Once Upon a Comic Con

01 / Bonnie

My eyes fluttered awake at the call of my name. My confused, still half-asleep brain, tried recalling who the voice belonged to. I rubbed the sleep crust from the corners of my eyes, until my blurry vision finally cleared.

Vincent stood at the foot of the bed, rummaging through our shared drawers, slamming each one as he went. Seemingly looking for something.

'Is something wrong?' I asked, slowly sitting up in bed where I was greeted by a slither of blinding sunlight through the tiny gap in the curtains.

He glared at me with his crisp white shirt half unbuttoned, 'Where is it?' he asked.

I tilted my head to one side, 'Can you be a little more specific? In case you hadn't noticed, I've just woken up,' I replied, yawning halfway through my sentence. 'Have you lost something?'

Vincent slammed yet another drawer and grunted, 'It's not me who's lost it. Where have you hidden it?' He turned to face me, his cheeks almost beet red with his hands firmly on his hips.

I furrowed my brow and queried, 'Hidden what?'

Not even five minutes I've been awake and already I'm being accused of losing something of his. He needs to stop the blame game and remember where he keeps his things.

I daren't not speak my thoughts aloud, it would only cause more trouble for myself.

Vincent pointed to his shirt, 'My tie. Where is it?' he asked, his tone firmer.

A chill spider climbed down my back and my hand immediately went to pull the duvet over my legs to prevent him from seeing my skin goose pimple.

'I haven't seen it,' I said.

'Liar.'

The word cut through me like I was butter. I'd always been truthful to Vincent, in the six months we'd been dating. Not once had a lie left my lips, but that didn't stop his accusations. They started off small and far between, but now it was almost everyday. In his mind I was always lying about something, or being unfaithful to him. Either of which were further from the truth.

Vincent stormed around the studio, continuing his search and leaving a trail of mess he'd expect me to fix once he'd left for work. After a few more attempts, he'd located his tie in the same place he'd left it the night before, on the kitchen island. He'd taken it off once he'd walked in from work, while he helped himself to a beer from the fridge. I hadn't bothered to tidy up after him, perhaps that was my mistake, maybe that might have saved the argument that was coming next.

'Why can't you just leave things where they belong?' He asked, coming back into the bedroom for round two while he fixed his tie. 'Is it too much to ask that you keep the place tidy while I go to work?'

I allowed my body to slink back down into the bed, I didn't want to have this conversation. Everyday I made sure the studio was spotless, ensuring the laundry was washed and ironed before Vincent returned home and dinner was cooked for when he walked in. But lately my efforts had been for naught, he'd been coming home late and reeking of alcohol.

'Are you going to spend all day on that stupid video game?' he asked, his words almost threatening.

The words snapped me back to my senses. 'No,' I said, shifting beneath the duvet. 'I've got that interview this afternoon.'

Vincent scoffed, 'I doubt that.' His tone mocking, 'You're useless, if you can't keep this place tidy, how are you going to manage holding down a job?'

'I just thought...'

'That's your problem, you think too much. You live in dreamland. Life isn't a video game, Bonnie, Grow up,' Vincent added, dragging his comb through his messy tresses. 'I'll be late home tonight, don't wait up.'