Bad Day
By: Hardyzschic
Had a bad day again
She said I would not understand
She left a note and said I'm sorry I
Had a bad day again.
Jeff reread the words he had just written in his leather bound journal then he shut it and began to stare across the hotel room at the door she had slammed when she left. Their relationship had become increasingly more confusing in the past couple of months. She had started to become more aloof and standoffish. It didn't help they were both on the road so much. Finding spare time to be alone together had become impossible. They both tried but things somehow always got in the way. His mind drifted to their latest "togetherness" time that had gone awry.
He had cleared his hectic schedule for the afternoon and was sitting in a little out of the way diner they had spotted when they got into town late the night before. He heard the bell on the door jingle as she entered in a flurry of shopping bags and muttering curses. "What's wrong?" he asked. He had hoped she would be excited as he was about their time together but that was obviously not the case. "What's wrong?" She asked staring at him across the table. "What's wrong?" She repeated and then started in on one of her more impressive tirades.
"What's right would be an easier question to answer. The girls and I were supposed to go shopping and of course they were all late and then decided we should go for coffee first before we shopped and of course the stupid waiter would spill the coffee all over me.," she said with a grimace. "At least you're here now and we can spend time together" Jeff interrupted as he reached across the table to take her hands and give her a smile. That's when he saw it in her eyes. She wasn't staying, he could sense it, something else had come up. "You're not staying are you?" he said before she even had a chance to say anything else. She gave him a sheepish grin, confirming what he already knew was true. It had gotten to the point where he could see right through her, he thought sadly. He frowned as she started to get up. She hurriedly planted a kiss on his cheek saying, "I'm sorry babe but they scheduled a photo shoot that I just can't skip. My makeup is a mess and I have to go get ready." She said as she made her way to the door throwing a half hearted "I'll make it up to you later" over her shoulder she left in just as big a huff as when she entered. He had taken his journal out of his bag, which was resting on the seat beside him. Opened it and spent the rest of the afternoon, until he had to get to the arena, writing.
She spilled her coffee, broke he shoelace
Smeared the lipstick on her face
Slammed the door and said I'm sorry I
Had a bad day again.
The phone ringing interrupted Jeff's thoughts, bringing him harshly back to reality. He knew who it was before he even got out of his chair and went to answer it. She was calling to apologize for their latest "misunderstanding" as she so often termed them. Reaching for the receiver he said "Hello" and waited for her latest excuse. "Baby, I'm so sorry I left in such a huff. It's kinda been a bad day and time crept up on me. I shouldn't have taken it out on you though." Yeah, but you've been doing that a lot lately he thought to himself as he said "Its not a big deal. You're ok though aren't you?" "Yeah, I promise I'm fine. I just had a bad day is all. You know I love you though" she said, and almost convinced him, had he not heard that tone that was becoming more and more present in her voice these days. He couldn't quiet put it into words how to describe the tone but as the days went on it was beginning to sound increasingly more and more like something Jeff didn't want to admit. They said their goodbyes and promised to talk when she got back to their hotel room that night. Jeff hung up the phone and went back to the desk where he had been writing. Opening his journal he began to write again;
And she swears there's nothing wrong
I hear her playing that same old song
She puts me off and puts me on.
A few hours later, Jeff closed his journal and went to bed. She was two hours late and for once he didn't feel like waiting up to hear her latest excuse.
The next morning when light streamed in through the filmy hotel curtains, Jeff rolled over and reached for her, but her side of the bed was empty. She had not slept there that night, he thought as he opened his eyes slowly, searching the room for any sign that she had been there at all. He bolted upright in bed when he realized that her bags were gone. He got up and raced to the bathroom and his heart began to pound when he realized there was only one toothbrush on the counter. She had left. But even with as flighty as she had been lately, he knew this was not like her. She would have to leave some kind of explanation for her actions. No matter how lame the excuse was he knew that she would have left one, so he began to search the room. When he spotted the piece of paper folded neatly on top of his journal he froze. This was it, he thought. This is where it all has to start making sense. He walked across the room and picked up the folded note, settling in the chair to read it.
Jeff,
I thought this was a note I never would have to write, but I cant put it off any longer. I'm leaving you and I've found someone new. He just understands me better than you ever did and he makes me feel special. Jeff I never meant to hurt you but I'm leaving you for Shannon. I hope one day you can understand and that you wont hate us forever. We never meant for this to happen and we certainly never meant to hurt you.
Jeff's stomach hit his feet and his heart leapt into his throat. So that's what all this had been about? She was leaving him and didn't know how to tell him. Worse than that she was leaving him for someone else. But not just for anyone else, for his best friend no less! She had been purposely avoiding him because she didn't want to face him while she was cheating on him with his best friend. And Shannon, that was a totally different subject. Shannon was his best friend, how could he have done something so low and despicable?
Questions flew furiously around in Jeff's brain, but at the same time things slowly started to fall into place. Her mood swings and "bad" days were beginning to make sense now. Taking a deep breath Jeff realized there wasn't a lot that he could do about it now. The damage had been done and he just had to deal with it. So he did what came naturally when he was upset or emotional. He opened his journal and finished the poem he had been working on
And had a bad day again
She said I would not understand
Left a note and said I'm sorry I
Had a bad day again.
Jeff paused his pen for a minute realizing just how ironic his statements were. She never knew exactly how much he did understand her, and now she would never know. He continued to write until he finally finished it.
Finishing the poem he had been working on brought him comfort, as writing always did. He would deal with the rest of it later, but for now he had to get ready to meet Matt and Amy at the airport to head for the next town and the next step in his life, no matter how "bad" the days to come would be.
(Jeff's journal entry is actually the lyrics from a song by the group Fuel. The song is entitled "Bad Day".)
