Two Pieces

It was just another quiet night, in a different city, tainted with the downfall of Rylee and Matt’s relationship. It’s been three days since everything originally went down between the couple. The tension on the bus is thick enough to slice with a knife, making the other guys escape every chance they can. Rylee sat curled up on the couch in the seating area of the bus, reading a pregnancy book. It was quiet enough so that she could concentrate on her reading. The sounds of gunshots and groans occasionally came from the back of the bus. Matt was busy playing video games. She didn’t ask why he didn’t go out with the guys because they weren’t exactly on speaking terms. They make small talk about the baby here and there, but an actual conversation is far from happening. Rylee skimmed through the pages of her book, reading about the various things she should expect when her baby arrives. She couldn’t help but laugh when she read about diaper changing. She pictured Matt changing a diaper, wearing oven mitts and a scarf covering his nose. That’s if she’ll ever see him changing diapers. With the way their relationship is currently going, she may never witness the amusing event. However, him staying on the bus with her despite not being on speaking terms gave her hope. Maybe, just maybe they can get back to where they were before he changed. The thought seemed far-fetched to Rylee, but she’s holding on to that tiny slither of hope. A flutter in the pit of her stomach caused her to stop reading and smile down at her bulging belly. She rubbed it until the feeling stopped and continued to read her book. No more than two minutes later she felt a nudge. She quickly set her book down and ran her hands over her stomach. This time she felt another nudge with her hand and gasped. The baby was kicking for the first time. Without thinking, she ran to the back of the bus and barged through the door.

“Matt! It happened!” she shouted with excitement.

Matt briskly jumped up from the couch at his wife’s sudden outburst. The first thought that came to his mind was that something was wrong with the baby. He knew she wouldn’t want anything to do with him otherwise.

“What?! What happened? Is the baby okay?” he asked, examining her stomach while she tried to calm her breathing. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Rylee finally calmed herself down enough to clarify things.

“No, the baby is just fine. It’s just. . .”

she stopped momentary as tears gathered in her eyes. Damn hormones.

“It’s just what?" Matt asked, now concerned with why she was starting to tear up. He reached out and wiped away a few tears with his thumb. Rylee smiled at the genuine action and grabbed his hand. She placed it on her stomach.

“The baby kicked,” she said, beaming with joy.

Matt ‘s face broke into a huge grin.

“No fuckin’ way! Finally.”

He moved her over to the couch and made her sit. He abruptly sat down next to her and laid his head near her stomach.

“Hi, baby. Can you kick for daddy? Please?” he cooed, gently rubbing her belly.

The scene was very emotional for Rylee. She hasn’t had any contact with Matt in days and here they were, acting as if nothing was wrong to begin with. And she loved every minute of it. She sniffled and wiped away tears while Matt continued to rub and mumble to her stomach. Finally he got the kick he was waiting for. He began to tear up just like Rylee did when she felt the first kick. Feeling the baby kick made the pregnancy seem much more realistic for both of them.

“This is so cool,” he said, finally looking at his wife with a dimpled smile.

Rylee nodded and smiled back. She was still so caught up on the fact that this little life they created is the only thing that can bring them together at their worst.

“I’m just glad you are here to witness it,” she said.

“You know I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

Rylee tired so hard to keep the smart-ass comment from slipping past her lips. But she wasn’t in control anymore; her crazy hormones were.

“Lets be honest. You wouldn’t be here right now if you hadn’t been caught with that whore.”

Matt’s smile turned stiff at her smart comment.

“And there you go, ruining a perfectly good moment with that bullshit,” he said, standing up from the couch.

Rylee felt the walls rising between them again.

“You know its true, Matt,” she said, crossing her arms across her chest.

He paced in front of her with his hands behind his head, trying to stop the anger that was fueling within him.

“You lost interest in this baby. Partying was more important to you.”

That comment was all it took for him to explode.

“Don’t you dare fuckin’ say I lost interest in my child. I love that baby with everything I got. At this point, I love that baby more than I love you.”

Matt regretted those words as soon as they left his mouth. But it was far too late to take them back. Rylee’s heart just took another strike. And it will be twice as difficult to repair. Matt slowly uncovered his hands from his mouth as he looked at his distraught wife. She wasn’t moving or talking. She just sat there, looking back at him with pain etched on her face. Before neither one of them could say anything, Jimmy barged into the room.

“I can’t take this shit anymore. Watching both of you break further and further apart is fucking killing me. Matt, I heard what you just said. And I know you didn’t mean it. I know you fucking love this girl.”

He walked closer to Rylee.

“He loves you, Rylee. I swear on my grandfather’s grave that he does.”

Rylee didn’t flinch. She just sat still, not reacting to anything. Jimmy let out a long sigh.

“Fuck, this’ll be harder than I thought,” he said. “Here’s the deal. I’m going to fix this-“

“Jimmy, you can't-“

“Shut up, Matt. I’m fucking serious. Earlier today I went out and found a marriage counselor. I used my charm and got to talk with her one-on-one tonight at the bar. She gave me suggestions on what to do to possibly fix you two.”

Matt groaned.

“And how the hell are you going to do that? Are you gonna put a fucking spell on us?”

Jimmy laughed at his sarcasm.

“Nope. Not magic, my friend. Handcuff’s!”