Chapter 6 - Wade's mistake.
996 Words
I must have crawled into bed after scubbing my face clean of the make-up and tears and fell into a dark sleep. I feel a heavy thump onto the bed, and I jolt up realising it's only Reaper and I breathe a sigh of relief and lie back down, then I notice a figure standing by the door. I switch on the bedside lamp to see a swaying Wade, looking very dishevelled.
"Ava, baby..."
He starts walking towards me, with tears in his eyes.
"Are you drunk ?"
I accuse.
"Avs, my beautiful wife. Let me make this all up to you."
He sits next to me in bed and leans in to kiss me whilst brushing hair out of my face.
" Not a chance, you just want a drunken fumble, and it isn't going to be with me. Where have you been ?"
I glance at the bedsite clock, and the digital, red light reads 3.23am.
"It's nearly 3.30 in the morning Wade, you skip out on me on our wedding night and go god knows where with God knows who and you want to crawl back into bed with me, pissed as a cricket ?"
"I've been at the bar getting an ear bashing off your brother."
He replies, looking very sheepish.
"Good, you deserved it!"
"He called me a stupid asshat and told me this was my chance to make things right. So here I am."
He smiles meekly at me.
I get out of bed, forgetting I sleep naked. I quickly picked up his shirt that he just discarded onto the dresser stool and put it on.
"Why... why can I smell women's perfume ?"
I mutter, unsure if what I said was audible.
Wade stares at me wide-eyed. Oh, he heard me. I wave my hand at him and head for the door. I'm not staying up the rest of the night hearing him out. I walk towards the stairs, the sofa will do for a few more hours.
"Ava, Avs, please wait."
"I did wait for you, Wade. Most of my life, to be honest."
I scurry down the stairs, realising the words that openly fell out of my mouth. The clicking of Reaper's claws following behind me.
I get rudly awakened again by the radio automatically blasting the news, and the weather reporter states it's 6.30. I decide to get up and try to find a door to let Reaper out to pee. I hear the news reporter say something about a newly wed businessman leaving a nightclub with a mystery woman, apparently being his new wife. As a click on the kettle to make a coffee leaving Reaper, do his business in peace.
The gravity of the words the news reporter on the radio said, come flooding in and I run for the living room to put the TV news on to see for myself, what I'm hoping isn't true. There, in full colour on the 50" is a picture snapped of Wade still in his wedding suit with a tall brunette. I hear Wade running down the stairs yelling.
"Ava, don't turn on the..."
I know he's stood behind me, I just can't take my eyes off the screen. How could he. I can't face him, utterly shell-shocked.
"They say she's your wife. That she's your type, Wade. We look nothing alike. She's tall and brunette, and your shirt stinks of gucci. I'm so short and blonde. and not your type."
I finish off with not much more than a mutter, tears running down my face, showing no sign of stopping. I turn to rush off past him, not noticing he walked up behind me, and he grabs my hand to pull me to him, soothing the back of my head shushing me into his chest.
"Baby, Avs, look at me."
I can't, I can't look at his face, I know I'll cave and I can't let him see me like this. I try to pull away, but he's got an arm securely around me.
"Princess, let me see your beautiful blue eyes. Look at me, please."
"What did you do ?" I say, buried into his chest.
"I didn't mean to. It meant nothing, just a stupid drunken kiss, I was walking her to a taxi. Then I came home to you."
I push him from me.
"and I'm supposed to be f*****g grateful that you came home to me. You f*****g kissed her, your 'wife'."
The front door swings open and we both turn to see his parents marching in, Gary bright red in anger.
"You silly, silly boy!"
Gary yells at him.
"Mum, dad, do you I mind, I'm trying to sort this with my wife."
"Ava, sweetheart, are you okay?"
Diane comes to me, and I place myself down in the chair.
"Not really. I don't know what to do or where to go from here."
I bury my head in my hands, trying not to cry again.
"It was only a kiss!"
Wade throws his arms up in the air.
"On your wedding night, Wade. That's a crucial part of insult to injury here, darling."
Diane is trying to reason and peacemake.
"What can we do to help ?"
Diane is still offering help.
"Di, there's something a doctor can't fix."
Gary adds.
"Ava, what do you want or need?"
"I don't know at this moment, maybe an annulment."
Everyone stops and stares at me.
"Avs ..."
Wade starts, and Gary cuts him off.
"That can't happen, darling girl, I assume the start of your wedding night went traditional ?"
I stand, mouth gaping open.
"I...We didn't... He left. Please excuse me!"
I finally make my break for the stairs rushing up to the ensuit. I lock the door and rip his shirt off me, not caring about the cascading of buttons all over the floor. I turn the walk-in shower on, sit there, and I cry my broken heart out.
- Writer
