Repeat and Retribution

A wide, sweet smile formed on her face as Crystal reached out her arms to greet the glimmering sunshine that peeked through the curtains, it’s rays prick and tickled her skin as she reached out for it, trying to feel the warmness that it brings. Letting out a long sigh she turns to her side to see the man beside her comfortably snuggled underneath the sheets, looking like a sweet babe, she watched his exposed chest rose up and down, still showing some drops of sweat from last night, the man’s eyes were still shut but his breath was heavy. Clyde hasn’t changed a bit, the man still looks so dashing in her eyes the same as five years ago, from the very first moment that she saw him walking down the steps of the library without a care in the world. The moment their eyes met the time seemed to have stopped as Crystal became mesmerized with the man’s dazzling grin, showing a pair of perfectly aligned pearly white teeth, looking all smooth and fresh with his neatly brushed hair and clean-shaven face. He looked so dashing with his black pants and suite over his fitted white v-neck shirt. For her, it made him even hotter that made her insides twitch as it showcased his strong legs and well build upper body. The click from behind her made Crystal flinch, waking her from her sudden daydream, her hands were lightning fast as she pressed the clock in the bedside table, as she knew that it was about to make that loud buzzy tingling noise. She didn’t want to ruin that wake him up as she still wanted to savor the quiet moment together with him. A few more minutes and Crystal finally decides to move, she slowly slides out of the bed, tip-toeing as she walked and picked up her scattered clothes on the floor along with Clyde’s. She couldn’t help but giggle as she picked up the leathery cuffs, suddenly remembering last night's intense and appalling events. Even she did not think that she was capable of such things as she was not really that comfortable with such acts. Though it made her feel a bit uncomfortable she couldn’t deny the fact that the feeling of power she had during those times was an unforgettable experience. After clearing up all the clutter Crystal moved through the room as if she was hovering, her steps light as a feather. The door didn’t even make a sound as she opened it allowing her to leave the man in peace, though she was sure it would take much more than a simple noise to wake him. Walking down the stairs with a wide smile on her face she moves straight to the kitchen. She danced as she took the pan and kettle, humming a slow steady tune from one of her favorite music, even aligning the flick and switching on of the stove before placing the pan and kettle on top of it. Her hips moved like round and round as she grooved to her own rhythm as she took out the eggs, bacon, and milk along with the batter that she prepared yesterday. Crystal’s hands swish and waved as she began putting on the mix on the pan, jiving to the crisp, crackling sound of gooey cake mix meeting the well-heated pan. The kettle even whistled along as steam came out of it. After flipping the last of the pancakes she starts throwing in the bacon along with the cracking of eggs, keeping her jive to the sounds of spluttering and crackling as the hot oil began searing from the heat, cooking the fat and wholeness of the food. Crystal was so enthralled with her own little performance that she was not able to notice the man that was leaning on the kitchen entrance, grinning as he watched her. “I’m glad your happy.” the man chuckled. The familiar cheerful voice made Crystal stop her lip-sing as she turned wide-eyed and mouth opened. “Clyde!” she gasped as she held the spatula tightly. Crystal could not help but hold her breath, seeing the man already in his dressed in his jeans and v-neck shirt, holding his jacket on the side. His hair was still a mess from their previous encounter and his eyes were still half-closed, obviously from lack of sleep. “Why didn’t you wake me up?” Clyde yawned. Crystal ended up biting her lower lip seeing the man already fixed and ready for the day. There was a pang on her chest knowing what that meant for her. “I prepared breakfast for you! Your favorite, bacon, eggs with pancakes.” She says showing the table. Clyde grinned. “You shouldn’t have.” With a quick stride, he was already beside it and pulling out a chair. With a quick pour and mix and she was done with the mug that was still smoking hot as she stirred the black liquid in it while carefully walking towards him. “Here’s your coffee, black, like you want it.” she places the piping hot drink beside his plate before sitting beside him. “Thanks.” Clyde continued to gobble his food not giving a glance. He still had syrup and oil on his face as he munched on the pieces of meat that was on his plate, Crystal’s couldn’t help herself. She quickly picked her napkin to wipe the dirt off his face. A quick smile and nod were all she got, making her chest tighten. Not wanting to hold it out any longer she made a deep breath to muster enough courage to speak. “Clyde, are you certain about this? I mean, everything’s already set up and I’m sure we can still work something out.” Her voice though she tried to make it clear was still a bit shaky. That made the man stop, closing his eyes he slowly lowered the fork as he let out a deep sigh. When he opened his eyes to look at her, it had that deep, lifeless shade once again that’s been haunting her these past few