Something Old

The sweet smell of sweat and passion lingered in the room as i tangled my legs with Jared's beneath the sheets, laying my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat steady. His fingertips traced intricate patterns on my arms, and I looked up into his brown, almost black eyes that always encompassed me in a world all their own. His hair fell slightly into his eyes, causing me to chuckle. It was a scene straight from high school, except the ring on my finger had different meaning. His tan skin was a few shades darker than my own, and I found myself imagining what our children would look like. His smile pulled me back into this sweet reality, where evening light was beginning to shine through the curtains. He kissed my forehead, right below my hairline, causing me to gasp and laugh. His lips caught mine one last time before he separated himself from me, getting out of bed in order to hunt down his sweat pants that had disappeared sometime in the events of the afternoon.

"Hungry, babe?" The easy canter in his tone sent my heart soaring, and I reached for my silk robe and secured it around my body. He looked me up and down, and ran his hand over my shapely hip. I was proud of my Latin genes, they gave me an amazingly curved body that he loved more than anything, I smiled and nodded, too happy and caught up in the moment to speak. He took my hand and led me to the kitchen, where he went on preparing the meal I had already started hours before. It was easy to forget how strange things were prior to this moment.

"So, how was your day, Amor?" My voice was light and airy, and my stomach fluttered at the smile playing on his lips.

"Oh, you know, same old same old. Taking care of you and your ever growing list of needs." I walked around the counter and picked up the oven mitt, flinging it at his head as his laugh filled the room, "I joke! I joke!" I laughed with him and snaked my arms around his neck, feeling his wrap around my waist. He pulled me in for a sweet kiss, mumbling into my lips, "I lov-."

His declaration went unfinished as his cell phone rang. I was literally thrown to the side causing me to bang my hip against the handle on the oven, surely leaving a bruise as he ran to answer whatever call was coming in at, I checked the clock on the stove, 6:30 in the evening, I couldn't hear his voice from the living room, so I rubbed my throbbing hip and stirred the boiling rice, waiting for him to return so I could find out what was SO important. He sauntered back in to the kitchen a couple minutes later, and I turned around in a huff, "What was that all about?"

"Nothing, nothing." His voice sounded distant, and he wouldn't meet my eyes.

I narrowed my eyes in confusion, "Was it work?" I questioned,

He blinked rapidly and shifted his weight from one bare foot to the other, his words stumbling to form a coherent sentence, "Uh, yeah. Work. Actually, Cor, I gotta go in for a sec, I'll pick up something on the way home, okay?" His eyes flicked to mine briefly before he turned and all but ran into the bedroom, exiting in a pair of dark jeans and a tight fitting blue t-shirt. He slammed the door without so much as a goodbye, and my hip throbbed with the force of my pounding pulse. I didn't notice the rice was boiling over until it burnt my hand, which caused me to shriek with the sound of his Camaro peeling out of the driveway. I ran my hand under the cold tap and gently bandaged with Aloe and self-adhesive wrap before turning off the stove.

My stomach turned into an uneasy pit of rocks, and I wondered where our romantic afternoon had gone. Anger boiled through my veins as I thought about whatever he could be hiding from me. He hasn't acted like this since...No. I couldn't' allow myself to think that. Jared got sober a long time ago, and was done dealing with the illegal markets.

The doorbell let out it's sharp cry, interrupting my thoughts. An all too familiar ghostly pale image flashed before the window, making my blood run cold, and had me finding myself reaching in the bottom drawer by the sink for Jared's gun.