FicWad

"I've had it with you, Estelle!" he screamed at me, "All we ever do is fight. Nothing is worth the pain we put each other through every day!"

"That's exactly what I was thinking," I yelled back, and threw my suitcase on our bed.

"What-"

"I'm tired of this! Adam, all you ever do is hurt me, and all I ever do is hurt you. If that isn't a 'sign from above,' then I don't know what is!" I cried as I threw my things in the general direction of the bed.

"But - but that's not-"

"Shut it, alright? We've both reached our breaking points. I'm going back home."

"But we're supposed to work through these arguments! That's why we fight so much. It's a test of our relationship." He grabbed my forearms and pulled me back against him.

Sometimes I swear the man is bipolar.

I pulled away from him, "Well, then, I guess we just failed," I muttered, and slammed the suitcase shut.

*

"Estelle, what are you doing here?" My mother asked the moment she opened the door.

"Would you mind it too much if I stayed here for a little bit?" I choked out.

"Oh, my poor baby!" she exclaimed, and threw her arms around me. I considered struggling, but then decided against it as I returned her embrace. "What happened to that Adam boy? Why aren't you with him?" Suddenly, she gasped, "He hit you, didn't he? Oh, sweetheart, don't you-"

"No, Mom, he didn't hit me. We've just-"

"Hold that thought! We'll discuss it over dinner! I made an absolutely beautiful pot-roast, and you look positively famished!" She turned and scurried back into the kitchen, continuing her rant. She's Italian; 'nuff said.

I followed obediently and soon took in the wonderful scent of her cooking.

I took my usual seat at the table, pretending that I didn't notice the empty seat beside me, and waited patiently for my mother to finish serving me.

"Now, tell us, honey, what brings you back here?" my father, who'd already been seated at the table asked.

"Well, Adam and I sort of... well, we broke up."

"But honey, why? He was such a nice boy!"

"We just drifted apart, I guess. I mean, we've been fighting so much lately. All we every do anymore is hurt each other. I suppose it just broke us down over time."

"Estelle, darling," my mother began gently, "Every relationship has its little quirks. You can't really expect to have a perfect relationship, because there is no such thing. Fights are healthy."

"Yeah, but-"

"Did you always make up within 24 hours?" I nodded, "And you never doubted your love for him, not even now?"

"What are you getting at?"

She threw her hands up defensively, "I'm just saying... you know, your father and I had issues the first time we moved in together."

"Really?" I asked hopefully.

"Oh, it was horrible! If it wasn't one thing, it was another. He left the toilet seat up, she came home late, he went on a business trip, she left her tampons out, he didn't use a condom, she-"

"Mom!" I nearly screeched.

"And that's how you were born," my father teased.

"Ha-ha, very funny. But how did you make it through?"

"Well," she sighed, "We almost didn't. I mean, your father was an aspiring businessman, and I was a pregnant teenager. Stress from our daily lives, plus our parents' criticisms really drove us apart. Sometimes I think you were all that kept us from completely falling apart."

I was done listening to this, "Yeah, well Adam and I don't have a kid to keep us together," I mumbled.

"Thank the lord for that!" my father exclaimed.

I sighed, "May I be excused?"

They nodded and watched me get up to leave.

*

A few days later I had worked up the courage to call him. I called the apartment first, half-heartedly hoping he'd been in the same state that I'd been: not eating, not sleeping, just laying there, wishing he was beside me.

I was surprised to hear an automated message informing me that the phone had been disconnected. I tried his cell phone, but got the same message again.

I panicked, worried that something had happened to him, and ran out of the house, towards the apartment.

*

Banging on the landlord's door, I was worried that I would break into tears, when she finally opened it.

"What, child?! What do you want?" she yelled at me. She was obviously frustrated. It probably had something to do with the curlers in her hair, but I was too hysterical to care.

"Why is my apartment empty? Where's Adam?" I near screeched, startling her.

