After All This Time: Breaking Point Read online

  Emily was surprised, she checked the time again, it was just 10:32 AM, before she could say anything, Liam kissed her on the cheek and was walking away. He stopped to give the waitress some cash and then left. She inhaled sharply as she watched him walk out of sight.

  An unwanted feeling began to whirl inside her tummy as she sat down, unflinching. What the hell was happening? Why was he behaving like a total stranger? Had she done something? Did he find out something about her? She had this feeling like her world was growing dark, like a big blanket was being pulled across the sky. She bit her lip as she felt the urge to cry. This feeling was so familiar and she dreaded it. He had said he would catch up with her later, it wasn’t like he broke up with her, but still, it hurt so badly as it had with Charles, like someone slamming a door in her face.

  For a while, she just sat there. All her plans had been disrupted and now she had no idea what she was going to do for the rest of the day. Initially, the plan was for the both of them to go to her place and afterward hit the movies but now that had changed as well.

  If she had no idea of the exact thing to do for today, she could always go home and wait for him to come over or at least call her.

  She stood up and picked up her purse before motioning towards the street to stop a cab.

  When Doubts Set In

  Liam knew what he’d done was wrong but it was better than keeping quiet and watching her think of many things. He couldn’t possibly tell her what was wrong without her having some doubts concerning him. The silent treatment was not his plan, but it was what had happened and he was tired of it so he had to leave.

  He had no exact place he was going, he just needed to clear his head somewhere and being with Emily wasn’t the best place for that.

  He couldn’t stop seeing himself at the altar that day, a day that was supposed to be the happiest day of his life, but became the most embarrassing day of his life when his fiancé ran out of the church leaving him alone. Now, she was married to someone else. Maybe he was the reason she had run away in the first place. The problem was, he and Kate had been what everyone thought would be the perfect couple. They were so in love with each other, or so he thought until she ran out. Her complaint, later on, was that he was inadequate, but what does that even mean? For the six months since it had happened, he hadn’t been able to understand what that meant - being inadequate. Does it mean he wasn’t enough for her, after everything they had shared and done together for a year of their courtship?

  If she could feel he was inadequate then, what about now when he was just standing back on his feet gradually? Would Emily not feel the same way later on?

  * * *

  All the time Emily was in the cab, she couldn’t stop replaying the scene in her head. How they had been all over each other before he got whatever it was he got on his phone. This was one of the reasons no one must break the code, and that he had done that, it was affecting her.

  She sighed and sighed until she could sigh no longer. She began to wonder what he must have found out about her. She had never in her life ventured into pornography, so it wasn’t possible that someone had sent a video in which she was involved with another person. She had never cheated in her past relationships, and even though she had been cheated on, she had vowed never to do such a thing, so there was no way someone would send a message about her being a cheat. Or maybe it was something else entirely. Why was this happening when they were so close to moving in together?

  “Liam, why won’t you talk to me?” She said to herself, throwing her head back, her eyes shut and arms akimbo.

  “You said what?” The driver addressed her.

  She realized she must have spoken too loud. “Urm… sorry, I wasn’t talking to you.” She replied and after a while.

  “Are you okay, miss?” The driver asked, looking at her in the front mirror.

  She thought for a while. She actually needed someone to talk to and speaking with a stranger might be a good idea.

  “Why do men block out the women they claim to love from sharing in whatever thing they are going through?”

  The man smiled.

  “It depends on what they are going through at that time.” The man replied.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Well, you see, men are strong beings and we sometimes don’t like sharing our weaknesses, it makes us feel incapable if you understand me. But like I said, it depends on what the man is going through. For instance, are you sure you didn’t do anything to push him away because if you’re the cause, he wouldn’t want to come out and tell you directly until you wait patiently for him to voice it in his own time.”

  “But how do I know if I’m the cause when he is pushing me away?” Emily asked, again, the frustration was gradually getting to her.

  “Has he been happy lately?”

  “Yes, we’ve been so happy together.” She replied.

  “Then you need to be patient. It might not be you after all, give him some time.”

  “Thank you.” She sighed before her mind drifted to a few months back when their relationship had just started.

  The restaurant was always a special place for them, after all it was the place they had reconnected after grad school. They were in the same class in school and had been good friends till they all graduated and lost contact. That is, until seven months back when she had run to him while he was having his breakfast here. She had just been through a messy heartbreak with her ex and having him close to her once again like the old time helped her gain her confidence back and somehow, they had their first kiss in that same restaurant, shortly after, they decided to go on an official date and it has been beautiful ever since.

  The restaurant was their special place and this was why they had planned to come here every Saturday morning and spend a quality time together void of distraction…

  “I guess this is where you’re going, right lady?” The driver interrupted her thoughts. She was so lost in thought she hadn’t realized they were in front of her house. She paid, opened the door and stepped out of the car. Slowly, she shut the door after her and kept on watching the car as it drove out of sight. She walked towards her porch slowly, knowing full well that it was going to be the longest Saturday in a while.

