Two Pieces

The clock on the wall read noon, but it felt like midnight to Matt. He sat in the seating area of the bus, trying to watch TV. But in reality, the TV was watching him. He focused on the evil device sitting on his lap: his phone. It lay there, taunting him with threats. She’s going to find out. She’s going to leave you. You can’t hide this forever. The taunts were clear as day in his mind. He was delusional. He was sleep deprived. And he was, lack for a better term, Insane, all because he cheated on his wife with some crazy chick. She was driving him to insanity with her inappropriate and absurd text messages, telling him how much she craves the taste he left in her mouth and how she touches herself when thinking of him. Then she’d tell him how much better off he would be with her instead of his wife and how she could let him live the proper rock star life. Messages of this nature were sent frequently and he deleted each and every one of them. But deleting them wasn’t taking care of the issue. It was only masking it. And now he can’t sleep at night because of it. Either he’s lying awake, staring at the tainted device, praying that a text won’t come through and wake his wife or he’s dreaming of Rylee seeing the messages and leaving him.

The sound of his wife’s laughter dragged him from his thoughts. She was busy talking to his mother on the phone while he watched TV. He took in a deep breath and ran his hands over his face. Then he slowly rose from the couch and headed over to the cabinets. He opened them and searched for a box of Ritz Crackers. The box sat behind an unopened bottle of whiskey. He halted and stared at the bottle. The dark honey colored liquid looked so inviting. The corners of his mouth lifted into a smile as if seeing an old friend. Suddenly, the box of crackers became unimportant. He wanted to feel that familiar burn cascade down his throat. He needed something to ease his anxiety and soothe his racing mind. Just a few sips. He looked over his shoulder to make sure his wife was not around to witness. Then he carefully gripped the bottle and unscrewed the top. The strong smell wafted up his nose as he brought it closer to his lips. With a tip of the bottle, it was finally flushing down his throat. He groaned from the burn. Little sips turned into big gulps. It was Deja Vu. He was doing the same thing a few months ago when he feared parenthood. When he dreamt of being a horrible father to his unborn child. When he preferred drinking all night than being with his wife. When he cheated on Rylee. STOP! The word echoed through his mind, making him choke and spew the whiskey from his mouth and into the sink. He sat the bottle down on the counter and flipped up the tap so that the water could flush the wasted alcohol down the drain. He couldn’t let himself slip into drinking again. Drinking never solved his problems. It only made them easier to deal with. He quickly hid the almost empty bottle back in the cabinet and snuck off to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth and tongue harshly, trying to get the smell of whiskey from his breath. He didn’t want Rylee to know he was drinking hard liquor again. It would concern and anger her. After he thoroughly brushed his teeth and wiped his mouth, he made his way back over to the seating area. No longer than ten minutes later, Rylee came out from the back room. Matt smiled at her nervously. He relaxed his posture and welcomed her as she sat down on his lap.

“Hi, Baby, " she leaned in and kissed him.

“Hey, Beautiful,” he replied.

“So, I talked to your mom and she said we can use her address for the crib delivery.”

Matt thought for a second as to what she was talking about. But then he remembered that they picked out a crib from the baby catalog a few days ago. He was starting to forget things again. He blamed it on his lack of sleep.

“Awesome! We’ll pick it up from her place when we get home and then start the nursery,” he said with confidence.

Rylee nodded.

“I can’t wait! One more month of tour and then we can start properly preparing for the baby.”

Matt smiled at her excitement.

“Looks like you got a text,” she said, reaching for his phone.

Matt’s heart jumped to his throat. He snatched the phone from her and pushed her from his lap.

“What the hell!” Rylee snapped from the cushion beside him.

His heart was beating rapidly as he flipped open his phone. His heart settled once he saw that it was just a text from Brian saying he was on his way back from getting Stephanie from the airport. No wonder the bus was empty. The guys’ went to go get Brian’s girlfriend so she could spend the weekend with them in Florida.

“What’s going on, Matt?”

Matt looked over at Rylee. She was frowning and obviously concerned.

Shit!

“Nothing, baby. I was just playing around.”

She still wasn’t convinced but nodded anyway. She watched him closely as he sent Brian a reply and slipped his phone back into his pocket.

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” he asked, gently replacing her back on his lap.

“No, you just shocked me was all.”

He cupped her face and pressed a sweet kiss to her lips.

“I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you with lunch and a foot massage!”

Rylee smirked, “Now you’re talkin’. Maybe you won’t have to sleep on the couch after all.”