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The door slammed shut, and Michelle stood staring at it, frozen with shock. What was she gong to do? Was Tony coming back?
She stepped backwards and sank to the floor, shaking uncontrollably with shock, the argument spinning inside her head. She didn't know what to do. Jack had warned her before Tony came home that he might take a little time to adjust after prison, but she had never dreamed that he would be like this. He was drinking; something that before prison he had rarely done. She knew that the main problem was that he was so bored; if Tony got a job maybe he would stop being so controlling, stop drinking so much, and go back to being the Tony that Michelle had married.
"Oh, God" she moaned quietly to herself, tears beginning to fall. Why was he like this? Why couldn't he be nice to her? Did he blame her for what had happened with Saunders?
'Pull yourself together Michelle' she told herself after a few more minutes, trying to think objectively about the problem. She had to find a way to make Tony happier; if that happened then they could go back to being a happily married couple as they always were. She considered calling Jack, but was unwilling to moan about Tony to him; Jack and Tony had always been close friends.
She took a deep breath and stood up, suddenly feeling very alone. She didn't know who to call. No one would understand. At this thought, tears began to fall again; small quiet sobs at first, followed by gushes of tears. What was she going to do?
Tony stormed down the road, his mind whirling. Didn't Michelle love him anymore? Did she hate being married to an ex-con?
He slammed his fist furiously into a lamppost, almost enjoying the pain he experienced. He cursed, hating Michelle for doing this to him. Didn't she love him anymore? She spent all her time at work, wouldn't even let him call her, would rather see her friends that him, and was possibly interested in another man. The thought of Michelle having an affair made him feel sick. The more he tried to think of something else, the harder it became to block mental images of Michelle with another man.
He remembered Michelle's words; "Don't be ridiculous!" she had yelled at him. 'Ridiculous', Tony fumed. She had talked to him as if he were a child. Maybe that's all she thought he was worth. Just because he didn't have a job, and Michelle still worked at that stupid, betraying place, he was 'ridiculous'?
He walked round and round the neighborhood in circles, Michelle's words filling his head. The alcohol's effect began to wear off, and as he sobered up Tony crashed down onto the edge of the road, feeling terrible. What had he done? How could he have accused her of having an affair? He began to regret yelling at Michelle; it certainly wasn't going to make her want to spend more time with him.
He swore loudly, feeling stupid. 'Dammit Tony! Why couldn't you have just kept your mouth shut?' he asked himself. He knew that Michelle couldn't really help how much she worked right now; he'd been there, and he'd been a complete workaholic on many occasions.
He considered walking home and apologising to Michelle. Michelle! What if she left? What if she wasn't there when he got back, and he couldn't apologise? Panic raced through him; he needed Michelle! He jumped up, and began to run home, forming his apology as he went.
Michelle closed her eyes, trying desperately to block out the sounds of Tony yelling at her, but knowing she wouldn't be able to. She was lying in bed, listening hopefully for the door. Would he come back? All she knew was that she wanted Tony back. She would try harder to make things work between them, and make sure that she kept her mouth shut, even if he really annoyed her. The last six months, while Tony had been in prison had been the worst of her life, and she didn't want to lose him again.
She heard a noise downstairs, and sat bolt upright. She suddenly felt afraid; what if he had been drinking even more? Tony had never been violent with her, but then they had never argued this much before. She heard Tony close the door and lock it. Michelle felt frightened; she was locked in if he was going to hurt her. There was no where to run.
'Don't be stupid!' she told herself sternly. Tony would never hurt you! She heard him climbing the stairs, and braced herself. Whatever he said, she wasn't going to argue back. She wanted to be happy with Tony; not arguing with him!
Tony pushed the bedroom door back, hoping fervently that Michelle was inside. She was.
"Michelle" he half-whispered. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have accused you of being with another guy, and…" he tailed off; his practiced apology forgotten. Michelle was crying. "Michelle". He stopped, not knowing what to do.
"I'm sorry too" Michelle sniffed, in between sobs. Tony moved towards her, and put his arm around her. "It's ok" he murmured. "I'm here".
Michelle tried to smile, but felt awful inside. This didn't feel right. Tony had been yelling at her, yelling in a way that she had never seen before. When they had gotten married, Michelle had known that she would never find someone so caring and protective as Tony. But he had changed. Tonight, he had scared her, and Michelle didn't feel comfortable at all. She just hoped that it wouldn't happen again. If he didn't do it again, she was sure it would begin to feel right again.
She wrapped her arm around Tony, wishing that her relationship wasn't based on 'if'.