Rediscovering Love: Jaron and Carlie's Story

It was storming. Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the clouds in a haunting display of pale yellow and blue. The wind howled as it blew against the walls of our houses, rattling windows and doors and shaking the foundations beneath our feet. Thunder crashed, shaking the ground beneath us. Rain poured, washing away the blood and sweat and tears that stained my clothes and skin, but it could not wash away the memory of what I had done.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” Carlie said from behind me. Her voice was calm and soothing, trying to convince me that she believed her own words.

“You don’t know that,” I snapped, finally turning around to face her. “I killed him. I didn’t mean to,” I started. “He was just there, when we woke up. He looked at me like I was his wife, like all those years we had been together meant something to him.” My hands balled into fists and I slammed them against the kitchen table. “But they didn’t. We fought more than we ever made love. We argued over stupid little things and tried to hurt each other with our words.”

Carlie took a step forward, her arms stretched out in front of her, as if she were trying to stop me from falling off a cliff. “You don’t have to do this alone,” she whispered.

“Yes, I do,” I said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “I knew going into this thing with you that I would have to deal with shit like this. You can’t expect me to know what you’re going through, or to understand it.”

Carlie laughed. “We’re both fucking crazy,” she said. “I don’t need someone to understand me, I need someone to help me through this.”

“I don’t know what to do,” I admitted. “I don’t know how to go on without him.”

“I don’t either,” Carlie said. “But I have to.”

I took a step back and sat down on the couch behind me. Carlie walked around the kitchen table, took a seat beside me, and reached her hand out, taking mine in hers. “It’s going to be okay,” she said. “We’re going to get through this.”

A flash of lightning lit up the sky and a deafening crash of thunder shook the house. I jumped, squeezing Carlie’s hand tighter. She squeezed back and turned to look at me.

“We’re going to be fine,” she said.

“How can you say that?” I asked.

“Because we have each other,” she answered.

I looked back at her and smiled. “I guess we do.”

“We’ll get through this,” Carlie said. “Together.”