Author's Note: New chapter. Shorter chapter than usual, but we're making some headway here. Let's say 4 more chapters left... Enjoy!
Hyde walks into the Forman's basement immediately after leaving Donna's, determined to fix one of the many messes he's managed to make of his life. He walks straight into the small bedroom and sees his wife still in bed. Her blonde hair is fanned out across her pillows ad he can only see the top of her head due to the blanket covering her body. Even in the dim lighting, he can make out her form, rising and falling with each breath she takes. He starts to think of the moment she walked through the door a few months ago and wonders what made him think it was a good idea to let her stay. Just two weeks prior to her arrival, he was in a drunken stupor in a warehouse telling his friends that he was going to marry Jackie. He went so far as to purchase a ring and chase her to Chicago. He couldn't even remember how or where he met Sam or he even really liked her. Though if he had to ask, the answer was probably no.
"Sam" he calls loud enough to make her stir a bit. When she doesn't wake up, he walks over to the cot, sits on the edge and shakes her gently. She stirs again and grunts softly. "Sam, wake up" he says.
Her eyes flutter open, adjusting to the darkness of the room. "What's going on?" she mumbles, her voice soft but coarse at the same time.
"We need to talk" he tells her.
She sits up and straightens her body, stretching her arms above her head and yawning. "That's never a good sign" she says and he smirks. If anyone knows what those four words signify, it's him. If only because he's heard them dozens of times from the numerous girls who wanted him but "weren't looking for anything serious." In other words, girls who would be too ashamed to be seen out in public with him but had no qualms getting into his bed.
"I guess it isn't" he responds.
"Is this about Jackie?" she asks looking directly into his eyes. Even without light, he can make out the blueness in her eyes and he can imagine the hint of hurt that hides within them, which is why he's glad he can't actually see them. Despite his feelings of their marriage, Sam was a nice girl who got caught up in a mess far bigger than she.
"I don't want to lie and say that's it's not" he responds and he can see the lines on her face turn into a scowl, the softness in her face gone.
"Damn it Hyde, why keep me here then?"
"Because we got married Sam. We got married and it was the right thing to do."
"Right thing for who exactly? You've been lying to me this entire time. Pretending to be this good guy who actually likes me but the whole time you've just been pining after your ex-girlfriend who is engaged in case you forgot."
"Sam, I haven't been pretending to be anything. I never said I was anything other than what I am and I never promised anything I couldn't offer you. You couldn't possibly expect that this would be some fairy tale after getting married the way we did, could you?"
"Oh don't be such a patronizing asshole Hyde. I'm not Jackie okay? I didn't make you out to be some knight in shining armor who would rescue the poor stripper from Vegas. I wasn't expecting a white picket fence or a dog or anything of the sort. I did, however, expect you to be a decent fucking person and be honest with me."
"And that's exactly what I'm doing now. I'm not going to keep dragging you along in this marriage until we're both miserable and hate each other because we want something else. Unfortunately, this is about Jackie."
"She's engaged!" Sam says loudly.
"I know that" he says firmly.
"So what do you think is going to happen here? You get rid of me and you think she's going to jump back into your arms, after everything you've done? I thought you were smarter than that Hyde."
"Look, I'm not here to talk about Jackie."
"Then what's the point of this conversation? What does it matter anyway if you're still not going to get what you want?"
"Sam, the point of this was to be honest about where I stand with us. Jackie is just a small part of it, but I can't keep lying to myself or you and keep this marriage going."
"Oh how noble of you. So you want a divorce?"
"Yes" he confirms.
Sam pulls the blanket away from her body and throws her legs over the side of the cot and stands up. Her bare feet relish in the cold of the concrete floor. "Well you don't have to worry, consider yourself divorced" she says turning her back to him and walking over to the dresser to grab her toothbrush.
"What does that mean?" he asks.
"We were never officially married so you're free. Free to do whatever the hell you want" she says as she turns on her heels and walks out of the room, leaving a very speechless, angry but relieved Hyde behind her.