weeks. “Babe, it’s better this way, I need more time,” Clyde says in a straight and deep voice. Though it sent a cold, prickling feeling inside her chest, she still was able to keep her mind straight. “But, I already sent the invitations and my mom and dad were looking forward to this,” she says once more, clenching her hands together as she still was not losing hope. “I thought we agreed on this,” Clyde’s voice was stern as he straightened himself before sipping his coffee. “But, the cancellation fee’s….” Crystal wasn’t able to complete her words as the man’s eyes squinted, she was suddenly trembling when she saw the sharp look in his eyes. “It’s better than having to pay for the whole thing, it will save us a lot more money. We still have bills to pay, remember,” he says frowning. “Yes, of course.” She ended up lowering her head as she felt so small right now. Her insides twist and turned as she felt that sudden rush of piercing pain scattering all over her body once more. She didn’t think that this was going to happen, especially since they had already planned all of it. She wasn’t sure what went wrong as they had been preparing for it for months now, from the catering to the venue, up to the church. Everything seemed fine until a few weeks ago. “I need to go, I’m already late.” Clyde immediately stood up as he looked at his wristwatch, his face creased again while seeing the time. Again he was quick on his feet as he moved out of the kitchen, into the living room picking up his things along the way. Crystal remained behind him, following the man until he was out of the door. “I’ll see you tonight!” she calls out to him as the man walked to his car. “Yeah.” The man didn’t, just waved a hand before getting in the vehicle. Crystal remained at the front door, waving goodbye as she watched Clyde drove away. The weight in her chest increasing as she saw the car slowly vanish. Her footsteps became heavier as she climbed back up to their room, the tightening in her chest felt much more intense than before. She also suddenly felt lightheaded from holding out the tears that had been wanting to come out of her eyes a while ago. She didn’t want to show it to Clyde because she knew he wouldn’t like it and she didn’t want to cause any more trouble between them. But, she was just really disappointed and worried as to what was happening right now. All this time she thought that they would proceed with the wedding as they had planned before, yet seeing as how Clyde acted again, it was obvious that it was truly going to be moved. Crystal kept thinking about the things they had talked about, it was true that they were both currently in debt right now and the banks kept reminding them that, but she was also sure that they would be able to deal with it, especially since Clyde had just gotten that promotion that they were looking forward to. She really thought that it would solve everything but it seemed to have caused more trouble. Clyde was suddenly abrupt in wanting to pay all of their debts, she wouldn’t have agreed to it if she knew that it was also going to cause their wedding day to be moved. Again Crystal let out several deep breaths to calm herself, remembering what her fiancee had told her over and over again, all of it was for them, for their future. It was the same mantra that she had been repeating in her head these past few months in order to alleviate her feelings of distress. It reminded her that everything was still okay, they were still going to get married as the man had promised, it just that it was going to be moved next year. If not for that she would have balled her eyes out by now because she had to do all the explaining and cancellations. She sat unto their bed, pulling back the sheets and rearranging the pillows that were scattered all over. Everything still felt so heavy and hard until she saw a small little paper neatly folded on the side table that wasn’t there before. Quickly picking it up and opening it, she could not help but feel a sudden gush of happiness when she saw what was written in it. It was covered in small little red hearts, drawn with a pen, and with a well-written note that she knew was Clyde’s handwriting. To the most beautiful woman that I have known, the one woman who manage to steal my heart and brought life to it once more. Always remember that I will always be yours and that no matter what happens keep in mind that I’m always thinking of you. I will make things work out between us. I promise you that, from the bottom of my heart. Your beloved Clyde A rush of energy suddenly surge through her as she kept re-reading the letter over and over again. She felt her heart almost leap out of her chest after understanding what the letter was for. Crystal ended up holding her hand to her mouth as a sob escaped, the man always knew how to make her feel better and that letter was all she needed to keep herself sane and strong once more. The man’s face suddenly appeared in her mind, looking all dashing and with his sweet smile. Her sweet, shy, quiet and beloved Clyde was still the same man she fell in love with seven years ago. Though the man may have matured a lot in some ways and though they were having some miscommunications right now, she was finally rest assured by the letter that she had read. Crystal finally let out the tears that she was keeping, this time it was not because of sadness but the opposite of it, as she felt like her heart was trying to leap out of her chest from the joy of the message.