I look at the ceiling, my eyes tired and I look around. I hear rattling and groan in disgust.
"It's too early for anyone to be up." I mumble and roll over, expecting to see a beautiful Belarusian woman sleeping beside me, but there isn't. I stretch and curl my toes before I go to get out of bed. I open the door to the bedroom, which creaks as I sneak out. I have a pretty decent view of the kitchen and I laugh silently to myself.
"What the…" I whisper as I see Natalia by the stove, pans rattling as she pulls one down and the others sway against one another.
"Agh, damn it. If you damn pots don't shut up you're going to wake Alfred up!" She shouts at them as I stroll into the kitchen.
"My dear Natalia, if anyone is going to wake me up it's you." I grab her, spin her into my chest and kisses her tenderly.
"As much as I love the idea of breakfast…I'd rather see you first thing in the morning, with your hair wrapped around my fingers." I kiss her cheek and she turns around.
"Alfred…this is still new to me." She pushes me back and I frown.
"Bull, Natalia. You've known I've loved you since forever ago. Just relax and be treated how you should be." I lean against the counter and she looks to the floor. "But did ya hear? Ivan's getting married next month to some Russian Princess." I laugh as I grab a banana from the bowl next to me.
"Can you believe that? Think it's just some rouse? Fake a marriage and live separate lives?" I joke, but Natalia looks upset from the blank stare she gives me.
"Nat, don't tell me…" I frown and grab her hands, trying to see if she's going to cry and smile.
"Alfred…every day when I was a child I would dream. I would dream that I was Ivan's wife. That I would bare his children. I would wake up to his sleeping face and be so filled with love and laughter that nothing in the world would matter." She's shaking as she takes a pause.
"So no, I do not think of this as some joke…to me…this feels like hell. This feels like…like someone has ripped my heart out and stabbed it with a million daggers." She gets angry and pushes past me, her hand brushing against the burner of the stove. I can see it lightly burns her, but she's too mad to care.
"Nat, wait!" I yell, going after her, but she's already slammed the door and locked it by the time I get to it.
"Damn it!" I shout, smacking the wall.
"She's been moody ever since we've become actual lovers." I sigh and go to the living room.
"TONYYYY where are you when I need you?" I shout into my hands, wishing I could learn to keep my mouth closed once in a while. I shake my head before I hear a noise. She's sobbing and it breaks my heart. I go into the hallway, looking at the door. I take in a deep breath before grabbing the doorknob and lightly turning it.
I open the door and see her, her navy dress bunches up around her thighs and she's on my bed, crying her eyes out. I frown and walk over to her, expecting her to push me away. I reach out a hand and place it gently on her head, soothing her sobs with tender touches. After a minute or two I take a seat on the bedside. I place my hand on her back as she cries, her back jumping up and down with each breath.
"Nat-Natalia, my dear, I'm sorry. I shouldn't bring him up." I frowned and kissed her head. She turns and looks up at me.
"Alfred, do you even realize what you said? You took my feelings for someone and smashed them into the ground…because they weren't for you." She shakes her head and pulls away.
"How would you feel if I had married someone?" She shouts at me, her voice loud and hoarse. "I have you, you wouldn't marry anyone else…" I reply, but almost instantly know it's the wrong answer.
"You're selfish pig!" She extends a hand and firmly slaps me across the cheek. I groan in pain and merely look at her. "Natalia…" I blankly stare, trying to find words to express to her that I care about her.
"You've been smothering me with love, but not thinking about what I actually need or want. Did you ever realize that or did you just expect that because I was willing to open my heart that it was automatically all about you and no one else ever even mattered to me?!" She gets out of the bed and wipes her eyes.
"Alfred, I can't do this!" I stare at her as I see her leave. I have a weird feeling in my heart, a tightness I've not experienced in a very long time. I feel tears come to my eyes as I hear the front door slam. I can see her get into her car, she's still crying as she places her forehead on the steering wheel.
"Damn it!" I huff and fall back into the bed.
