Waiting for Never - Post Malone

Dog days are over

It's after mid-day when they finally manage to get out of bed both agreeing that they need food. "I have no clothes, I came here with my bank card and cell phone in my back pocket. I may have used your or your girlfriend's toothbrush last night by the way," Marli says standing awkwardly by the bed and playing with the rings on her fingers. Austin abruptly stops rummaging around in his closet and turns in slow motion to look at Marli with a glare and a cocked head.

"Did you just say my girlfriend's toothbrush? Explain."

"Well I didn't bring a-"

"Not about the toothbrush. The girlfriend."

"I watched your interview just before your show yesterday. You said you were in love with a girl who was amazing, kind, sweet, and funny. That you had never met anyone so selfless."

"I was talking about you, you insufferable woman! What were you thinking? That I am in love with someone else, but I came home to just fuck you? That makes absolutely no sense. Why would I keep a picture of you by my bedside if I had a girlfriend? And there is only one toothbrush in our bathroom so it was clearly mine that you used."

"Our?"

"Lil mama, I don't want to play this game with you. You came home. This is our home."

"I know. I'm sorry, my head is just in such a weird place."

He hands her a shirt, walks into the bathroom and picks up her jeans from the hamper, and hands that to her too. Then goes to the cabinet under the sink, grabs a new toothbrush, and plops it next to his. Then he turns to face her. "Your toothbrush," he says pointing to the new toothbrush. "Now. Let's shower," he says turning on the shower. "Then we will go to town get you some clothes, and grab some food too."
He says and takes the clothing from Marli putting them on the sink then starts to undress her and then himself. "Then on our way back we can collect the dogs and you can meet my sister...officially," he says then opens the shower door, and playfully slaps Marli's ass. "In," he says and if their shower took almost an hour, well that's their business.

~

"Put the jeans on! What the hell!" Austin says walking back into the bedroom. Marli looks down at her outfit. The shirt Austin had given her was a slim fit but extra length to fit his long body so on her it looked more like a dress because it reached mid-thigh. "No. It looks like a dress. I like it like this. Maybe I will wear it like this more often," she says. Austin hands her a coffee he just made, shaking his head. "But it's not a dress. It's a t-shirt. What will people think? Seeing you walking around in public with no pants on," he says. Marli laughs into her coffee. She takes a few sips, it's good.

"They would say, wow what a lovely dress?"

"They would know it's just a t-shirt!"

"How would they know?"

Austin throws his hands up in defeat and Marli can't help but enjoy the win. "Besides the clothing is going to be the last thing they look at. I have no makeup, so I will be going to town looking like a bleached frog," she says. Austin catches her arm and pulls her into his chest, almost spilling her coffee. "Don't do that. Don't put yourself down. You are beautiful any way you come...pun intended," he says. Marli swats him off and walks out of the room. "Eew, you are gross. Enough of that!" she says as Austin follows her to the front door, grabbing his car keys and wallet as they head out. They climb into a great big Ford VelociRaptor truck it's so big that the term 'climb' is literal. Now with the light of day, Marli looks around as they drive. She has missed Utah it truly is beautiful up here and part of her does not know how she left. A pang of guilt hits her. She does not ever think she will forgive herself - she left Austin to fend for himself. She abandoned him when he needed her the most. As if Austin can sense her inner turmoil he reaches over grabbing her hand and slipping his fingers between hers.
"What you thinking about, lil mama?" he asks.
Marli blinks her tears back and clears her throat. "That I abandoned you. Practically left you for dead. I have been the monster in this story the whole time," she says. Austin keeps his eyes on the road but shakes his head even before she finishes her sentence. "None of that. There were never any monsters. We have always loved each other but that love was making us both sick. I was using you to hide away from my demons, I knew what I was doing when I told you that all I need was you and not rehab. I never wanted you to leave, but I needed you to. I thank you for making the hard choice that I was not capable of making. What we had back then was not healthy," he says. Marli nods along to his words. It's true, it was a volatile and unhealthy relationship. They had been selfish by pretending their own selfish decisions were acts of love.