Opposite Sides Of The Spectrum (Ben Shapiro x Liberal Reader)

(1) It's Over.

Ben laid exhausted on the living room couch, hair mangled, body aching along with his temples. He had been out since seven that morning, and now, it was nine in the evening. He had been at the rally, debating his opinions against the masses for over 14 hours. He heard Mor walk into the room, her robe covering her nightgown. She turned on the light and looked at her husband with disappointment.

"You said you'd be home at five." She grumbled. He did promise that, didn't he? He sat up and looked at his wife with anguish. "Mor, honey, I'm sorry. I've been so caught up with wor.."

"You always say that, Ben! It's the same old excuse! 'I'll be home at five tonight, I promise; I'm sorry, Mor, I'll be home earlier!' I'm sick of it, Ben! You're never home, we never go out, we never have OUR time! I'm done with this! I said it was me or the rallies, and you have made your choice. You can have the house." Mor tossed her hair as she walked back to the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Ben sat in silence for what felt like hours. He felt tears begin to trickle down his cheeks and onto the tiled floor. Why would Yahweh do this to him? What had he done? He was just trying to support himself and his family, but now it was clear that wasn't enough. He kicked his shoes off and pulled his tie from his collar, wiping his face with his palms. He was going to be alone again. Mor had been through the ringer enough and it was over. Good riddance to whatever happiness he had before. He got up and went to his daughters rooms, kissed theirs head as she lay asleep and then to his sons. He knew Mor was to take them too, so he wanted to say his final goodbyes.

* * *

The next morning, Mor was gone. Leeya and the other children also gone from their rooms. Ben shuffled around his empty house, distraught. He could feel the tears again, but blinked them away as his phone rang. Another assembly in Birmingham, Alabama. Another one. It's like he was always traveling. Nothing new. He expected a call from Mor, hoping that she would have changed her mind. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

He got dressed, dragged his suit case with him along the runway and boarded his flight. To Birmingham, he was, and maybe, just maybe, the southern sun would be enough to warm him and his broken heart.

He stepped out, the sun blinding him, and the smell of alcohol made any thoughts he once had go askew. He wanted some, but he knew that Yahweh and his self-conscious would never go along with such a childish act. He walked to his advisors, the show hosts, the cameramen. They spoke his directions and he knew where to go, and etcetera. He went up, spoke his mind as he always did and then stepped off stage.

God, it was the same thing over and over. "Why can't we do this?" "We should have a right to do this!" Same old, same old. There was never someone to challenge him. It was like he was talking to school children who were upset that the teacher said no kickball. He was rattled with so many thoughts. He thought about Mor, what could she be doing right now? Were Leeyah and Hertzl na and their siblings okay? Were they going to head back to Israel? He hoped not. He would want to be there if they were heading back to Israel.

He had no way to vocalize these emotions either. You can't just break out and call your wife on live television. He hoped for a call from her, he prayed for a text, but he knew how done she was. He walked to the dressing room, frazzled with all of the realizations that were just now forcing him to come to terms with them. He sat down in a chair and wept. It really was over, completely. That is...Until he got a knock on the door.

[END OF CHAPTER]