  * * *

  Emily opened her eyes and she could feel the happiness in her as she found her breakfast already in the tray beside her bed. Only Liam could be as romantic as that. She heaved a sigh of relief as she finally accepted that everything was back to normal. He had gone back to his usual self and everything was the way it used to be. She was glad. Gathering the blanket with her, she shifted a little towards the stool and stretched her hand to lift the cup of coffee to her lips. As she did so, Liam entered. He looked quite sweaty in his Adidas and sneakers, she could tell he had been running.

  “Morning babe.” He said, removing the earphone from his ears and advancing close to her to kiss her on the lips.

  “Eww! You are such a brute! You stink! Go take a shower!” She shouted at him, screwing up her nose but he only laughed and rushed to the bathroom.

  After he had left, she sat upright to enjoy her coffee and her breakfast.

  It was about a week since the last issue at the restaurant and it was like nothing happened. He hadn’t said anything to her and he had just gone back to his normal self. She actually felt stupid for thinking too much, she was certain that she had probably gotten a wrong clue and that everything was fine. She wasn’t going to mess things up by asking him questions, everything was fine and she was fine with that.

  Their anniversary was coming up the following week and she was already planning towards it. It was their sixth month in the relationship and to her, it meant a lot of things.

  “What’s that smirk on your face for?” Liam asked as he stepped out of the bathroom.

  Emily burst into laughter as she saw him. His dirty black spiky hair was wet and he was holding the towel in his hand while the water dripped from his naked body.


  “What the hell are you doing Liam?” She screamed, covering her face with her left hand. “Would you get that sight away from me!”

  “Like you don’t like it?” Liam teased, now coming closer to the bed and hugging her from the back while she tried to beat him off, laughing excitedly.

  “Get off me! You’re so wet! Stop it Liam! Ouch!”

  Finally, she was lying on her bed while he was lying fully on her, kissing her.

  His lips were wet and cold against hers but she enjoyed it anyways. His hands drifted to her hips, pulling her closer and as a response, she locked her arms around her neck. His tongue was doing some wonders in her mouth and she shuddered when she felt a tingly sensation between her thighs.

  He pulled away and gazed at her lovingly. “You are so beautiful and your skin is so soft”

  “You’re so cute and your body is so cold.” She teased, laughing excitedly as he bit her on the neck.

  “Go dry off Liam!” She pleaded but he wasn’t looking at her, instead, he was looking at the flier she was holding.

  “What’s that?” He asked, standing up from the body as she passed him the flier.

  “Oh! That’s the Outer Banks.” She replied. It was the plan she had been working on, to celebrate their half-year anniversary. She was hoping they could get a beautiful beach house at Outer Banks to spend their vacation.

  Liam stared at the flier in his hands, it contained the picture of a beautiful landscape surrounded with water, beach houses and tall trees. His countenance changed immediately.

  “Where did you get this?” He asked, dropping the flier and moving to the couch on which his trousers lay.

  “Someone showed me yesterday at the salon and I thought it is a great place to start our vacation.” She replied.

  “Vacation?” He asked, looking confused. He was in his trousers now and was wearing his shirt.

  “Yes love, for our anniversary next month, half a year!” Emily replied proudly while expecting his reply.

  “Oh.”

  “Oh?”

  “I mean it is a nice idea but you could have told me before planning this”

  Emily was surprised. “I wanted it to be a surprise baby. I’m sorry.”

  “How much is it?”

  “I’m yet to receive a reply on a two-weeks rent.”

  “Okay. You can tell me the amount later, I’ll pitch in my half so we can set it up quickly.”

  Emily watched as he buttoned his shirt and began to pull on his sneakers.

  “Are you going somewhere? Thought we were supposed to plan this together.”

  “Oh, now? Sorry babe, I have other plans.” He replied. “I will call you later.” Then he came closer, kissed her roughly on the cheek and left the room.

  Her heart sank as she watched him leave. What the hell just happened? Did he just bail on her? She hoped not because it wouldn’t make any sense and for the record, this wasn’t making any sense either. All of a sudden she lost her appetite.

  “Is he not excited as I am? Am I overdoing things and what is actually happening? I thought we were actually fine!” She kept saying to herself.

  She was probably overreacting; it’s possible he has a plan like he just said. She was willing to go with that but deep down she could feel something was off between them and not having a clue was making her stomach churn.

  Later that morning she washed, got dressed and decided to hit the salon.

  * * *

  Liam slammed the door after him as he settled in the car.

  What was happening? Why did she have to pick Outer Banks of all places to plan their vacation? The same place he and Kate had marked their one-year anniversary.

  She couldn’t possibly have known, since they had both agreed not to discuss their past relationships and now his was haunting him.

