Chim - Double Walker

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

‘W- What?’ I continue to stare at her, unable to form a sentence. ‘Why?’

‘I’ve found someone else’ she shrugs, ‘He treats me right and I love him.’

‘I thought you love me? And have I ever treated you wrong?’

‘Well, no I guess you haven’t treated me wrong... but I never really loved you’ she explains as if it’s no big deal.

‘You never loved me? But we’re married Kim, I love you more than anything in this universe, why would you marry me if you didn’t feel the same?’ I question.

Tears build up in my eyes, but I try to blink them away. Where is this coming from? Why is she doing this.

‘Sorry Cheryl... I guess I was just scared of being alone. But now that I have Harry, I don’t need you.’ she stands up from the couch, walking out into the hallway.

‘I don’t understand this.’ I follow her out into the hall, ‘So you just lied to me all these years? And what about the baby? We were starting a family, you can’t just throw me away like this. You’re pregnant with our child.’

‘No Cheryl. I’m pregnant with my child... you had nothing to do with it.’ She bites.

I stop in my tracks at her comment. The tears fall down my cheeks now and I don’t bother to wipe them. She is literally pulling my heart out, valve by valve.

She stops walking too, turning around to face me, with a stone cold expression.

‘And I’m sorry to have to tell you this babe. But this baby was never going to be yours anyway.’ She lifts her top up, making sure I am looking.

She rips off the ‘baby bump’ and throws it to the floor. I stare at it in horror, trembling as more tears fall.

‘You were never even pregnant?’ I snap my head back up to look at her, finding my voice a little more now, ‘but it was your idea to have kids!’

‘Oh I still intend to have kids’ she replies sternly, turning to the side and lifting her shirt again.

I stomach drops and my heart stops when I see a real baby bump, only small. Small enough to be passed off a beer belly.

‘I’m almost three months gone anyway, no point pretending’ she smiles down at her bump dreamily, tenderly stroking it with one hand, ‘Harry was so happy when I told him. He is so excited to be a daddy.’

I grab hold of the banister for support, covering my mouth as I feel like I am going to vomit.

‘How could you do this?’

‘It wasn’t exactly hard. Y-’

‘No. I don’t mean that. I mean how can you be so cruel?’ I look her in the eye. ‘We have been together for over ten years Kimberley. You can’t spend ten years with someone without forming a bond with them, never mind pretend to love them when really you wouldn’t care if they were hit by a bus.’

‘I never said I wanted you to be hit by a bus? Where did that come from?’ she asks, looking genuinely confused.

‘Where did that come from?...’ I look at her incredulously, whilst bending down to pick up the fake pregnancy bump, ‘Where did this come from?!’ I snap, waving it in front of her. ‘after ten years of being with me and you don’t even care that you’re breaking my heart and ripping me whole world to shreds!’

I’m shouting now, anger flooding through my veins, but she still stands there casually, her hand resting on her little bump.

‘I couldn’t break it to you any gentler than I already have... oh sorry would you have preferred it in writing so it didn’t feel as personal?’ she raises her voice too, matching my tone, ‘You would have gone mad at me for having no respect anyway, but at least that way you could have ripped the paper up, rather than tearing into me!’

‘Well I refuse to believe anything you are saying. Why are you doing this now? You and this Harry person... I’m assuming you have been together for a while now, correct?’ I ask, raising my eyebrows expectantly.

‘Almost two years.’ She nods.

‘Then why haven’t I noticed anything?’ I continue, trying to catch her out, ‘we’re married Kim. We are always together; the girls always say they have never seen a couple so close. So how have you got away with this for so long without me noticing?’

‘Like I said, he treats me right.’ she says through clenched teeth, ‘He didn't pressure me into leaving you because he understands my situation and he didn’t want me upsetting you or causing a rift between the band.’

She turns to the door now, reaching for the handle.

‘But now the band is over... for good. So there won’t be a rift between us, we can both still spend time with the girls, but on different nights so we won't have to awakwardly bump  into eachother. We don’t have to see each other again, so it’s not like I’ll be rubbing anything in your face is it.’

‘Oh and you think the girls will understand why you’re doing this?! They probably wouldn’t even give you the time of day!’

‘I don’t really care.’ She looks at me a shrugs, ‘Personally, I could take them or leave them’

‘But-’ I go to argue again, but she interrupts me.

‘I’m finally happy Cheryl... If you really loved me you would learn to accept that what we had was nothing and never will be.’ A lump has formed in my throat, preventing me from saying anything.

She is acting as if our relationship was only a week long phase, and not, in fact, a four year marriage. She opens the door, letting in a summery breeze as she walks out. She turns back before she closes the door.

‘If you ever met him, you would probably understand why I’m leaving. You’d get on great with him.’

Oh she just had to add to the pain, didn’t she.

She slams the door behind her, acting as the final blow to my heart and I collapse onto the floor. Sitting on my knees, hunched over them as I loudly sob my heart out at the bottom of the stairs.

I find myself screaming for her. Calling out her name, in-between sobs.

What has just happened?