Chapter 6: The Last Straw
Author's Note: I know that the 1.1 update made it so that spouses don't get jealous if you give a bachelor(ette) a gift on their birthday, but the story flowed better that way.
I didn't want to face Sebastian with my burning questions until I had them sorted out in my mind. There was really no tactful way to ask him what was going on with Abigail, and if my suspicions were confirmed, I wouldn't expect him to tell the truth. I spent the next few days in the desert, taking out my aggression on flying serpents in the Skull Cavern and mining for valuables. On Wednesday morning, though, I checked Welwick's Oracle and found that luck would not be on my side. A gut feeling suggested that I should stay away from the caves that day.
"You believe that stuff?" Sebastian asked as I turned off the TV.
"Better safe than sorry."
"Hmm…you have a point."
I went off to complete my morning farm duties, then headed south to Marnie's to see if I could pick up some extra feed. When I got there, though, she had already stepped out.
"Do you know when Marnie will be back?" I asked Shane as he passed.
"No idea," he replied evasively. "I think she said she had some business with the Mayor."
"Okay, thanks." I didn't expect to catch up to her, but I headed east into town anyway. As I passed Sam's house, he flagged me down.
"Got anything for me?" he asked excitedly.
"Nothing exiting."
He frowned. "Aww. You did forget."
My eyes widened. Oh yeah! I had been so distracted, I had forgotten that it was his birthday. I shrugged my backpack off of one shoulder and dug around until I found a Joja Cola. I chuckled playfully. "You still like these, right?"
"You remembered my birthday!" He grabbed the soda can ecstatically. "Thank you, this is great!" He immediately popped the top and took a swig. "My mom refuses to buy these. I'm starting to think I'm the only one in town who drinks this stuff..."
I was curious to know if he had any inside knowledge about what transpired between Sebastian and Abigail the previous Friday. "Sorry I missed you guys last week."
"Oh, I wasn't there either." He threw a glance toward his front door. "I had to help my dad out with something…I won't bore you with the details."
"Ah, I gotcha." I turned to stare out at the river. "Hey Sam…have you noticed anything weird going on lately with Sebastian?"
"Nah, just the usual…why?"
"No reason. Just wondering if something was bothering him."
"I'm always wondering that myself." I couldn't tell whether or not he was being facetious. "He's a good guy, though. Maybe he just needs to get out more."
I returned home later in the afternoon for lunch. Sebastian was waiting for me at the door as I came in, arms crossed in exasperation.
"I heard you secretly gave Sam a gift today," he said ominously.
"What do you mean? Today's his birthday."
"Do I need to be suspicious of you?"
A hot volt of adrenaline shot through my body. "You have a lot of nerve, Sebastian." He was taken aback, and dropped his arms to his sides. "Projecting your own guilt onto me…did you think I wouldn't notice?"
"Guilt? What are you talking about?"
"I know what happened with you and Abigail." The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them.
Sebastian grew angry. "What did she say to you?"
"Just that she had feelings for someone she couldn't be with…didn't take a genius to figure out who that was."
Sebastian suddenly looked crestfallen. "Why are you upset about this? Are…you on her side?"
"She's not the problem," I fired back. "You are."
"Me?" Sebastian pointed to himself in disbelief. "I'm not the one who fell in love with someone I shouldn't have!"
"How do I know that?"
"How can you not? Isn't it obvious that it's you I want to be with?" He put both hands on my shoulders. "I wouldn't have married you otherwise."
A cold realization crossed my mind, and before I could process it, I heard myself say it: "You married me to get away from Demetrius."
Sebastian let go of me and stepped away. "You…you really think that?"
I was stuck, lost for words. We stood facing each other in mutual shocked silence. The more I thought about what I said, the more it made sense. "Actually…yeah," I concluded. "You take everything I do for granted because you know I won't breathe down your neck the way he does. Then you spend your time nitpicking about the things I don't do, and coming up with conspiracies about me being unfaithful to deflect from your own questionable relationships with friends." I was so angry, I didn't care whether or not my accusations were truthful.
"Then I won't waste any more of your life." He headed for the door. "Meet me at the Mayor's house tomorrow morning at nine." He slammed the door behind him, and moments later, I heard him rev up his motorcycle and disappear into the night.