"Maybe…I'll let her go home and I'll call her tomorrow and see…just how she is." I sigh, hoping this is just a couple's spat and that all will be fine by morning. I finally see her pull out of the driveway after a few minutes. The tightness stays in my chest and I roll over, only hoping it's a momentary thing.
At some point, I close my eyes and I fall asleep. I wake up around midnight, tears had fallen from my eyes and stain my face. I look at the window, expecting Natalia's car to be out front, but it's not. I get up, go to the fridge and grab an ice-cold beer. I pop the top and sit in the living room.
"Jesus…I've not felt this shitty since…I can't even remember." I look around the room, grabbing an old photo album and look at some of the keepsakes. I smirk a little as I see pictures of Germany and Italy's wedding, Prussia photo-bombing almost every photo, even holding bunny ears above Germany's head while he kisses his beloved.
I turn the page, seeing a photo of Natalia and Ivan, they're dancing together at a united nations ball, my heart sinks as I look at them. Her face, it's so youthful and energetic as Ivan's hands carelessly caress her sides. I frown as I can't recall if she's ever looked at me the way she looks at Ivan.
"Natalia, my beloved." I whisper as I turn the page, looking at her was too painful right now. I keep recalling the harsh emotion she carried when she slapped me earlier.
"You're a selfish pig!" I recall her words, just as harsh as they were earlier. I throw the photo album to the floor and slink back to my bedroom, thinking it's more peaceful there. I crawl into bed, inhaling the intoxicating aroma that clung to the pillow of where she slept.
"Nat…why do I love you so much? We've never truly had anything worth mentioning…" I turn over and look to the ceiling, closing my eyes as I tried to remember the first time I recall meeting the beautiful vixen.
I pulled up to the gates of a huge mansion that Germany and Italy had rented out for the reception of their wedding. I felt bad that I had missed the ceremony part, but boy was I ready to party! I slick my hair back, smirking as I adjusted my jacket and crawled out of the tiny sports car. I slammed the yellow door and made my way to the reception hall. I walked along the corridors and see the bright lights and slow music.
I peep in and see Italy and Germany's first dance. I shake my head, not wanting to deal with the emotional bullshit and slip into a back bedroom. I was hoping to see someone indecent and join in on the fun, but alas, no one was whoring it out…yet.
I sigh and go back to the large hall where everyone else was. I slip over to the open bar and hand the guy a 50-dollar bill, ensuring he knows to keep me wonderfully drunk the entire evening.
I look at every damsel in the hall and my eyes instantly fall on a tiny Belarusian woman. She was sitting in the corner, sipping what looked like an iced tea and looking generally lonely. I stride confidently over to her table and take a seat next to her.
"What's a beautiful woman like you doing all by your lonesome?" I wink and grab her hand, gently kissing it the way France showed me, also with the reminder that it got someone laid 9 out of 10 times. She looked over, glared harshly before sliding her hand along the side of her tight blue dress, I guess to get my saliva off her.
"I'm waiting for someone." She muttered, turning a cold shoulder to me.
"Ah, since you're waiting why don't I keep you company then?" I slyly wrap my arm around her bare shoulders and she shrugs them off before standing up. I scoff and roll my eyes, only to see Ivan with his hands on some beautiful little lady. Her radiant auburn hair gently cascading down her back. She was a hard ten…and she knew it.
"Natalia," Ivan called and the young woman next to me turned her head towards him to express she was paying attention.
"Yes?" She answered, an eyebrow peaking as she saw Ivan's hand resting on his guest's rear end.
"I have some…business with my partner here. I'll be excusing myself. Stay here and sit still." Ivan walked over and kissed her cheek, before leaving with his guest. I noticed that he was going to a hall of bedrooms and looked at Natalia with a quizzical glare.
"Natalia?" I asked, wanting to at least know her name. She stood there puzzled as she saw Ivan whispering something into the woman's ear. She sat down at the table and looked at the glass in my hand, but before I knew it she had stolen it.
