The Contract Next Door

The Receipt

Sienna’s POV;

The next morning, I wake up before Ryan.

I could barely sleep anyways.

The messages I saw the previous night all came rushing back.

You can’t keep lying to her.

You promised she’d be the first to know.

“You can’t hide this forever…”

I turn to look at Ryan. He looks so peaceful, so unbothered.

Compared to how unsettled I feel.

It’s Saturday. We’re supposed to go out together today. We have talked about it all week long- lunch at that new place downtown. Something to feel like us again.

I stare at the ceiling and listen to him breathe.

You promised she’d be the first to know.

First to know what?

I roll over and watch him. For a while, I consider letting it go. Making breakfast, being normal.

Then he wakes up.

He blinks at me and smiles a half-asleep smile.

“Morning.” He says with a hoarse voice. He leans over and kisses my forehead.

“Did you sleep well? You were tossing.”

“Yeah I slept fine.”

He sits up, stretches and reaches for his phone on the nightstand just to check the time and put it back down.

“Do you still want to try lunch at that new place today?”

“We can leave around 12.”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

He is acting so normal that it makes my stomach drop.

Maybe I’m just overthinking everything as usual. Maybe it was actually nothing, just about work and not what I was thinking.

After sometime, we’re in the kitchen.

Ryan is making pancakes for us, while I make coffee.

I finish before he does and sit at the counter holding a mug of coffee I haven’t taken a single sip from.

“Ryan?”

“Hmm?” He doesn’t look at me.

“Who was the woman texting you last night?”

He stops what he is doing and turns to look at me.

“We’re doing this again?” He says.

The atmosphere suddenly shifts to a much more dramatic one.

“I’m not trying to fight.” I say quickly.

“Especially not today. Its just that I saw the messages on your phone and they sound quite personal.”

“You went through my phone?”

“No I did not go through your phone. I was just passing by the table when the notifications popped up that’s all.”

He picks up the phone, looks at it and put it faced down. As if I have contaminated it.

“Do you seriously think that just because we’re together, you get to read through my messages? Come on Sienna. That’s an invasion of my privacy.”

His voice isn’t loud.

“I’m not trying to see every message on your phone, Ryan. I just saw one message and I want to know what she means by that.”

He runs his fingers through his hair looking frustrated. He looks like he’s deciding what and how much to tell me.

“She’s someone from work.” He says finally.

“She’s going through some personal stuff. I told her I’d help her handle it.I promised I’d keep it private because its not my business to share.”

“Then why did she say you were lying to me?”

“Because she misunderstood. She thinks I told you something I haven’t told you yet, its complicated.”

“What haven’t you told me?”

He’s brainstorming what to say. I can see it on his face plus he’s taking too long to answer.

“Work might be moving me to a different shift, one that would make me come home very late. We spoke about it in a meeting last week and I didn’t want to bring it up till it was confirmed. I didn’t want to worry you for no reason and ruin our weekend. She knew about it because she was in the meeting as well.”

It’s sort of believable. Just barely. It doesn’t really satisfy but it also doesn’t give me anything else to believe.

And then he looks at me and his expression changes to a much softer one. He doesn’t look angry. He looks hurt.

“After everything we’ve been through, you really think I’d cheat on you? He said quietly.

That hit me. Hard.

After three whole years together.

And I’m letting just 3 text messages ruin it all.

“I don’t want to be with someone who is constantly suspicious of me. I get that you’re insecure sometimes, but you have to trust me Sienna.”

I hate that word. Insecure. I’ve always told myself I would never be that kind of girlfriend. The controlling one who wants access to everything. I believe everyone deserves privacy even in a relationship.

Have I crossed a line?

“I’m sorry.” I say.

“I didn’t mean to ruin today.”

He doesn’t answer right away. He lets the silence sit there for a while.

Then he comes around the corner and pulls me into a hug.

“I get why you’re worried. I just need you to trust me.”He murmurs into my hair.

“We’re still on for lunch?”

“I do trust you. And yes, lunch is still on.”

I want to believe him. More than anything. So I do.

He kissed my forehead and let me go.

I watch him go,then I hear the bedroom door close.

I feel guilty for starting an argument. I tell myself to let it go so we can enjoy our Saturday.

He gets dressed, humming in the room like everything is fine again.

I on the other hand clean up the kitchen and later go and get dressed for our lunch date.

On the Lunch date…

Everything feels normal again. We talk about the most random things, laugh over our food and tease each other like we’ve always done. We’re just a normal couple enjoying each other’s presence and lunch together.

While we’re eating, his phone buzzes.

My eyes immediately move there.

He notices.

He turns the phone face down.

I look away.

I don’t want to start another argument.

Ryan then reaches across the table to hold my hand.

“We’re okay, right?”He asks.

I nod.

“Yes we are.”

But then his phone vibrates once again.

Ryan picks it up and looks at the screen.

His expression changes for a second then he quickly put it away.

I notice.

But I choose not to react because I trust him.

After lunch, we walk around for a while, get ice cream and go home.

When we get home, Ryan goes to the bathroom to take a shower.

I’m tidying up the living room when I pick up Ryan’s jacket to hang.

Something from the pocket falls on the floor.

I bend down to pick it up.

It’s a receipt.

It’s not from today’s lunch.

It’s dated a few days ago.

When Ryan told me he was working late on a report.

I check the number of people the receipt catered for.

Two.

Two meals. A bottle of wine.

I stare at the receipt, my heart pounding.

“Babe, have you seen my jacket?”

I freeze.

Ryan is standing behind me.