The Grean Household

10: The Drunken Savior

It was 2023. Three and a half years into the marriage and Sarah could already feel her apathy settling in. It was deep, just how her first love for Oliver was deep. She was comfortable with him at one point, but when she looked back on it, she found it unbelievable that she ever felt safe with him.

It was just after Alex's 1st birthday, with Emma on her way to being three years old. It was late August, the night having that humid feel on her bare skin. Sarah offered a night out with Oliver, right out at a pub. In her purse was her earrings- that she took off because Oliver insisted they didn't go with her outfit- and condoms. There was a giddiness in her that she hadn't experience in a long while. Maybe it was the loud partiers surrounding the place, or the people who were discreetly frenching in the dark alleyways next to the building. It seemed like a place to get lost in for a while.

It had only been a couple months since she had her realization of desire for an escape. She kept true to her yearning for the cage to burst, oftentimes eyeing up total strangers, to which Oliver shielded her away from them. This plan, this diabolical scheme she had memorized was her seemingly golden ticket at the chance of feeling freedom- even if it would be for two minutes or an entire hour.

They walked in, Sarah refraining from even looking at Oliver. The beer seemed to call his name and so she was dragged over. Alcohol didn't appeal to her as much as it did to Oliver, so instead of checking out the options for a drink, she was looking around the place. The people swirling around the environment reminded her of her missed young college days. Though Sarah was only 22, and looked the part, she felt old and used. With two kids already and a motherly body, she began to feel ugly and disgusting, though, from the way these boys were looking at her, her depictions of herself were a little too negative.

Her bright green eyes traveled the pub before she landed on a face that caught her attention. He was downing alcohol like it was water, though it didn't seem to affect him. This man's hair was swept to the side, neatly combed through and silky. Sarah tilted her head, feeling that sudden fire growing stronger within her stomach.

He laughed with the group he was surrounded with, gripping his glass gently. He wore a v-neck, the sleeves hugging close to his body, jeans on his legs. There was the way he sat, with a large hand on his knee, rubbing back and forth that seemed to drive Sarah crazy.

From afar, although he was sitting, Sarah wanted to guess that he was extremely tall. He was lanky, his Adam's apple jumping as he took another sip of his beverage. This man was slim, though built, and the way he seemed to rock in his chair, legs spread as if he were careless about who looked at him made Sarah's knees go weak.

She instantly noticed that Oliver seemed busy speaking with some other guys on the corner. Then, she looked back. To her immediate surprise, the young man was looking at her. The guys around him seemed to poke and make fun of him. It was the normal bicker, but he didn't seem to notice nor care.

He held Sarah's eye contact for a while, his eyes a deep blue, the innocent stare he was giving her making her go insane. He stared at her as if she were fascinating to him, as if he wanted to learn everything about her. Sarah could feel her breath hitch. The tension was clawing at her throat and she wanted to walk but found herself stuck in place.

The young man glanced back at his friends, quickly speaking to them, but she noticed how he did it. They were teasing him, and he had the authority to tell them to stop. They instantly shut up. Then, he looked back at Sarah, that same innocent and curious stare still in his expression.

She broke her gaze, glancing over at Oliver who seemed to forget about her existence. That was okay to her, because she found something that seemed like the key to all her troubles. Like she didn't know any better and this man she just laid eyes on was the best golden jewelry she's ever witnessed.