Chapter 24—Fighting
A/N: Thanks for reading! Special thanks to GHOST303 for reviewing the last chapter.
[that night]
After their session with Dr. Meredith Richardson, Liz and Randy picked up the kids from school. It was a normal afternoon: the kids did homework that Randy helped them with. Liz made dinner, they ate, and put the kids to bed.
Liz and Randy stayed in that night; Liz told Randy she wasn't feeling well. Liz laid on the sofa in the lounge while Randy them each a bowl of ice cream. Liz was so in her thoughts that she didn't notice that Randy had returned to the sofa with the cold treats.
"Here you go, baby. Can I get you anything else?" he asked as he handed her the bowl of vanilla ice cream that was topped with a magic syrup that hardened when it made contact with the cold confection. She sat up to allow Randy to sit on the sofa as well.
Liz shook her head. "No. Thanks, anyway," she said.
Randy frowned. "You sure? I don't mind," he said. Liz nodded and accepted the ice cream. Randy sat next to her and looked at the movie she was watching. It was a drama about a woman who was unknowingly unhappy with her marriage. She met a wealthy guy who doted on her with gifts and exotic vacations so she started an affair with him. Towards the middle of the movie, the married woman's boyfriend slapped her across the face.
Liz flinched and changed the channel. Randy sighed knowing that the movie scene brought back terrible memories for Liz. He didn't know what to say to make her feel better; it was a touchy subject and he didn't want to say the wrong thing.
"I'm going to bed," Liz announced as she stood. She left the empty ice cream bowls where they were and walked away up the stairs. Randy rubbed his head and took a deep breath. He had no idea how to approach this situation with Liz. He couldn't wrap his head around the concept that someone would want to purposely hurt and abuse such an amazing woman. Part of him wanted to follow her and hold her; but another part of him had a feeling that she wanted to be alone.
At that moment, he remembered the counselor's suggestion to give Liz a massage to get her more comfortable with his touch. Randy put away the empty bowls and went upstairs to the bedroom he had been sharing with Liz for the last month. He stopped in the doorway when he saw Liz curled up in bed with all of the bedding wrapped around her. It was like she was a caterpillar and the bedding was a cocoon. He was determined to turn her into the beautiful butterfly he knew that she should be.
He treaded lightly and silently towards the bed; he touched her shoulder only to have her scream. "It's just me, Liz. I thought you could use a massage," he said.
Liz caught her breath from the sudden fright. "I don't want a massage. I just want to sleep for a while. Thanks for the offer, though," she said. Liz turned her back to Randy and curled back into the fabric.
He sighed. "What's going on, Liz?" Randy asked as he sat on the bed next to her laying body.
"Nothing. What are you talking about?" she asked.
Randy chuckled humorlessly. "I mean, you've been acting like you don't even want to be around me since we left Dr. Richardson. What's bothering you?" he asked.
Liz sighed shifted in the bed to get more comfortable. "Nothing is bothering me, Randy. I just want to be alone for a few hours. Is that really too much to ask?" she said.
"It's just that I've been trying to make you as comfortable as possible since Saturday; I think I deserve a better attitude from you. I'm really trying, here, Liz. You're just making it really difficult," he said.
Liz sat up and glared at him. "I don't owe you anything Randy. Let's remember that I'm going through a lot right now," she said.
He scoffed. "Well you've been 'going through a lot' for a long time, now. It seems like you'd be okay by now. What have you been doing the last five years that you can't get your mind right?" he asked.
Liz couldn't believe the way Randy was talking to her. "I haven't exactly had the time or energy to do anything for myself, Randy. I have children, remember? Two of them. One of them is yours," she said.
He squinted. "Why does it sound like you're blaming me for something?" he asked.
She groaned. "You know what, Randy? That's your problem: you always think that everything is about you. Not everything is about you, you know. I'm not blaming you, Randy. I'm just saying that I have to raise two children on my own while you expect me to be a-okay after Wade. It doesn't just happen like that,"
He stood from the bed. "Really? You're raising them on your own? What the hell have I been doing, then?" he asked angrily.
"You've only been here for a month! It's been five years, Randy! For five years, I've been all alone with them with no help whatsoever. Quite frankly, I was doing great until you showed up. I wasn't having flashbacks, Michael and Reby weren't acting up, and I could actually sleep at night," she said.
Randy started pacing. "How is any of that my fault, Liz?" he asked.
"I never said any of it was, Randy! I was just making an observation. You have the ability to turn the simplest situation into something way bigger than it is! I didn't even want to go to counseling with you, but you convinced me to go. That woman planted all sorts of shit in my head about you and I can't even relax because of it. I was fine with dealing with whatever crap that was bothering me. Now I've got this bitch telling me that I should be afraid of you, Randy. Do you have any idea how that made me feel? Like, can I even trust you?" she ranted.
