The Hourglass

Chapter 6/6

Christi's passing had a colossal impact on those who loved her, especially Jordan. He was almost depressed to a point where he felt he no longer had a reason to live. Writing lyrics, once his passion, failed to provide any sense of satisfaction. He simply couldn't focus enough to accomplish anything significant in his life. Jordan barely spoke to anyone, not even to Chloe. The last thing he wanted was to share his thoughts with the woman who caused him so many headaches over the years. Jordan favored living in seclusion and, to his fans' dismay, planned on staying retired indefinitely. It was better for him not to worry about putting on a happy face. For the most part, Jordan spent his days on the internet watching old Christi interviews. It was somewhat comforting hearing her voice and seeing her face. Although reliving favorite memories was nothing in comparison to spending time with Christi in the past, Jordan did what was necessary to get him out of bed each morning. It was therapy for him. About a month after Christi's passing, Jordan lay down on his bed. He listened to "Constance" by Spiritbox. Immersed with listening to the lyrics, Jordan was oblivious to the tumultuous footsteps approaching him from downstairs. The abrupt opening of his door startled him.

Chloe furiously entered Jordan's room and promptly slammed his laptop shut. "I'm so pissed off at you!" she shrieked. Jordan clearly heard her through his headphones, but he put them aside. "What the hell is your problem?!" he yelled. "Are you kidding me right now?! You slept with my sister!" "What are you talking about?! I didn't sleep with her!" "Bullshit! Clara just told me everything! She said you didn't recognize her after so long, so she called herself Alex to mess with you! And she sent me nudes you two took together!" "Whatever! I don't give a shit! You never give me what I want anymore, so I got it from someone else! Get over it!" "Jesus Christ, I thought you were better than that! It's one thing cheating on your wife, but it's Goddamn low cheating on her with her own sister!" "Don't act like a little princess, cuz you're not! You're just a washed-up bitch with no taste for talent!"

Shocked by Jordan's insult, Chloe clenched her teeth. "How dare you say that about me! I worked my ass off dancing and acting for a long time before college!" "Oh, big deal! That was twenty years ago, and you haven't done shit since then!" "Excuse me for settling down after so much stress! And you're a hypocrite for saying I'm a has-been, because I can't recall the last time you wrote anything!" "At least I'm still capable of performing! And in case you forgot, you can't pull off a single pirouette anymore!" Chloe pointed her finger at Jordan. "Bastard! Who do you think you are?! You spent half your career writing about weird shit like mental illness, murder, rape, even a diss track against the Zieglers after I said I forgave them! What the hell is up with you?!" "There you go again! You still don't get the meaning behind anything! And let me tell you something: you were always too nice to people! All those bitches got what they deserve!"

Chloe slammed the side of her fist on the wall. "God, why the hell did I marry you?!" "I dunno, but I ask myself the same question every day!" "You know what, I didn't sign up for this! All you do is go on YouTube all day! You don't give a shit about me anymore, even after being together for twenty years! Doesn't our marriage mean anything to you?!" "Hmm, maybe it would if you weren't so obsessed with living in the past! You can't take not being famous anymore! And it really pisses me off how often you told your own mother about all the awful shit in her past, even when you knew she had Alzheimer's! What's wrong with you?!" "How many times have I told you?! I wasn't willing to brainwash my mother into believing her life was always positive!" "What good did it do for her? She didn't need to know every little thing that happened to her!" "You make it sound as though you told her a lot, but you barely said two words to her!" "I told her everything apart from our marriage, cuz I didn't want her to remember what a psychopath you are!"

Enraged by Jordan's harsh response, Chloe stormed across the room and then proceeded to slap him across the face. "Asshole! Don't speak to me like that!" "Wrinkly bitch! I'll do whatever the hell I want!" "Do you really think I believe you when you say you fessed up to Christi?! I can't imagine you would suddenly change your mind!" "Did it ever occur to you I just wanted to do the right thing?! I didn't want Christi to die and never get a chance to set the record straight again!" "She was my mother, not yours! You had no right to drop those bombshells right when she was on her deathbed!" "Too bad, cuz she was still my mother-in-law! Maybe you should've been there during her final moments!" "How was I supposed to know when she would die?!" "How come you weren't by her side in the first place?!" Jordan headed for the door, but Chloe stepped in front of him. "Where the hell are you going?!" "Anywhere but here!" "I'm not done with you!" "Go see a therapist!" Chloe spread her arms out, preventing Jordan from leaving. "Don't you walk away from me!" "Get outta my way!" "Why are you putting me through this?!" "Cuz I don't love you anymore!"

Jordan attempted to walk past Chloe, but she refused to budge from her spot in front of the doorway. Both desperately attempted to stop each other. He attempted to shove her aside, and she responded by pushing him. They screamed as they struggled. Jordan pulled Chloe's hair, and she grabbed his arms. There was a stalemate. He kicked her legs, hoping to unbalance her. She repeatedly slapped him. Without warning, Jordan punched Chloe in the face as hard as he could. The brute force of the impact immediately slammed her against the wall and knocked her down onto the floor. She rather awkwardly sat herself up; one of her teeth was missing, and blood poured from her mouth. There was a look of emptiness in her eyes as she looked at Jordan. "I FUCKING HATE YOU!!!" Jordan screamed. He threw his wedding ring at Chloe's face. "GET OUTTA MY LIFE RIGHT NOW!!!" he screamed. Chloe sobbed as she ran away from Jordan. He made no effort to stop her. She never looked back towards him.

Ultimately, Jordan and Chloe divorced and never spoke to each other again. Neither of them cared to relive painful memories, so they kept out of the public eye. Shortly after his violent outburst with Chloe, Jordan visited Clara. Christi was dead, and Chloe was dead to him, so Clara was the only woman left he cared for. Jordan told Clara about everything bothering him, and she welcomed him with open arms. They made love, almost as if they had been together for a long time. Eventually, Jordan decided to return home. As Jordan headed for the door, Clara spoke to him. "Can I ask you a question? Do you ever think you made a mistake, hiding the truth from Christi?" On the night of her death, Jordan discovered a recent letter from Deborah addressed to Christi. He opened the letter and read it, but he never told a soul about it. Moreover, he decided to burn the letter. That way, Christi would never have to know what it said inside. "If I did, then it's a mistake I have to live with". As Jordan left, he thought his life. Quite a lot happened, although he wasn't sure if it was all worthwhile. But no matter what, things would never be as they were before. It was too late to flip the hourglass.