  He turned the ignition key and hit the pedals. Just when he had decided not to let the whole thought of Kate getting married with his own happiness, he could see his plan was not working as he had hoped. Now that she started planning their vacation without informing him first, could she be seeing him as inadequate as well?

  * * *

  “I’m so confused I don’t know what men expect from us. One minute they are the king of the world and they want to dictate your entire life, the next second they are a complete stranger!”

  Emily smiled where she sat under the hair dryer as she listened to the conversation of the women. There were seven women at the salon. Two, including her, were under their hair dryer while the other two were having their hair done. One of the reasons why she liked coming here was to listen to women’s experiences. Most times their discussion never applied to her as they were always busy talking about the problem they face trying to raise their children, but today they seemed to be talking about things she was actually going through.

  “Look, I told my man last night. If he keeps checking out the pictures of those Instagram bitches, one of them would have to start cooking his meals for him.” The second lady under the dryer said, and everyone laughed.

  “Sometimes, a man’s problem is not even a woman, sometimes it is money and other times, it is something unimaginable like a stupid bet. Instead of them talking about it to you, they don’t. That’s when you start seeing them avoiding you or trying to be alone.” Mrs. Maxwell, the hairdresser, stated. She was dark in complexion and she looked older than the rest of them.

  “So, what do you do during those moments when they are shutting you out?” Emily asked before she could stop herself.

  ‘Well, my dear, when such a time comes, try not to think so much about it or else you might go crazy.” The one under the dryer replied.

  “I have this TV show that I watch every night, it discusses sensitive things about men and their egos in relationships. Y’all should listen to it. It has helped me a lot in my past relationships.” Mrs. Maxwell continued. “You know sometimes you just got to do what you need to do in order to stay sane. Else, you will keep blaming yourself for things that weren’t your fault in the first place.”

  “Hmm. Ride on sister!” The lady beside her chorused.

  “Let’s face it, when something is off in our relationship we want to make things right because we are women and we are emotional. We want to make everyone happy. Sometimes, we just need to try and make effort to make things right. We know that if we don’t things might not get better.”

  “Yea, true.” All the women replied at once.

  “I would really love to know the name of the program Mrs. Maxwell,” Emily said.

  “Don’t worry dear, I’ll write it down for you before you leave.”

  * * *

  Looking around, he realized there were few people left in the bar. Conversations rose in a dirty cloud of smoke. There were standing drinkers, sitting drinkers and couples in secluded bays.

  He shouldn’t even have come here but somehow he had found his way. This was the best place for men like him to drown their sorrows, but he wasn’t feeling better, instead he felt worse as the picture of Kate in her beautiful wedding gown flashed before him.

  Liam checked the time on his phone, it was getting late. He had just sent his half of the holiday money to Emily’s account after he got her message.

  “Who broke your heart?” A voice said in front of him and he looked up. It was the female bartender who had served him earlier. She looked like someone in her early twenties with a visible scorpion tattoo around her neck. Her dress hung over her shoulders.

  “No one broke my heart,” he replied, draining his cup.

  The lady leaned closer to him, resting her arm on the counter and staring at him.

  “So, whose heart are you breaking?” She asked again, half smiling.

  Liam tossed her his cup for a refill. “No one. Why, are you interested?”

  The lady straightened up and turned to pick a bottle from the stark, which she opened and poured into Liam’s glass, tossing it back to him.

  “I know everyone’s problem by thei
r number of drinks.” She replied and pointed to a guy sitting at the far end corner of the bar. He was a middle-aged man in a bowler hat and in front of him was an empty bottle and a half empty cup.

  “That man over there just got divorce papers from his wife, whom he loved unconditionally, and he’s finding it difficult to understand why she would ask for a divorce. That guy over there…” she continued, pointing to another at the other corner. He looked younger and had four empty bottles and an empty glass on the table before him. Hanging loosely in the corner of his lip was a cigar, and he seemed to be dead drunk as he stared blindly into the darkness.

  “He just went bankrupt.” Then she faced him. “You, well, I’m finding it difficult to understand. You seem to be the sort of guy who doesn’t belong in this bar, and yet somehow you found yourself here. I don’t think you actually understand what’s wrong with you, yet you are sad about something that shouldn’t make you sad.”

  Liam smiled. “You are getting warm, but not warm enough.”

  “At least I tried, I bet if you speak to my sister, she’ll solve your problem in no time.”

  “Your sister?”

  The lady nodded as she tended to another customer. “She’s a shrink, I’ve been trying to learn one or two things from her so you should give me some compliments for being close to figuring out what your problem is.”

  Liam smiled. “I’m having a problem dealing with a past relationship. You’re right about being sad when it shouldn’t make me sad.”

  The lady clapped her hands excitedly. “Wonderful. You see, I’m good.”

  “So, how do I get to your sister?” He asked.

  “Well, I can help you but she is a super busy woman. If you’re lucky, you can talk to her in, maybe, three days time.”