By: Hardyzschic
Had a bad day again
She said I would not understand
She left a note and said I'm sorry I
Had a bad day again.
Jeff reread the words he had just written in his leather bound journal then he shut it and began to stare across the hotel room at the door she had slammed when she left. Their relationship had become increasingly more confusing in the past couple of months. She had started to become more aloof and standoffish. It didn't help they were both on the road so much. Finding spare time to be alone together had become impossible. They both tried but things somehow always got in the way. His mind drifted to their latest "togetherness" time that had gone awry.
He had cleared his hectic schedule for the afternoon and was sitting in a little out of the way diner they had spotted when they got into town late the night before. He heard the bell on the door jingle as she entered in a flurry of shopping bags and muttering curses. "What's wrong?" he asked. He had hoped she would be excited as he was about their time together but that was obviously not the case. "What's wrong?" She asked staring at him across the table. "What's wrong?" She repeated and then started in on one of her more impressive tirades.
"What's right would be an easier question to answer. The girls and I were supposed to go shopping and of course they were all late and then decided we should go for coffee first before we shopped and of course the stupid waiter would spill the coffee all over me.," she said with a grimace. "At least you're here now and we can spend time together" Jeff interrupted as he reached across the table to take her hands and give her a smile. That's when he saw it in her eyes. She wasn't staying, he could sense it, something else had come up. "You're not staying are you?" he said before she even had a chance to say anything else. She gave him a sheepish grin, confirming what he already knew was true. It had gotten to the point where he could see right through her, he thought sadly. He frowned as she started to get up. She hurriedly planted a kiss on his cheek saying, "I'm sorry babe but they scheduled a photo shoot that I just can't skip. My makeup is a mess and I have to go get ready." She said as she made her way to the door throwing a half hearted "I'll make it up to you later" over her shoulder she left in just as big a huff as when she entered. He had taken his journal out of his bag, which was resting on the seat beside him. Opened it and spent the rest of the afternoon, until he had to get to the arena, writing.
She spilled her coffee, broke he shoelace
Smeared the lipstick on her face
Slammed the door and said I'm sorry I
Had a bad day again.
The phone ringing interrupted Jeff's thoughts, bringing him harshly back to reality. He knew who it was before he even got out of his chair and went to answer it. She was calling to apologize for their latest "misunderstanding" as she so often termed them. Reaching for the receiver he said "Hello" and waited for her latest excuse. "Baby, I'm so sorry I left in such a huff. It's kinda been a bad day and time crept up on me. I shouldn't have taken it out on you though." Yeah, but you've been doing that a lot lately he thought to himself as he said "Its not a big deal. You're ok though aren't you?" "Yeah, I promise I'm fine. I just had a bad day is all. You know I love you though" she said, and almost convinced him, had he not heard that tone that was becoming more and more present in her voice these days. He couldn't quiet put it into words how to describe the tone but as the days went on it was beginning to sound increasingly more and more like something Jeff didn't want to admit. They said their goodbyes and promised to talk when she got back to their hotel room that night. Jeff hung up the phone and went back to the desk where he had been writing. Opening his journal he began to write again;
And she swears there's nothing wrong
I hear her playing that same old song
She puts me off and puts me on.
A few hours later, Jeff closed his journal and went to bed. She was two hours late and for once he didn't feel like waiting up to hear her latest excuse.
The next morning when light streamed in through the filmy hotel curtains, Jeff rolled over and reached for her, but her side of the bed was empty. She had not slept there that night, he thought as he opened his eyes slowly, searching the room for any sign that she had been there at all. He bolted upright in bed when he realized that her bags were gone. He got up and raced to the bathroom and his heart began to pound when he realized there was only one toothbrush on the counter. She had left. But even with as flighty as she had been lately, he knew this was not like her. She would have to leave some kind of explanation for her actions. No matter how lame the excuse was he knew that she would have left one, so he began to search the room. When he spotted the piece of paper folded neatly on top of his journal he froze. This was it, he thought. This is where it all has to start making sense. He walked across the room and picked up the folded note, settling in the chair to read it.
Jeff,
I thought this was a note I never would have to write, but I cant put it off any longer. I'm leaving you and I've found someone new. He just understands me better than you ever did and he makes me feel special. Jeff I never meant to hurt you but I'm leaving you for Shannon. I hope one day you can understand and that you wont hate us forever. We never meant for this to happen and we certainly never meant to hurt you.
Jeff's stomach hit his feet and his heart leapt into his throat. So that's what all this had been about? She was leaving him and didn't know how to tell him. Worse than that she was leaving him for someone else. But not just for anyone else, for his best friend no less! She had been purposely avoiding him because she didn't want to face him while she was cheating on him with his best friend. And Shannon, that was a totally different subject. Shannon was his best friend, how could he have done something so low and despicable?
Questions flew furiously around in Jeff's brain, but at the same time things slowly started to fall into place. Her mood swings and "bad" days were beginning to make sense now. Taking a deep breath Jeff realized there wasn't a lot that he could do about it now. The damage had been done and he just had to deal with it. So he did what came naturally when he was upset or emotional. He opened his journal and finished the poem he had been working on
And had a bad day again
She said I would not understand
Left a note and said I'm sorry I
Had a bad day again.
Jeff paused his pen for a minute realizing just how ironic his statements were. She never knew exactly how much he did understand her, and now she would never know. He continued to write until he finally finished it.
Finishing the poem he had been working on brought him comfort, as writing always did. He would deal with the rest of it later, but for now he had to get ready to meet Matt and Amy at the airport to head for the next town and the next step in his life, no matter how "bad" the days to come would be.
(Jeff's journal entry is actually the lyrics from a song by the group Fuel. The song is entitled "Bad Day".)