’m so damn tired of being the reason for everything wrong in his life, of feelingsmall.
“Sure, Scott. That’sit.”
There’s no point in arguing. I’ve tried so many times, and nothing I saymatters.
Our kids are with my parents, and this was supposed to be a weekend for us to reconnect. My mother knew we were at the breaking point, and I wanted to try one more time. I thought that if we could spend some time together, just us, we’d find away.
It seems I was a fool onceagain.
“I’m so tired of having to fix everything in this marriage,” Scott says as he paces around the room. “You keep saying you want to make me happy, but then you do everything wrong. It’s exhausting repeatingmyself.”
Yeah, it’s exhausting, allright.
I feel myself start to drift to that place in my head to protect myself. There’s only so much I can take before I’m completely shattered. “Stop,” Ibeg.