"He's moved out. Just a day or two ago, actually. I thought you'd have gone with him."

I was so fed up with this. Why did he have to be the drama queen in the relationship now? That was my job!

Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I asked, "Do you know where he went?"

"No, not really. But he did say something about the city."

I rolled my eyes and huffed. That was so like him. I spun around and called a quick "Thank you" over my shoulder before hurrying to the nearest bus stop.

*

It's been nearly a year, now. Since then I've taken the bus into the city everyday, just to look for him. And, everyday, I wind up going back home, disappointed.

Everyone says I'm crazy to hang onto this for so long. Even my parents have been telling me to move on. I couldn't help it, though. His last words to me still lingered in my mind.

"It's a test of our relationship."

I figured, surely if we were meant to be together, we'd overcome this. I love him, he loves me, and somehow that will bring us together.

Of course, by now I was starting to lose hope.

I'd tried everything. Calling every complex in the city, his parents, anybody.

But even his best friends claimed to have no knowledge of where he was.

I'd almost completely given up hope, by now. In fact, I was all set and ready to leave the city and start a new life without him somewhere else. It wasn't until the day I was leaving to shop for an apartment that my prayers were answered.

I was riding to the airport on one of those park-and-go bus services, and even though I pretty much knew it was hopeless, I still caught myself scanning the sidewalks mercilessly for some sight of him.

I wasn't even really paying attention when I saw him walking right beside the bus.

He looked different from the last time I'd seen him, though. He was paler, and had definitely lost some weight. Something like what people were telling me I looked like.

My heart flipped. Considering the traffic we were caught in, I didn't lose him quickly. I just sat there, staring at him, until I was suddenly reminded of the fact that I had to do something before I lost him again.

I hurriedly stood up and approached the driver, "Excuse me, sir, but could you stop the bus? I need to get off."

"Sorry, lady, read the sign," replied, pointing to a sign above him that read, "This bus will not make any unscheduled stops."

"But, sir, you-"

"Please sit down, miss," he said in a not-so-polite tone. I huffed and turned back around to return to my seat.

I was very close to just banging on the window like a grade schooler, but that thought was silenced the moment I realized that there was a large, red bar residing just under the glass that read "Emergency Exit" in bold, white lettering.

After a few quick calculations in my head that told me that thanks to the traffic the bus was not going fast enough to do me any real damage if I did this right, I lifted the bar quickly, causing an incredibly loud alarm to sound within the bus.

I wasted no time in pulling the glass from the rubber, and grinned once I felt a cool breeze against my body.

"Lady, are you crazy?!"

I turned to face the bus driver, who was now standing behind me, and smiled, "Crazy in love."

With that, I jumped. As my body hit the pavement, a brief thought of pain shot through my head, but the moment I saw Adam, I forgot all about it and stood up, charging towards him and ignoring my disagreeing legs.

"Estelle?" I heard him call out in shock, and seconds later my body collided with his, almost sending us both to the ground.

"What are you-"

"I'm sorry!" I cried, interrupting him, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry!"

"Shh," he silenced me, "It's alright. Things just got out of hand that day. We're both to blame."

"I-I went back, a few days after the fight. Why did you leave?"

"I guess-I mean, I thought we were done, for good. I couldn't stay there; it was our apartment, right from the start. There were too many memories to haunt me. I just wanted to start a new life, free from the pain I'd endured after you left."

"Did it work?" I sniffled, looking up to his face from his chest.

"Not in the least," he smiled, "There wasn't a single thing that didn't remind me of you."

"I've been riding the bus around the city everyday since the split, hoping to even catch a glimpse of you."

He chuckled, "So I have a stalker, now?"

I slapped his chest lightly, "Adam."

"Alright, alright," he said, and picked me up swiftly, and I sighed contently, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Oh, Estelle," he sighed. "I'm gonna make damn sure that you can't ever leave. No, you won't ever get too far from me. Never again."