Let Me Go

Chapter 1

"It didn't mean anything. I swear." Nora turned away, unable to even look at Winston as he tried to explain why it wasn't his fault, why she shouldn't walk out the door, why she should stay in a relationship that hadn't been good for either of them for months. "Why do you want to be with me Winston?" Nora asked, struggling to maintain the even, unemotional expression she had become so adept at assuming. "Are we happy? Are you happy? I don't see someone who is satisfied with their relationship resorting to infidelity." Winston stepped toward her, attempting to put his hands on her shoulders and look pleadingly into her eyes.

"Come on baby. You know you make me happy. Just because I made one little mistake doesn't mean I don't love you. Like I said, she didn't mean anything to me. I was just a little drunk and she was all over me. Everyone makes mistakes, right?" Nora closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and thought back to how things used to be.

Winston wasn't always such a cliche. When he and Nora initially met, he was kind, and sweet, and caring. Nora had just gotten out of a passionate but emotionally draining long distance relationship in her sophomore year of college, and Winston was someone who was just supposed to be a fling. They met at a party Nora was dragged to by her roommate, and Nora admired the broad shoulders and deep brown eyes of the charismatic stranger who refused to let her frown the entire night. He told her jokes, and made ridiculously distorted faces at which she couldn't help but laugh. During the two years they had been together, he picked up the shattered pieces of her heart and made them fit back together, piece by piece. After graduation, they moved in together, Nora following Winston to Richmond, Virginia, where he had gotten a job at a chemical engineering firm that would jumpstart his career. Nora started a small children's book store, her dream since childhood. Nora thought they were happy.

Nora took a deep breath and opened her eyes, bracing herself against the subtle persuasion Winston was so adept at performing. "Winston, I can't do this anymore. I can't be with someone who I can't trust. I think you should go." Nora said as evenly as she could manage.

Winston's eyes, cajoling only a moment ago, seemed to harden in an instant. "You think I should go?" Winston said, his voice taking on a cruel edge Nora had only heard a few times before. "Who do you think pays the bills on this place, baby? You think you can kick me out of my own home? Think again. I'm not going anywhere."

Nora took a step back. She had found over the years that it was best not to provoke Winston when he got like this. Alcohol was the source of the few disagreements Winston and Nora had had in their relationship. A few beers in, Winston was charming and fun, the social lubricant leaving him without a care in the world. After a certain point; however, Winston began to reveal a darker, more aggressive side to his personality that Nora didn't like to be around. Whenever he was drinking heavily, Nora usually chose to let him pass out at a friend's house rather than bringing him home to be alone with her. He had never hit her, but Nora had felt distinctly unsafe in the past. The uneasiness she got after those nights was always washed away by the return of Winston's usual loving and affectionate personality in the morning.

Tonight was one of those nights Winston had gone past his tipping point. As he had noisily let himself in after a night out with his buddies, Nora had gone downstairs, intending to help Winston get his shoes off and fall into bed. What she hadn't prepared herself for was the undeniable sight of crimson lipstick smeared on his collar and the stench of cheap perfume clinging to his body. She knew she shouldn't provoke Winston in this state, but Nora hadn't been able to help herself. She had asked him if he had been with another woman. After some evasion, he had admitted to an indiscretion, and had immediately started his efforts to earn Nora's forgiveness.

"If you're not going anywhere, I will." Nora said unsteadily, doing her best to maintain distance between herself and Winston. "I'm going to spend the night at the shop. We can talk about this in the morning after you've calmed down."