She stormed into the bedroom in tears, collapsing on the bed to grasp at the pillow.
She shuddered as she sobbed into it. An awful noise that struck him at the core.
"Red, please.." He tried patiently, following her in.
"No." She inhaled sharply, wiping her eyes. "No."
The bed dipped slightly as he sat on it. "At least think about it. Come on-"
"I have." She snapped, a bit too sharply, causing him to seal his mouth shut abruptly. "And I'm telling you, no."
Red lifted her head to glare at him and he bore into her gaze - sharp and sapphire and glossy with tears. He let out a measured sigh.
"Why?" he said after a pause, "Did you even consider the consequences? Red, don't you understand what could happen?" His voice escalated slowly and he felt his anger seethe. She wasn't being rational. "People disappearing all over the place - something isn't right!
"Yes, I know exactly what I'm doing! Do you have any idea how hard it is for me?" She lashed back with equal ferocity and he almost flinched. "I want to finally push myself and perform to more than just the regulars at the stage. This is so important to me and you're ruining it. Why can't you just leave my decisions to myself? Nothing is going to happen - nothing - because you're so wrapped up in this whole thing you can barely think straight!"
She breathed heavily and he felt too stricken to reply when suddenly she pushed the pillow away.
"We've discussed this before anyway! Why are we even-" She broke off with an irritated huff and rolled off the bed. "This is pointless. You never even consider what I feel." He was going to say something when he heard the door slam as she left the room.
Boxer sighed to himself as he collapsed onto the bed, feeling as if something was eating him from inside. Red - typically stubbon. Whenever they fought, they were usually minor scuffles and it was never this intense. No yelling, no crying. But he could tell he struck a nerve this time. It started with a light conversation about her upcoming performances and within two minutes it had escalated into a full-blown argument. They didn't see eye to eye in some things, especially the suspicious cases of missing people, famous people, that didn't seem to add up. He had dropped it in, in a few conversations here and there but it was always brushed off casually.
He tried suggesting smaller venues, particularly those tucked in the secluded corners of Cloudbank where the elite rarely strayed. If she grew in fame who knows whether something would happen to her. Red responded at first with a joke of hiring him as her organiser instead of Sybil, and then confusion when he didn't respond equally. Was he trying to downplay her ability? Did he think that she wasn't 'good' enough to greet the spotlight every now and then? What was he so anxious about?
The subject remained closed with occasional small outbursts that were quickly quelled, adding to his anxiety. It all suddenly flooded out when she confronted him about the prospect of performing at an outdoor venue at some big event that was going to hold over a thousand people. At a park, one of the largest in Cloudbank, with gourmet food and decorations and all the right people. As suspected Sybil was the one who organised it, and he couldn't bear to crush her excitement. It was so new to her, refreshing - something she had never tried before.
He pretended to be happy for her. A stupid thing to do, he now acknowledged, but at the time he wasn't thinking straight. She unfortunately caught on with his lack of enthusiasm and then accused him of being paranoid and obsessed when he explained himself. It ended in a brief yet bitter spat and she focused her attention to preparing for the event. He had urged her to reconsider and decline. She refused.
A couple of days later she caught him with the invitation letter in his hand, the one she would respond her attendance to, hovering over the kitchen bin as if pausing in consideration. She had spent the last hour trying to locate it after it mysteriously vanished from her desk and was furious to find him with it.
Now he was sprawled on their bed searching his brain for a way to apologise. But he found his thoughts muddled. Maybe she was right - he should relax and forget about it, maybe even have more faith in the authorities to handle the situation. The disappearances could be unlinked after all, and the media probably fed the ambiguity to keep the hype. As he reflected on his actions he realised what a stupid, irrational thing he did. He practically invaded her privacy all because of rumours and speculations that may or may not be true, and even worse, behaved too rashly to consider the affects. Not to mention it was none of his business. Her career was very important, very personal to her - not just some job she did to earn a living.
He yawned. The bed looked orange from the sunset peeking through the window and suddenly his eyes felt heavy.
He woke up suddenly to see the room coated in darkness and the moon casting its light on the bed sheets. He identified Red's sleeping figure beside him with her back to him. She had changed into her nightclothes - he must have been asleep for a while. He got up to change as quietly as he could and then slipped back next to her. Red stirred when she felt him embrace her stiffly from behind and shifted to face him.
"The party…," she croaked slightly, "I talked to Sybil. I can still go, it's not too late." The enveloped had been crumpled unintentionally during their argument when he had briefly forgotten he was still holding it. It required her to RSVP at a certain deadline because of necessary arrangements and preparations to be made beforehand.
There was an awkward silence as he nodded. "Oh…thats good." He shifted slightly. "Um..Red, I'm so sorry. I know I shouldn't have..This means so much to you - I-I was stupid." He cut himself off before he started to stammer but it felt unfinished and he wanted to say more. Guilt and worry fizzed inside of him.
She replied by hugging him closer and settling onto his chest. Her eyes were closed as she leaned onto him. He could tell they were both tired, and that she had accepted - at least partially - his apology, so he tried to clear his head and drifted off without a word. It was clearly a touchy subject.
He hoped they never argued like this again.
Thank you for anyone who left a review - it means a lot ! Please don't hesitate to leave constructive criticism as I aim to improve (I am relatively new to writing) as well as go through previous chapters to work on them.
