Chapter Sixty-Three: He Is a Little Off Tonight. -1

Alyssa

Wyatt seems different tonight. Something feels off. He wanted to have sex to divert our attention from discussing the real reasons behind his worries and frustrations tonight. I had the option to pause and resume our conversation, but I chose not to. He’s so addictive that I can’t resist him. I want to bring it up again, but it will be pointless because he won’t tell me the real reason.

He’s currently taking a shower. After we finished, he vanished into the bathroom. If it were anyone else, I would be feeling used right now. He is not like anyone else, and I understand that he carries past traumas that he’s not yet willing to open up about. I sigh as I get out of bed, throw on a tee, and casually walk to the bathroom. My hand lands on the handle, and to my surprise, it’s not locked.

Inhaling deeply, I make my way inside. The water in the shower is still running.

“Wyatt?” I say softly.

He doesn’t reply immediately, but then his head emerges from the shower. “Yeah?”

“Are you alright?” I ask cautiously.

He flashes his charming smile at me. “I am fine.”

I don’t believe him, but I won’t say any more. I nod and turn to leave.

“Alyssa, where are you going?”

“I’ll head back to the bedroom so you can shower in peace.”

He shakes his head. “No, you aren’t. You will come here and join me.” He states firmly.

Following his instruction, I quickly rush over to join him. I toss my tee aside, and he brings me into the shower. He forces me against the wall and moves closer. Our lips collide with intensity. A deep moan slips out from my lips, but I pull away from the kiss after a moment.

“We should shower and get some food,” I whisper and turn my back to him.

He’s not using sex as a means to avoid everything else, not this time. It’s important for me to have self-restraint. He sighs from behind me and doesn’t say anything. Everything unfolded like this simply because I was half an hour late. That triggered it, but there’s more to the story.

I quickly wash myself. I slip under his arm and leave the shower, quickly wrapping a towel around myself before heading back to my bedroom. I dry myself off and put on sweatpants.

“Alyssa, what is going on? What’s the reason for your behavior towards me?”

It’s evident that he’s annoyed by the tone of his voice. It’s ironic coming from him. I take a deep breath and close my eyes. I want to avoid losing my temper with him or getting into a fight. I redirect my gaze towards him.

“Nothing. Wyatt, I’m not behaving differently. It’s you who’s been behaving strangely tonight.” I say softly.

He is not solely blaming me. “Should I go?” he groans, running his fingers through his wet hair.

I shake my head. “I didn’t say I wanted you to leave, Wyatt. All I ask is for you to be truthful with me. I have shared a lot with you, but you have given me very little in return. I don’t mean sexually. I’m talking about the emotional aspect. You keep shutting me out.”

No, I haven’t shared my life story with him, but he knows a lot. All I know is he’s adopted. Yes, it is a big thing to tell someone, but is it too much to ask for him to share more of his life story with me?

“My past and my life are none of your business, Alyssa.” He snarls.

“Perhaps it’s best if you go.” I hiss and storm out of the bedroom to the kitchen.

Whether he stays or leaves, I couldn’t care less. What he said was hurtful. It made me feel as if I had no importance to him. I’m part of that life, even briefly. He treated me as if I meant nothing to him, merely a plaything. I’m not asking him to tell me every damn detail, but I would like to know what made him the man he is. I want to understand his nightmares and the cause of the brokenness in his eyes.

Chapter Sixty-Three: He Is a Little Off Tonight. -2

I search cabinets and freezers for dinner ideas. I hear Wyatt approaching the living room. He keeps walking without stopping, and then I hear my front door close. He chose to leave.

Frustrated, I groan and forcefully close the cabinet door. How did we get here? We had a good day at the office and spent some time getting coffee afterward before we parted. I’d prefer a large glass of wine over food right now, as I’m not in the mood for eating. I pour a drink and get back into bed, embracing my knees, pulling them close to my chest. The tears try to come, but I fight them. There is no reason for me to shed tears. We had a disagreement, if you can even call it that. Our relationship has been intense since the beginning, so it’s expected that we will have occasional explosive moments. I didn’t expect it to be tonight, though. I take a large sip of my wine and get lost in my thoughts. I don’t know how work will be tomorrow. Will everything return to normal by morning? I suppose I’ll wait and find out.

It’s three in the morning, and I am just beginning to fall asleep. Sleep has been difficult to attain with my busy thoughts. Wyatt hasn’t contacted me since he left. I attempted to call him once, but he didn’t pick up. That’s where I left it. If he’s interested in talking, it’s on him to make the next move.

The sudden sound of my phone ringing jolts me wide awake once more. I knew who it was before even looking. No one else would call me at this time. I grab it and gaze at the screen while it rings. The attached photo shows him in bed, wearing only sweatpants. His hair is slightly dishevelled, and his cheeks are flushed from recently having sex. This photo is one of my favorites of him. He’s fooking good and smiling broadly, which is not a regular sight.

A part of me wants to reject it, but I find myself hitting the accept button.

“Wyatt, what do you want? It is late.” I hiss.

“I’m outside. Come let me in.”

His words are slurred. He is drunk! Did he go to a bar after leaving here?

“Okay, I’ll be there in a minute.”

I quickly get out of bed and rush outside to get him. I don’t want anything to happen to him while he is drunk. He sits on the stairs, swaying and hiding his face in his hands. How much did he have?

I kneel before him. “Wyatt, how much have you had to drink?”

His eyes reveal a hint of sadness as he looks up. I extend my hand to stroke his cheek softly.

“Too much. I’m sorry I left.” He whispers.

“It’s irrelevant for now. Let’s get you inside.”

I assist him to stand and support him as we go inside and up to my apartment. I undress him and get him into bed, leaving him in his boxers. As I attempt to leave and fetch some water, he stops me by grabbing my hand.

“Do you hate me now?”

His lost, broken eyes gaze up at me.

“No, I don’t hate you, Wyatt, I will be back in a minute. You need some water.”

“Please, don’t take too long.”

I flash a smile and quickly retreat to the kitchen to fetch the water before coming back. He is sound asleep by the time I do. I put a blanket over him and plant a kiss on his cheek.

“I wish you would stop being so closed off, Wyatt. You can trust me.”

I climb in next to him. As he sleeps, he rolls and pulls me into his embrace. Will he pretend nothing happened and leave once he sobers up in the morning? I can’t think about it now because I need to sleep. In a few hours, we’ll be up for work. Something I am not sure I can face tomorrow. I’ll handle it.