Falling for Him

Confrontation

I am frozen to my spot. Ben takes slow steps towards me and stops when his shoes meet mine. My heart races in my chest and I feel like it’s about to burst. I take slow shallow breaths, trying to calm myself so he doesn’t see my reaction towards him. He’s wearing black dress shoes, his pants are black and fit him perfectly, his gold belt buckle shines. His white buttoned down shirt has the first two buttons undone and the sleeves are rolled to his elbows. He has an agitated look on his face as my eyes meet his. It seems he’s been waiting a while. His hand comes up to cup my chin with his thumb and forefinger. I hold my breath as his touch makes me shiver.

“I’ve missed you” his voice rumbles in his chest and he leans down to kiss me. I slap his hand away from my face and take a step back. He looks surprised by my action. He takes a step closer trying to eliminate the space between us and I take a step back once again raising my hands to him.

“Don’t come any closer” I mumble out as I am now trembling in my own skin. Ben looks at me from head to toe. A smirk appears on his lips and he holds out his hand for me to take.

“Elise..” he begins but I cut him off by turning around with my back to him.

“I’m sorry..” his voice trembles and my heart feels like it’s been stabbed.

I hear him take a step but before I can react, I’m engulfed in his arms. His warmth covers me as his arms wrap tightly around my waist and my back is pinned to his chest. He buries his head in my neck and inhales deeply. I close my eyes at the familiar feeling and instantly, flashes of his arms around the red haired woman flood my mind.

“How long..” I whisper, as I open my eyes and regain my senses. Ben spins me around to look directly into my eyes.

“How long have you been cheating?” I ask firmly, demanding an answer.

“Does it really matter?” He tilts his head at me. I remove his arms from around me and begin to storm toward the kitchen.

“All that matters is how we’re going to get past this Elise” he says behind me, his voice full of arrogance.

I reach the kitchen counter and slightly lean over it. Drops seem to suddenly appear on my hands as I look down and tears begin to flow. I turn to face him and meet his gaze.

“You’ve humiliated me for the last time” I spit out as I feel anger begin to boil in my veins. Ben smiles and a soft chuckle leaves his lips as he saunters towards. I stand my ground. He raises his hand and brushes strands of hair out of my face and places them behind my ear. He then cups my jaw and raises my face to meet his eyes. He leans down until I can feel his breath on my lips.

“You can’t leave me Elise” I search his eyes as his words sink in and his face now lies like an emotionless mask. He pulls my face to him so his lips touch the shell of my ear.

“I won’t let you” he whispers and fists his hand in my hair holding it tightly in his grip and pulls my head back to stare at my face again. I see his eyes flash to my lips. He smashes his lips on mine and holds me in place forcefully as I try to wiggle out of his hold. My efforts are useless. Instinctively, I bite down on his bottom lip causing him to finally break his hold on me. I run around the counter and reach in the drawer for a knife. I hold it out in front of me pointed in his direction. Ben smiles as he touches his lip and then looks down at his fingers realizing I have drawn blood. My hands shake as he begins towards me, a predatory look in his eyes.

“I think you should leave” my voice shaky as fear clouds my mind.

“Stop!” I shout, my hands still shaking as I take steps backward. He doesn’t stop and comes to stand in front of me. His eyes daring me to make move. I gasp as Ben snatches the knife from my hands and throws it on the counter.

Ben grabs me and wrap his arms around me and squeezes the air out of me. I try to fight to escape his hold but it is useless. My vision becomes faded and I’m about to pass out.

“Ben.. please.. I can’t.. breathe” I gasp as I plead for air.

Suddenly, his arms fall from around me and he falls to his knees in front of me. He wraps his hands around my thighs and buries his face in my legs. I’m in shock and stand there frozen. How did we come to this?

“I’m sorry baby” his voice cracks as I realize he is now crying.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you” he sobs into my legs. I look down at him. His short wavy hair is all I can see. I rub my hands over his head and I take a deep breath. Maybe we can get through this. The thought flees my mind as something catches my eye. A red stain on his shirt collar. It’s lipstick. Most likely from the red haired woman.

“How stupid do you think I am?” My voice firm as I step out of his hold on my legs. Ben raises his head and stares at my face. Moments pass and he stands up, his crying magically stops and a smug smirk appears on his face.

“Elise..” he places his hand on my chin and wiggles it.

“You are as stupid as they come” his demeanor now changed to that of a menacing one. He lets go of my chin and walks away from me as I replay the last few moments over and over in my head.

I turn to his direction and see he is headed towards the door. I slowly walk behind him. He reaches for the door handle.

“I’ll give you some space for now..” he says with his back toward me. He then looks over his shoulder at me.

“But this isn’t over” he opens the door and leaves.

I stand frozen, staring at the closed door, replaying those moments over and over. I realize I don’t really know Ben at all. After the three years of being together and a year of living together, the person I saw moments ago is a complete stranger. My heart thumps loudly in my chest as the thought of him coming back invaded my mind. I hurry in search of my phone to call Allison.

“Ali.. I need a place to stay for a while” I try to get a grip on my trembling limbs.

“Of course, I’m coming right over” she replies without hesitation.

I lay on the bed trying to grasp the current circumstances. I realize I must get out of this and away from Ben. There’s a knock at the door and I hear Allison’s voice. I walk over to the door and open it. Allison looks me over checking to see if I’m hurt. When she’s satisfied with what she sees I am embraced in her arms. Her worried stance makes me get teary eyed and she walks us over to the bed in the loft. She sits me down and I tell her everything that had happened. From the details of the night I caught Ben and what transpired this evening. She sits beside me holding my hand and listens to every word intently.

“You can stay with me as long as you like E” her hand comes up to bring my head to rest on her shoulder. I feel like I’m crumbling into pieces right before my eyes and there’s nothing I can do about it.

Allison goes to the closet and pulls out the green suitcase and begins to pack some clothes for a few days.