.....Sticks and Stones.....
JC pulled into the driveway slowly, his heart weighing heavily with guilt, remembering the fight he'd had with his girlfriend the night before. Guilt, not merely about the arguement, but the way he had handled the situation in it's entirety. Feeling cornered, he ran, leaving her alone to ponder their future and question his safety. He knew he should have returned to her, but foolish pride forced him to check into the first hotel he'd found and not look back.
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Climbing from the truck, JC made his way across the cobblestone path, up the back steps of the home they had shared for the past year. After fumbling with his keys for several moments, he unlocked the door and stepped inside the dimly lit kitchen. He sighed deeply, taking� in the beautifully set table. Candles...flowers...Despite the night before, she had still been waiting for him.
As was routine, he trudged up the staircase and stepped into the nursery to check on their infant before going to bed. He stepped up to the rail and gazed down, running his finger across the velvety cheek of his four month old daughter. JC smiled, leaning down to kiss her goodnight.
"G'night angel...."
He left quietly, crossing the hallway to enter his own room, peeling his shirt from his body as he travelled the short distance. He rotated his shoulders, his body limp with exhaustion, every muscle screaming from the evening of abuse. Another six hour rehearsal for the upcoming tour, signaling another absence from home. He slipped into the bedroom without a look in her direction, making his way through the darkness into the bathroom. JC filled the tub and stripped, finally lowering himself into the steaming water. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, sliding beneath the water's surface. Emerging once again, he groaned and leaned his head against the wall allowing the heat to relax his aching muscles.....
.......JC climbed from the chilled bath and wrapped a towel around his slim hips, returning to the bedroom. He stumbled across the room to the bureau, opening the drawer to search for his pajamas. A note taped to the mirror caught his eye and he pulled it away, turning the paper toward the light which peaked through from the bathroom doorway. His eyes filled with tears of shame as he read the simple words she had written. Words which came directly from her heart.
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���������������������������������������������������������� Sticks and Stones are hard on bones
����������������������������������������������������� aimed with angry art,
���������������������������������������������� Words can sting like anything
������������������������������������������������ but silence breaks the heart
JC lifted his head and looked into the mirror, taking in her reflection from across the room, seeing her for the first time.
....Lying alone in their bed....
....One of his flannel shirts wrapped around her body....
....His pillow clutched tightly in the circle of her arms...
He approached her slowly and sat on the edge of their bed, his eyes running� across her sleeping form. Reaching� over, JC brushed the curls from her face, his hand sliding down, trailing his finger across her chin. She smiled in her sleep, sighing contentedly. Pausing� for only a second, JC leaned down, to kiss her tender lips. When he pulled back, her eyes opened slowly, focusing on his face.
"Joshua?"
He nodded, lowering his head. "Yeah...I'm home."
She pulled herself to a sitting position, fighting the urge to embrace him. Instead she drew her knees to her chest, hugging them tightly against her. For what seemed like an eternity, they sat there with no knowledge of where to go from that point. A thousand unspoken words hung heavily in the air. It was she that broke the silence.
"Are we through, Josh? I need to know where to go from here. It's not fair for you to leave me in this state of confusion.� If you want your space now... I need to hear you say the words. If you don't love me, tell me...I can't continue to question."
Bringing his finger to her lips, he paused the release of her words. "Wait....Please. I do love you. With all that I am, and I hate myself for making you question that. I hate myself for putting you through this. It's YOUR love I don't understand. I don't make it easy for you to love me."
Reaching forward, she cupped his face in her hands, bringing him closer. "Why the silence, Joshua? I can fight back with words, I can fight back with my fists...But I need you to talk to me. I can't compete with the unknown..."
JC stood slowly, stepping away from the bed, and looked down at her. Her eyes were so full of hope, the love she had for him was evident on her face. "I always thought love was supposed to be simple. You fall in love with someone and the happily ever after inevitably follows. It's not that easy. Everytime I look around there's something else threatening to tear us apart. If we're meant to be, why should everything be such a struggle?"
She climbed from the bed and stood before him. "Do you want to know the way I see things?"
JC nodded, desperate for a sense of understanding, praying for her to say the words which would set his heart and soul at ease.
Taking his hands in hers, she laced their fingers together. "NOTHING worth having is ever easy. In this world there are a million things which challenge us everyday, battering our spirits, testing our will. We can fight them alone and let them break us down Joshua, or we can stand against them together. The choice is ours. I CAN live without you if I have to. But I don't want to."
JC shook his head, tears sliding down his face. "I don't want that either. I love you. I NEED you. I don't have the luxury of choice anymore. You are as essential as the air I breathe........you're a part of me. You and Jordan. " Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her toward him, resting his cheek on her shoulder.
She held him tightly as his body shook violently, wrought with emotion, exposing his soul to her more completely than he had ever done in the past.
She pulled back, forcing him to gaze into her eyes. "Promise me one thing, Joshua."
JC nodded, his eyes promising to give her the world if it was that which she desired. "Anything. "
"No matter what. Promise me that you'll always leave ONE word unspoken."
He pulled her close again in a promise of endless love..........
Webster's would have to find another word to use in parting... for it just lost one entry