"What do you want?" She asked coldly, preferring to be alone then bombarded with company.
"Well…I dunno what I want." I rolled my eyes towards the ceiling and looked at the lights, twinkling in the air. I looked over to the open bar attendant and winked, holding up two fingers and the guy merely nodded in response. He had some hyper little blonde come by and drop them off. I thanked her and slid on in front of Natalia.
"He's sleeping with her…" She looked down, her hands in her lap and I could tell she was playing with a piece of jewelry.
"Yeahhhhhhh, that doesn't surprise me. Hell, everyone hooks up at weddings. It's like the best thing to do." I joke, sliding closer to her. She picks up the glass with her hand and my jaw drops to the table. I look at her ring finger and note that she's wearing an engagement ring. My eyes go wide, but I quickly try to get more information.
"Soooo Natalia, tell me about that ring." I casually say before gulping down a swig of bourbon, which burns my throat as if it's the seven layers of holy hell.
"This?" She casually twirls it on her finger.
"It's true, I'm with someone." She sighs and I can tell she's saddened by this, she doesn't look too disappointed, but she does look beaten. I decide it's just the alcohol and lie my head on her shoulder.
"Engagements are crap. It's not until the marriage starts that you really need to keep track and worry about your lover." I kissed her forehead and she looked shocked.
"Are you serious? I hope you never get married, but with that attitude you probably won't!" She scoffs and pours the remaining amount of liquor from her glass over my head. Totally ruining the moment and my suit. I grab her hand and yank her into the hallway, where we both happen to catch Ivan mid-thrust in his "business meeting". I look at Natalia and frown, attempting to put myself in her shoes.
"Come with me." I order and we go out to my car, I open the door and she gets in. I'm sober enough to drive, or at least I think so, and I tell her to put her seatbelt on, which she does with few challenges. I back out of the spot, but not before I side-swipe Ivan's car, leaving bumble-bee yellow paint on the driver's door and the back-quarter panel.
Her eyes are wide as she looks at the damage. I somehow manage to keep backing out and make it to the main road and haul ass out of the venue. I pull off in some ditch where no one can see us or the car and I jump out of my seat and kiss her, hot and passionately.
She tries to push me off, but she can't and I eventually just feel her nails rake into my back. I pull back and I look at her. Her small frame being crushed over my larger one, the paleness of her skin and the fragility of her body. I frown as I look at her finger. I grab the ring and roll down my window, tossing it out the window and into the sea of grass outside of the car.
"We both know he doesn't mean it." I whisper into her ear as my hands play with the tightness of her dress. I slip my hand under the skirt and caress her thigh.
"Is this okay with you?" I whisper, not truly caring about her response. She mumbled, too broken by tonight's events to even give a damn. I call her name and whisper sweet nothings into her ear, hoping to make her feel better.
"…I don't even know your name…you did all of this to me…and never told me your name…" She whispers, starting to laugh. "I feel so stupid. First my fiancé cheats on me and next I am sexually assaulted by some jackass who will say anything to get into my loins. How wonderful." I could only gulp uncomfortably as I looked at her.
"Natalia, my name is Alfred." I say, trying to make this night somewhat pleasant for her. She looks over and starts laughing her butt off, like tears falling from her eyes laughing. I think for a moment that I've driven her crazy.
"Trying to be a gentleman now?" She turns over and shows her back to me. I nod, trying not to laugh.
"Better late than never, eh?" She turns around and smacks my chest and there I see it. The brightest, sexiest smile I've ever seen in my life and I just stare at her.
"Natalia, Ivan is extremely lucky to have your heart." I take her hand and gently kiss it. She has a deep blush as she pulls back. She opens the car door and slips out.
"I'm sorry Alfred, I…I should be going." I watch as she looks down and grabs her ring, she doesn't hesitate to slip it on before sliding around the car's body and walking up to the main road. I lean down into the seat and close my eyes, hoping I get a chance to see her again…when I'm sober, that is.