Luna Hawthorn

Chapter 4

The next day, I wrote another email to my friend's girlfriend. This time she sent back an answer. Her name was Kimberly and she said that she had indeed been treating Salvador poorly. She felt bad about it. When she told Salvador all of the things she did for him, he thought she was bragging. He didn't understand why she didn't just leave him. He said that if she had left him, he knew he would have never found anyone else. She said that he needed to stop drinking and talking to other women. When he talked to them online, she couldn't believe how many different girls he contacted. She said that when she confronted him about it, he denied everything and got angry. She didn't know why he had such low self-esteem. He was handsome and funny and charming. Why wouldn't any woman want a man like him?

She wanted to apologize to Salvador for how she treated him, but she felt that he wasn't listening to her. In order to get his attention, she had to yell at him. There were times when she regretted saying those things to him, especially when he looked so sad afterwards. After she yelled at him, she couldn't even look at him for weeks. It was hard for her to swallow her pride and go apologize to him. She knew that he deserved better treatment than that.

Kimberly said that Salvador had apologized to her many times and promised that he would change. She believed him. He seemed sincere and he worked so hard to support her and her children. They both agreed that they would try harder to show each other how much they loved and appreciated one another. Kimberly hoped that Salvador would listen to her and follow through with his promises.

Salvador still hadn't moved out of his apartment. He continued to drink, although not as much as before. He said that he had cut down his consumption by half. His girlfriend seemed to be very supportive of him, but she refused to move out of their apartment. She said that he needed to grow up and quit acting like a child. Salvador was still dating other women, which made Kimberly very jealous. Whenever she confronted him about it, he denied everything and became defensive. He told her that she shouldn't worry about it. He told her that if she ever wanted to leave him, he would understand. He said that he would have no problem with her finding someone new. He told her that there were plenty of men who would appreciate a woman like her. He said that it wasn't fair that she only gave herself to him. She had so many men after her. How could she expect him to not talk to other women? He told her that she didn't have a choice. If she wanted to stay with him, she would have to deal with it.

One night, Salvador came home late and drunk. He stumbled into his bedroom. He fell onto his bed and passed out immediately. A few minutes later, Kimberly heard him snoring and moaning. She walked over to his side of the bed and leaned in close to listen to him breathing. She could hear him muttering something incoherently. She listened until she realized that he was dreaming. He dreamed about his ex-girlfriend. As usual, she was cheating on him. He dreamt about her kissing other men and telling them how much she missed him. Kimberly tried to comfort him, but he pushed her away. He told her that if she loved him, she wouldn't make him feel so terrible. He told her that he wished she could see how unhappy he was. He told her that he hated her and that he wished she had never met him. He told her that he would rather be alone forever than to endure life with her. He told her that there was nothing more for them to say. He turned his back to her and rolled over. She pretended to fall asleep.

The next morning, Salvador woke up feeling terrible. He felt sick to his stomach and weak. He remembered everything that happened last night. He realized that he had gotten really drunk. He was embarrassed by what he did and the things he said to his girlfriend. He looked at Kimberly and saw that she was sleeping peacefully beside him. He didn't know whether to touch her or not. He didn't want to wake her up. He decided to pull his hand away and lay there quietly until he fell asleep.

After several months, Salvador stopped drinking alcohol completely. He said that he felt much better now that he was sober. Kimberly wasn't sure if it was because of her influence or not, but she suspected that he might have stopped for her sake. She took him to AA meetings and encouraged him to speak with the group members. He was surprised by how supportive they were and how many people in the room understood exactly what he was going through. He began to feel hopeful about his future and felt more confident that he would be able to keep his promise to Kimberly.

He started looking for another place to live. He wanted to move closer to where he worked. He found a studio apartment that was within walking distance of his job. He knew that he had to start taking responsibility for his own life. He didn't want to depend on Kimberly anymore. He wanted to be financially independent and responsible for himself.

Salvador began dating other women. Kimberly didn't care. She was happy that he had finally found happiness with someone else. She said that she had given him enough chances to change. Now it was time for him to find someone who would treat him right. He didn't realize how lucky he had been to have her in his life. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him.