I’m standing here with my hand on my chest, thinking something happened.
“What?” I ask, walking closer to him.
He narrows his gaze at me with his brows furrowed so hard. “Why are your clothes hanging on my side of the closet?”
My mouth opens, shocked at his questions. “What? Are you kidding me? You yelled my name as if something bad happened. I come running in here only for you to ask me why my clothes are on your side?” I stare at him in disbelief.
“I couldn’t even get to my shirts because you pushed them all the way back and put yours in front.”
My arms hang at my sides, and I’m full of disbelief. “What the fuck, Zay. You act like it’s so hard to push them over, grab your shirt and then push them back.”
He turns his back toward me and pushes my clothes with so much force that some hangers pop off the bar. “I shouldn’t have to do that,” he scoffs.
“It’s not that big of a deal. Why are you getting so mad over something so stupid?”
He throws his shirt over himself aggressively. “It’s not stupid,” he says and walks out.
Frozen in shock, I watch him stomp out of the room. I grab the hangers that fell off the bar and hang them back up. I pull the wet clothes back over, leaving an inch between each item to allow them to dry. Whatever is going on with Zayn, it’s not my problem. He can tough it out with me hanging my clothes on his side of the closet. It’s something I always do, and he’s never had a problem with it before.
Are you kidding me? How dumb.
I lie in bed, trying to focus on my book, hoping it will tire me out and help me fall asleep. Reading has always been my nightly routine, a way to unwind. But tonight, I can’t concentrate on a single word. My mind keeps circling back to Zayn’s outburst over something so stupid. He still hasn’t come to bed, and I assumed he’d come after dinner, but now it feels like he’s avoiding me. My body feels restless. Every nerve is pulsing with tension, making it impossible to settle down, let alone drift off to sleep.
After what feels like hours of lying in bed staring at the ceiling, Zay still hasn’t come to bed. I quietly open the door to the bedroom and walk down the stairs. As soon as I turn the corner, I see him on the couch, fast asleep with the TV on. This is unbelievable. First, he turns sex down.
Again.
Then he freaks out over my clothes, all for him to be sound asleep on the couch. And I’m over here in bed with the most anxiousness I’ve had in a while. Making my thoughts run wild with all kinds of scenarios of what could be going on. JesusChrist. I’m freaking myself out for nothing if he’s sleeping like a baby. I huff and stomp my feet upstairs, hoping to wake him.
Another day, another Pilates class. The morning couldn’t come soon enough. After tossing and turning all night, I finally was able to fall asleep. Not sure what time it was because I knew if I looked at the time it was going to make me more anxious and keep me up longer. When my alarm jingled, my eyes burned from the light, only showing I barely got any sleep.
It was hard to drag myself to Pilates this morning, but I knew with all the tension running through my body, this is exactly what I need.
After the class is over and I’m wiping down the reformer with sanitizer, from the corner of my eye, I see Ashley heading toward me. “Hey girl.”
“Hey, how are you?”
She sits down on the bench next to me. I’m sure she’s tired. It’s ten in the morning and she starts teaching at six in the morning. “Good. So, I wanted to ask you about this event I’m having here.” I nod, listening. “I’m doing a sound bath event and I’m having a nutritionist come and give everyone a little spill on eating healthy and all that fun stuff.”
“Uh huh,” I say, narrowing my eyes at her.
“I was hoping you could bake some of your sourdough bread to share after the sound bath, while the nutritionist discusses healthy eating. Since sourdough is a lot better for you than regular grocery store bread, I thought it would be a good idea. What do you think?” she asks, tilting her head and maintaining eye contact with me.
“I would love to. That sounds fun.”
Her brows raise. “Oh, good, and it would be a great way to get your business out there.”
I slip on my shoes. “Yeah, actually, that would. Thank you for thinking of me.”
She stands up and places a hand on my arm. “Of course. You’re so fun to have in class, and we small businesses have to stick together.”
A wide smile forms on my face. “Yes. We do.” Because, truth be told, word of mouth is one of the best ways to get your small business out there.
“I’ll text you later this week with more details.”
“Okay, sounds good,” I say as I exit the studio and head for my car. A smile is still on my face with how proud I am of how far I’ve come with this business. Especially with hardly any help.
I let out a sigh as I turn my car on, thinking about going back home with all the negative tension in the air. I never saw Zayn this morning. He left before I woke up. I pull out of the parking lot the opposite way to my house. Is Zayn even at work? Did he get fired? Is that why he’s acting like this?
