The Soldier Next Door

I have moved out into the guest room permanently.

Things in the Hunter household have gone from tense to nothing at all. Ana and I barely talk to each other, and when we do, we find ourselves in an argument. I have stopped counting the number of stupid things that we fight over.

Ana has gone completely insane, and I mean that in the nicest of ways.

She is working herself up to a frenzy every day. She is going on like a complete lunatic.

I have found any and every reason to be at Ray these days, and of course, I am having an affair with Gibbs’s ex-girlfriend. Well, if I wanted to have an affair, I would have had it with Ray’s wife long ago. What is going through Ana’s head that I do not know? At this stage, I do not want to be around her anymore. If it were not for Lucas, I would…ya, let us not go there yet.

So this morning, as I am trying to sneak in a quick coffee before I leave, I hear her coming from Lucas’s room. Fuck, now, I have nowhere to go. If I run past her with the coffee, it is going to end in an argument; if I stay, it is going to end up in an argument. Guess I will try to have the coffee hopefully in peace this morning.

As she comes to stand next to the fridge, she has a complete expressionless look on her face, “Oh. You are here.”

“I am leaving soon,” I try my best not to snap back at her for being so short and rude.

“Are you going to be so late again tonight?”

“Yes, Ana, I probably am.”

“You might as well just sleep at Ray.”

Well, I thought we were going to have a civilized conversation, guess not. So I just swallow my words and keep my mouth shut.

“Ethan, I am talking to you.”

“No, Ana,” I turn away from her so she can not see the irritation in my face. “You are not talking; you are fighting. All you fucking do lately is fight. What is wrong with you?”

“Oh,” she finally snaps at me. “What is wrong with me? You. You are what is wrong with me.” She slams her cup down the counter, with coffee flying everywhere over the floor.

“See,” I point down to her mess, “You have gone…” perhaps I should not say that but instead, “What has happened to you, Ana?”

“Nothing,” she yells at me as she tries to bend over to clean up her mess. “Like absolutely nothing is happening between us.”

I bend down and take the rag from her hand to clean up the floor, she tries to protest, but I only ignore her. She looks at me, and I can say, almost for a second, like the old Ana used to look at me. But ya, that is completely short-lived.

So before it can blow up completely, I rinse my cup, for if I did not, I would be dead, and I leave the kitchen. From behind me, I hear her shouting after me, “Are you not saying goodbye.”

I turn around and look at her in complete surprise. What does she want from me now? A kiss, a hug? I only shake my head, “Bye, Ana. I will try come home early.”

“Don’t bother.”

And that is me, “For fuck sakes.”

She gasps in shock at my outburst and then softly mumbles under her breath, “Bye, Ethan, I will see you later.”

“Now, was that so difficult.”

But yes, the moment of peace is short-lived, “Difficult? Whom do you think you are talking to? I am not difficult.”

Not saying another word, I leave the house, hoping not to come back here for hours. The moment I am in my car, the tears that have threatened to burst like a waterfall down my cheeks come running down in force. I cannot do this anymore. So with screeching tires, I leave the driveway, knowing that in just about a second, I will get a call asking me if that was necessary. Well, I just ignore it like I ignore all her calls that I will get through the entire day.

As I get to Ray, he and Gibbs are already waiting for me outside. But yet before I get out of the car, I see my phone light up.

Ana.

With somewhat trembling fingers, I swipe up. “Yes, Ana.”

I immediately pull the phone away from my ear; as she has started screaming. Ya, I knew that she would have something to say about the way that I left the driveway.

Why the fuck I pick up the phone, that I do not know.

I am doomed if I do, and I am even worse off when I don’t.

So I patiently wait for her to calm down to a respectable level, but then next, she hits me, “Don’t bother coming home.” I hear her snap at me with absolute hate in her voice. “Lucas and I do not need you.”

“Ana, what are you trying to tell me?” I gather my breath and try to cool my rising temper, but yet, “That is my child. Do not test my patience, I promise; keep me away from Lucas; you think your attitude sucks right now, well wait until you see mine.”

She remains silent as she is registering each word, which truly did come out as a threat, and of course, “Do not threaten me, Ethan.”

“I am not threatening you, Ana.” I turn around and throw my hands in the air. “What the fuck is wrong with you? What is it that I did? You were fine one day, then the next you changed completely.”

“Maybe you should have asked then.”

I grind on my teeth, and out of complete fury, I smash my hand onto the roof of the car. “I have been asking you every single fucking day, and all you do is fight with me.” I remain quiet for a few moments to catch my breath, then I continue, “Does it not bother you that we are we are fighting like this?”

“You the one that started it, Ethan.”

“My god! Listen to yourself. You might be used to your parents fighting every fucking day, but me, I am not. I won’t sit and let you abuse me like this.”

“Well,” she yells at me at the top of her voice, “Maybe you should not have chased after me in the first place.”

And that is me. I have had enough of her. I drop the call and head towards where Ray has been standing. “Hey, Tina. Sorry about that. But that is how it has been for a while now.”

“Ethan,” Ray puts his hand gently on my shoulder. “I am so sorry that you have to go through this. This is not Ana. She would never act this way.”Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

“Well, this is Ana now. I cannot be around her when she is like this. She, I don’t even want to say, but she has become a lunatic.”

Ray still shakes her head, “Something else is wrong. There must be something.”

“Ray, I don’t know what can be so wrong with her to act this way. I fear for what will happen if she has to…” I pause for a moment and think about what I am about to say, yet, “God, Ray. I don’t even want to think of it… What happens is she really loses it?”

“What are you saying, Ethan?”

“I don’t know what I am saying, Ray. I think that Ana needs to go find help. But ya, good luck to the one that tries to get her there. As for me… Well, she just seems to fucking hate more and more every day.”

“She does not hate you. I just think that she is feeling the pressure of being a new mother.”

“Ray, if I look back now, this has always laid in the background. Ana has always been irrational and needs I even mention with somewhat of a temper.”

“Ethan, just let her find her feet.”

“There is nothing to find, Ray. She is not my wife, and I am sorry.”

And with that Ray, leads me inside, for he knows that right now I am furious and that he will not win this conversation. He knows that I don’t come from a family where my parents had arguments. I am not used to things like this. My relationships with a woman might have never lasted so long, but I have never had to experience this constant fighting in my life. It is not how I was raised, and it is not who I am. I can honestly say that this is not the way that I wish to live my life.

And this is not how I want to raise Lucas. I do not want to raise my child with parents that are constantly fighting.

So as I sit down in the lounge next to Gibbs, he only but cocks his head and rest an arm around my shoulders, “What is eating you up, Ethan?”

“Gibbs, I think that Ana and I should separate.”