TWH: Word Prompt Challenges

"My life would suck without you." // "Let me love you."

From the world of Unsettled.

Another ill timed call. Another set of barbed words exchanged. When will the cycle end? Will he ever let it end? "I'm going to hang up now."

"What, now?"

"Yes, now. That's what I'M HANGING UP NOW means." You roll your eyes at Izzy, who is not-subtly watching you out of the corner of her eye instead of reading the paper spread out on the table before her.

"But," he pauses, words getting tied together in his mouth. "Earlier aside, we're not even arguing right now."

"All the more reason."

"Fuck! Why do you always do this?"

"Excuse me? You know why!"

Izzy's fingers twitch as your voice raises. Without a word she scoots the chair back and moves along her well traveled path towards the freezer. It's going to be another pint of ice cream night.

He exhales and you can hear the smack of his lips as he tries to keep whatever remark his brain has created contained. You can almost see him pantomiming scathing words as he tightens his grip on his phone. Finally, a strangled calm to his words, he speaks again, "I just feel like every time we are making progress you shut me down."

"With good goddamned reason, Hiddleston."

Here it comes. The path towards the end.

"I know!" He's quick with his words, rushing to have them heard. "I know! I can't - just... PLEASE. Let me love you. Let me back in!"

You jut out your jaw, teeth gnashing against one another, but unlike him you cannot contain the words that fight to be aired. "No!"

Later, as you replay the conversation and polish off the pistachio ice cream, you come up with a better reply, an addendum before the classic finale.

"Love demands forgiveness and I'll die before forgiving you. I'd sooner tell the world that my life would suck without you than forgive you for what you did! If you want love go find her!"

Yes, that would have been better than sputtering until you managed the glorious now-standard sign off: FUCK. YOU. HIDDLESTON.

You'll get there one day. One day, when hormones aren't wildly coursing through your system, you'll be able to perfectly - and in the moment - express just what you think of him. One day you'll be able to hold firm to the promise you'd made to yourself after walking in on them and refuse to allow him even an inch.

One day.

But not today. Today, before things had gone south, he'd managed to invite himself to your prenatal screening.

Today he'd talked you into discussing baby names in an attempt to learn the gender of the little one growing within you, and then accused you of holding the knowledge hostage.

Tomorrow. You hold out hope for tomorrow.