He scoffed and stopped his pacing. "Oh so now you're worried about trust? You trusted Wade and he was beating your ass every fucking day," he said. He didn't realize what he was saying until the statement was complete. He immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, Liz. I didn't mean it like that," he said.
Tears welled up in Liz's eyes. She pulled the covers back over her body and hung her head in shame. "Get out," she said quietly. When Randy stepped closer, she yelled. "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE, RANDY!"
"Please, Liz. I—"
"Out! Now! I don't even want to look at you right now. Just leave," she said.
Randy growled softly to himself. "Just give me chance, Liz. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to say that. It just came out wrong," he said.
Liz had heard enough of Randy. She grabbed the lamp that was on the side table and threw it at him; he dodged the lamp. "Get out!" she yelled again. This time, Randy complied and walked out; leaving Liz alone in the bedroom where she cried.
She couldn't understand why Randy was being to mean to her all of a sudden. It was like he had lost all empathy for her that he once possessed. She flinched when she heard the door slam; she shook her head. In the middle of her thoughts, she heard a small voice.
"Mommy?" She looked up and saw Michael rubbing his eyes. "What's happening?" he asked.
Liz tried to quickly compose herself. "What are you talking about, sweetie?" she asked the five-year-old.
He yawned and crawled into bed with her. "I heard yelling and a lot of other noises," he said. Liz pretended to think. "I didn't hear any of that, honey. Maybe you were having a bad dream?" she suggested. Michael frowned and tried to understand how what he heard could have been a dream. "A bad dream? I think so," he said. Liz gave a sigh of relief. It was moments like these that she was glad she didn't have to explain something to Reby. Michael may have been older, but Reby was way better at processing information. Reby would have called Liz's bluff; Michael just accepted it and went back to bed.
When she was alone again, she laid down and cried herself to sleep. All of Randy's hostility seemed to have come out of nowhere. He was frustrated for something that he knew Liz couldn't control. Liz knew that it was unlike Randy to be so angry and annoyed with her; but it was his blatant disregard for her feelings that made her second guess herself. She just couldn't wrap her head around why Randy was being so cruel all of a sudden.
Before she knew it, she was asleep; alone.
[the next morning]
Liz was awake early to get the kids ready for school. She packed their backpacks first, then she started on breakfast. When she was done with their oatmeal, she put a lid on the boiler to keep it warm. Next, she woke up Michael; she helped him with his bath and helped him get dressed. When he was ready for the day, Liz walked him downstairs and prepared a bowl of oatmeal for him.
"Come on, honey. Eat your breakfast while I go get Reby ready," she said. Michael nodded and sat at the table to eat.
Liz then went to Reby to get her bathed and dressed. The four year-old wanted to pick her own clothes; Liz let her. Reby picked out an orange short sleeved t-shirt that had a frog on the front, a purple tu-tu skirt, and some pink sneakers. Liz agreed with the idea to let children Reby's age pick their own clothes so that they can develop a sense of autonomy. Even though Reby's choices were a bit unconventional, Liz helped her get dressed.
Once Reby was clothed, Liz combed her hair; she put her curly light brown hair in two pony tails that would later turn into two puff balls. Liz smiled at how confident Reby was in her outfit of the day.
"Ready for breakfast?" Liz asked. Reby nodded and followed Liz to the kitchen. Reby frowned when she didn't see Randy.
"Where's Daddy?" she asked.
Liz sighed. "Randy had to go home," she said simply.
Reby frowned. "But this is home," she said innocently.
"He had to go back to his house, sweetie," Liz said.
"Why?" Reby asked.
The mother stammered while she tried to come up with an answer. She realized that she wouldn't be able to lie to Reby; so she decided to be as honest as possible without revealing any information a child her age wouldn't be able to process.
"Randy hurt my feelings yesterday, so I wanted him to go back to his house. It's like when you or Michael get in trouble at school and have to go to time out," she said.
Reby's eyes lit up as she grinned. Liz was so confused as to why her daughter was excited to hear that Randy went back to his house.
"Why are you smiling like that, sweetheart?" Liz asked.
The child's smile got wider. "Because," Reby started. "Since Daddy hurt your feelings, Cupid is going to send you a baby to cheer you up," she said. The four year old remembered the story Randy told her weeks ago.
Liz shook her head. "Oh, god. I hope not," she said under her breath. "Just hurry and eat so I can get you two to school," she said.
The two small children nodded and ate silently. Liz stood back and thought about everything that happened with Randy the night before. She still couldn't believe that he had been so cold and callous to her. Something had to be done; she didn't want to lose Randy again. She loved him, but Liz wasn't going to tolerate the way he treated her. She would just have to confront him about it.
A/N: I'm sorry this chapter is so short. I guess this is just a filler. Please review. What do you think is going on with Randy? Let me know in the reviews.