I nod my head, looking away from her, not pressing it anymore. She reaches out and places her hand on top of mine. My gaze shifts back to her. A small smile lays across her face.
“Everything will be okay.”
Rya’s voice is soft and reassuring but something still stirs in the pit of my gut, not knowing what changed. Her fingers squeeze mine before she lets my hand go. All I can think is, how does she know everything will be okay? Usually when we have problems with our husbands, we’re always there defending one another. As girlfriends always do. But this time, it seems as if she’s defending him in a way.
I pull my arms down by my side and rest them on my lap. This whole weekend, I was doing pretty good not thinking about anything. Rya was a big help too. But now that Monday is creeping up, I feel like I’m getting the Sunday blues. Not the regular Sunday blues about going back to work but for me going back home.
Has Zayn been confiding in Rya more than me? He is her best friend. We were all best friends at one point and still are. I just thought he would come to me as his wife. I trust my friends with my whole heart. They’ve never once made me second-guess anything.
I turn back to Rya and let my doubts fade away. I can trust that if anything were that bad and if Zayn were going to her, she would tell me.
Right?
It’s a new week, a fresh start. New weeks are great because I leave the past behind and strive for a better one.
I had a good weekend with Rya. It helped clear my head, something I needed. Ezra was extra cautious to not ruin our girls’ weekend. That’s what we ended up calling it. Zayn never once reached out to me after the first time.
It still stung that he never reached out again after days of not hearing from me. It felt like he didn’t even miss me. I know I thought space would be good for us, but I didn’t think that meant we’d not talk all weekend.
As I’m curled up on the couch, I’m still wondering what is going on with Zay. Even now that we haven’t seen each other since Friday, and here it is Monday night, he still isn’t home from work. Even though I had a great weekend and day, here I am contradicting my emotions. Sometimes it’s hard being a woman. We’re overly emotional about everything. Well, maybe not all women, but I sure am at times. Sometimes I think having the emotions of a man would be better.
The sound of the garage opening sounds through the house. That must be Zay now. Usually, I would get up and greet himat the door, but right now I’m torn about what to do. I continue reading my thriller book to ignore any nagging feelings that I don’t want to resurface. I opted for a thriller over a romance because—well, I’m not so much into romance right now.
The sound of Zay’s footsteps comes closer to me. I glance up and notice a bouquet of pink flowers in his hand. My favorite color. Even though so many people think my favorite color is violet because it’s my name. I do love violet and my name, but I’m more into the lilac or lavender colors. Those colors pair very well with my skin tone. Pink, not so much. But I still buy a lot of pink stuff.
Zay sits next to me on the couch, his shoulders slump over and his gaze is soft. “I’m sorry, Vi,” he says, handing me the bouquet.
I reach for the flowers, smiling at how pretty they are. I can’t help but smile. “What are you apologizing for?”
His head tilts, eyeing me. “Everything. I feel bad about the way I acted when all you were trying to do was talk.”
I shift in my seat, sitting up taller. “What was even going on?”
He scratches his head, avoiding eye contact with me. “I’m just stressed,” he says, focusing his gaze back on me. He sighs. “Work’s been rough, and I’ve been taking it out on you when I shouldn’t have.”
I nod slightly. “I appreciate the apology. But you need to talk to me instead of shutting me out. We’ve always been open with each other. Why did you shut me out this time?”
His eyes flicker with guilt. “I know… I just.” He pauses, avoiding eye contact with me. “I was trying to handle it on my own.”
I narrowed my gaze at him in confusion. “Did I do something to make you not want to open up to me?”
He shakes his head quickly. “No. This isn’t on you.”
“Okay, then why didn’t you want to come to me? I’m still confused?”
He runs his hand down his face. “I don’t know, Vi. This time I didn’t want to talk about it.” His voice comes out sharp.
Is it better to let this go even though it stings? He used to share everything with me. Now, it’s like a wall is slowly growing between us. People change over time, and maybe he doesn’t want to talk like he used to, but it’s hard not to wonder if something’s wrong. I could be overthinking it.
I reach out and place my hand on his knee. “Okay, I trust that you are fine, and it was only a stressful week.”
He places his hand over mine. A slight smile creeps up onto his face. “Umm, there is something else.”
My brows shoot up. “What?”
He reaches into his pocket and hands me his phone. I reach out for it, observing the broken screen. My touch doesn’t even light the screen up. “What happened?”
“Work.”
