No Strings Attached

Day 242

Dean leisurely laces his work boots, listening to the sounds of the quiet house. It was early enough no one was awake, just him alone in the living room getting ready to leave. He'd forgotten to tell Lisa he was leaving early last night, but he assumed she'd figure it out when she woke up.

It was humid in the house, reminding him summer was in full swing just outside the front door. It had been a long time coming, summer that is. The house had been stuffy for weeks, making him anxious as the days drew nearer to his freedom. Ben was finally out of school and Lisa already had a long list of plans for the three of them. It was the same every summer, meaning Dean knew how flimsy those plans really were. Something was bound to come up, some friend drama that kept Lisa from following through with her plans. He was more than used to it by now.

Finished with his shoelaces, Dean stands to retrieve his keys. He's barely got them in his hands when a creak of a floorboard causes him to whirl around.

"Lisa," he breathes, puffing out a sigh of relief. "You scared me."

"Where are you going? It's Saturday," Lisa says, wrapping her robe tightly around her thin frame as she descends the stairs. Her hair gets trapped underneath the fabric and she gives it a violent yank when she reaches the bottom.

"I was going to leave you a note. I got a call from the office. They need me to go over some of the loading charts," Dean says, lying easily. It seems to come as easy as breathing now, which he doesn't take pride in. "I shouldn't be more than a couple of hours."

"Couldn't they just get someone else to deal with it? Why do they always have to call you?" Lisa crosses her arms defiantly, glaring up at Dean with a look he was used to. She was itching for a fight, but Dean wasn't sure if he had it in him to indulge her this morning.

She'd been worse the past couple of weeks, or maybe he had just been noticing it more. Dean always seemed to be doing something wrong. He didn't dry the dishes properly; he forgot to turn out the hallway light. It was stupid things, but there was an underlying tone to every argument. There was a bigger issue at hand, that much was clear, but Dean was having trouble putting his finger on it. Whatever it was, it was on the tip of Lisa's tongue, just waiting for its moment to shine.

"I'm the supervisor of this project, Lis. Everything has to go through me," Dean reminds her, which wasn't entirely false. He had been promoted this past month, but there was still a transition process and he wasn't technically "in charge" just yet.

"I'm sure they could live without you for one day," Lisa pushes, reaching forward to take his arm. "Just call in sick. Come back to bed." Cringing slightly, Dean shakes his head and pulls away from her.

"I can't. I don't want to give them a reason to fire me," Dean grunts, keeping the excuse going as he moves toward the front door.

"Dean, this is ridiculous. We are a couple. Do you understand what that means?" Lisa grits her teeth, staring intently at Dean's back. He freezes, stiffening at the sound of her voice. This was the explosion he'd been waiting for, but it had horrible timing.

"I would say yes, but I'm pretty sure we have different definitions," Dean comments, turning his head just enough to see Lisa clench her fists. "Care to enlighten me?"

"We're supposed to be together. Physically and mentally. That goes both ways. And I am trying, Dean. So hard. But it's like you don't even want to be with me anymore. You're always running off to some crazy work emergency and I'm left here alone with Ben," Lisa fumes, her fists tightening as she rants. Dean just stands there, knowing it's not out of her system yet. "He looks up to you, you know. What kind of example are you setting running around like a crazy person? You should at least act like a father."