Things had reached a breaking point as Avi and Lizzie began to plan their wedding. Mark, Lizzie's former boyfriend, had wreaked havoc for Avi on social media and went so far as to threaten him so that he could have Lizzie to himself. The stress and embarrassment have taken their toll on Avi's ability to cope with the world around him.
The fine tuned planning of their wedding and the little details fall solely on Lizzie's shoulders as Avi withdraws. She finds herself confused and frustrated with his behavior. Her annoyance begins to show as the days following Mark's attacks start to add up and she comes to realize that what she thought they had put behind them was far from resolved.
"Huh?" I was so lost and confused mainly because I wasn't able to pay attention to a word that had been said as Lizzie and I were sitting at our table eating dinner. My food was untouched, my water sat in its glass just as full as it was the moment it had been poured. "What was that?"
I let out an exasperated sigh. He hadn't been paying attention to anything I was saying. "I said, the flowers have been ordered and the caterer sent over a couple of sample menus." I set my fork down and took a drink. "What is going on with you these days? It seems like you aren't here at all."
"Oh, okay. Flowers & sample menus. Right. Okay. I don't know. Stressed I guess. I'm not hungry."
He had been acting very strangely the last few days and now he wasn't eating. He had no interest in wedding details and he was moody and easily agitated. I was at a loss for what to do for him. I softened my tone. "Anything you want to talk about?" I pushed my plate away, losing my own appetite.
"You done eating? Not so much, right now." I stood. "I'll take that if you're done." Dinner should have been good. It smelled good but I just wasn't hungry enough to eat it. I was tired and annoyed and extremely frustrated. My phone was upstairs on the nightstand. After that debacle with Mark I didn't even want to look at my social media accounts. I really didn't understand how we could just let the girl go either? How could she have not known what the hell that asshole was doing with her account? I didn't like being spied on. I didn't like being threatened. I ordered groceries in and avoided leaving the house whenever possible. I wasn't ready to talk. I hadn't sorted out the jumble that my emotions had become.
"Yeah, I'm done." I sighed and sat back in my chair. "Wanna go for a run?" I needed an outlet for this frustration and our normal means of blowing off steam had been nonexistent.
"Not really but I'm not sure you should be out there alone, so I guess I'll go." I took our dishes to the kitchen, took care of the leftovers and loaded the dishwasher. "I'll change." I offered as much of a smile as I could. "Then we can stretch and go."
"Alright." I felt perfectly safe going by myself, but I wasn't going to argue with him. I headed upstairs to change. It didn't take long. I started stretching in the living room while I waited for him. I hoped the run would help us both, but I was doubtful it would. I was stuck in the dark until he wanted to talk.
I changed and joined Lizzie in the living room to stretch. I wasn't really wanting to go for a run, but I wasn't about to let her go out there alone. "You ready?"
I nodded and put my earbuds in. I started my music and secured my phone and my house key in my pocket and headed out the door. I started on our usual route, not actually caring if he was with me or not. Two miles was definitely not enough.
I followed along easily, lost in my own little world. I ran without music, wanting my ears free to hear the sounds around me. I was happy when the run was over and we returned home. "Movie or sleep?"
We got home and I did my cool-down stretches. He wasn't any chattier after our run, not that I expected him to be. "They are basically the same thing. I am thinking a shower and then bed is best. I have a lot of phone calls to make tomorrow."
