Scenes From a Soap Opera

New Years Don't

CoCo Spectra woke up on New Year's Day feeling sore in a way she hadn't been in a long time. She rolled onto her left side to see Kyle Abbott staring at her.

"Good morning." He grinned at her.

"Morning." She returned his greeting. "How long have you been watching me sleep? You weirdo." She wasn't sure if she was supposed to find it sweet or creepy.

"Not long, I swear." Kyle responded. "I'm not a weirdo, I promise."

"That's what they all say." CoCo teased.

The two shared a brief chuckle before settling into a heavy silence. So much happened the previous day, so much that needed to be discussed. But where to even begin?

"So," CoCo started, sitting up in bed. "What happens now?"

"What do you mean?" Kyle asked, also sitting up so he could be at eye level.

"I mean, what happens between us? Between you and Summer?" CoCo paused as last night's actions fully sunk in. "Oh my God, you're still married. You're still married, and we slept together. I'm a mistress!"

Kyle felt terrible that she was beating herself up. "Stop it. You're not a mistress. Calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down." CoCo snapped. "Sorry, I know you're just trying to help."

Kyle grabbed her hands. "I don't want you to beat yourself up over this. You didn't do it by yourself. I wanted this too." He smiled despite everything. "As for my marriage, I don't know. It feels like it's been on life support for a while now and after what happened yesterday; I think I need to pull the plug."

CoCo didn't want to get her hopes up. She knew what usually happened in this situation; she was not going to be that cliche waiting for Kyle to leave his wife. There were too many other things CoCo could be focused on. "That's a big step, Kyle. Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked when she finally decided to speak.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Kyle answered, not as confidently as either of them would've liked. The room suddenly filled with awkward tension.

"You don't sound sure." CoCo replied in a snippy tone. She closed her eyes in exhaustion. This wasn't how she wanted this conversation to go.

Kyle huffed in annoyance. "Well forgive me for not wanting to make a life altering decision unless I'm 100% sure." He snapped in anger, making CoCo jump. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled."

"Don't worry about it, you don't owe me anything." CoCo painfully swallowed; that outburst cleared up a lot of things for her. "You're right. You shouldn't walk away from your marriage if you have any doubts. Glad I could help you reach that conclusion."

"CoCo, I..." Kyle started, grabbing CoCo's arm. He was startled when she ripped it out of his grasp. He watched her get out of the bed and gather her clothes.

"I'm not mad." CoCo told him; her watery eyes said otherwise. "I'm really not, I knew the odds of you leaving Summer were slim. This was fun but it can't happen again." She sniffled, cursing herself for not being able to hold it in.

"I'm sorry." Kyle apologized. He meant it too, he felt terrible for hurting her.

"You don't have to apologize." CoCo softly replied, refusing to look at him. "You were never mine to lose." She exhaled heavily before moving towards the bathroom. "I'm going to go freshen up, I'd prefer if you weren't here when I'm done." She slammed the door shut behind her and turned the faucet on to cover her tears.

Kyle punched one of the pillows in frustration. Way to make a bad situation worse. He yelled in his head as he got dressed. With one last look at the closed bathroom door and a heavy sigh, Kyle Abbott left the hotel room.