My Wife, My Man?

Chapter Ten

"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves." Romans 12: 9-10

"What the hell?!" The anger in her voice was like thunder to the ears of those who heard it. Frustrated, she swung the pan and gave him another hit across the face. That one was just for her own satisfaction.

The kneeling man crashed to the cold floor and groaned in pain. The second hit was going to leave a mark on his forehead. Slowly, he scrambled to his feet, his hand rubbing the site where his brain felt as if it had been knocked out from his skull.

"Oh — hi, Perli." He made eye contact with her, his smile evidence of his pain.

"Matthew!" Perli shouted his name. Displeased, she met his tearful eyes with a glare. "Why- what- how the hell did you get in?!" She held the pan tightly as if ready to give him another blow. She could not comprehend why he did such a stupid thing; hence, wanted to hit him again.

Matthew continued to groan in pain. His face was reddened by the impact of the metal pan. He rubbed his head. "I wanted to—" His attempt to get to his feet had him stumbling back to the floor. His bitten inner elbow left a trail of blood. He was on his knees, his one hand outstretched to bear support from the kitchen counter in front of him, while the other fought to rid the pain from his head with a rub.

Perli pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. Slowly, her anger began to subside as she saw him in pain. After all, she did bite him viciously and gave him a nice blow to the head.

She sighed again and placed her weapon of mass destruction back where it belonged. For a second or two, she simply stared at him, unable to process what to do next or better yet, say to him. She knew helping him up would have been a start, so slipping her arm under his outstretched one, she used her weight to help him to his feet. Her heart was left in a rapid beat at the feel of his skin against hers. It disoriented her, the feelings that arose whenever he was around her. His presence alone was enough to bring her into a state of confusion.

She watched as he sat on the counter's chair with a forced smile upon his trembling lips. He was in pain. His face was a river of green veins that travelled throughout his forehead and his arm was a site of damaged tissue. If it wasn't for her glare, the young man would have cried already.

Perli kept the glare long enough to feel her facial muscles aching. She hated what he did, scaring her like that. What if she had reached for a knife instead of a pan? She could have killed him!

She handed him an ice pack from the fridge and watched him press it against the swelling on his forehead. Running her fingers and then through her hair, she parted her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it. She had nothing to say to him; hence, departed and made her way to the stairs that led to the first aid storeroom. She pulled out the first aid kit while muttering angry words to herself. She was no longer angry at him, but at herself. Her inability to control herself in front of him and the weakness that overtook her whole body whenever he was around, was something she hated. Why did he have to come back just after her wedding? Why did he make her feel the way she did?

She brushed her anger aside and went back to where Matthew still sat with the ice pack.

"What on earth were you thinking?" She kept her voice as low as possible to muffle her anger. Not waiting for his response, she pulled out the cotton pack and a disinfectant liquid from the kit. She put on plastic gloves.

"I wanted to scare—"

She pressed the cotton with disinfecting liquid against his wound.

"Careful," he winced, trying to shift his arm away from her.