The Weekend

Chapter Eleven

Reba awoke the next morning with a pain in her heart and a pounding in her head. It was finally the day she had been dreading and there was not a thing in the world she could do to avoid it. The weekend felt like it had lasted forever, but it also felt as if it had passed by in an instance. They had come here as friends and were leaving as lovers, the very last thing she had expected to happen.

She could feel everything inside of her retreating back into the depths of her being. Everything she had laid bare to Brock this weekend, gone. Just like that. She didn't want to feel the pain she knew would follow this weekend and the best way to avoid that was to bury it deep down inside of her, just as she had always done. The day would hurt less if she distanced herself from him, from everything. Because if she let herself feel it all, she wasn't sure if she'd survive this time. She'd felt enough pain over this man to last her a lifetime.

She pulled herself from the bed and grabbed her bag that sat next to it. If she didn't ready herself now, she wasn't sure she ever would. She made her way into the washroom and shut the door with a click behind her. She couldn't let her feelings get in the way of her strength, for without her strength she knew she might lose herself entirely.

Brock squirmed in his bed as the click of the bathroom door echoed throughout his ears. He rolled over and felt nothing but coldness where Reba's body should have been. His eyes snapped open and he looked around the room, his redhead nowhere in sight. He could immediately feel the change in the air. She was pushing away, sheltering herself once again from the world around her, from him.

He could imagine what she was feeling, he was feeling it, too, but he knew whatever he thought she was feeling, was ten times more painful than he could imagine. She had been here before, she had done this six years ago and it felt as though it was happening again. He was going home to his house and she was going home to hers. They'd be just five minutes away from each other, but they wouldn't be together. They couldn't be together.

Maybe that's why it was so much more painful this time around. They actually wanted to be with one another and they couldn't. There were so many obstacles standing in their way. What do you do when the woman you're in love with isn't the one you're married to?

Reba exited the washroom with her eyes glued to the floor. She was clearly in her own little world, hoping to leave her reality behind. She wore a cream colour sweater and a pair of jeans. She had her red curls pulled back into a ponytail and wore more makeup than usual, probably to hide the redness that filled her eyes.

Brock watched from the bed as she set her bag down onto the table next to the door. She hadn't noticed that he was awake. He stood from the bed and pulled on his boxers that sat in a heap on the floor. He made his way across the room and placed his hands gently on her shoulders from behind as she zipped up her suitcase.

Reba's whole body tensed under his touch. She didn't want to feel his touch against her skin or his warmth behind her body. It only made it all hurt more, like shards of glass shattering inside of her. She stopped breathing for a moment and shrugged his hands from her shoulders.

Brock felt his heart sink into his stomach. He tried desperately to form words, to find something to say to bring her back into their world, but instead he found nothing. He waited for her to turn around, to explain what she was feeling to him, but she didn't. She just continued to fumble with the suitcase that sat underneath her palms.

Reba pressed her eyes tightly together as she bit her lip. Everything inside of her threatened to crumble and she knew if she looked at him, her walls would fall away once again. So, she waited for him to leave, her heart breaking as she did so. She could feel the pain she had caused him in the blink of an eye as he slowly backed away from her. If only he knew how her heart was breaking at that very moment.

The bathroom door clicked shut once again and she opened her eyes and began to breathe. She blinked away the tears that had begun to fall and brought her hand to her chest, trying desperately to ground herself against the pain that filled her ribcage. She wanted so badly to turn and embrace him, but she did what she needed to do. This was no longer their reality and they couldn't bring it home with them. It would hurt everyone around them.

Reba had just finished making the bed when Brock finally exited the bathroom. She couldn't bring herself to look at him, so she focused her attention on straightening the blanket in front of her. He walked up behind her and waited for her to turn to him, but she didn't.

"I'll walk over and get the car. If you could walk to the front desk and check out, that'd be great."

Reba could hear every single emotion he was feeling in his voice, but she didn't say a word for she knew her voice would give her away. He left the room before she could even nod.

After Brock was gone, Reba pulled her hands away from the bed and stood up straight. She looked around the room and smiled through the sadness. The carpet was a god awful green and the floral wallpaper matched it, but she found herself feeling fondly towards it all. She walked to her purse and slid her phone out from the pocket that sat inside of it. She held it into the air and quickly captured the room in front of her.

She needed to distance herself now, but she knew that one day she'd want to look back on their weekend together and all of the love they had rediscovered.

Reba looked around once more before finally grabbing their bags and walking out of the motel door for the very last time. She locked it behind her and set their bags on the sidewalk in front of it. She stared at the forest green door and exhaled. Room seventeen; a number she never would forget. She ran her fingertips over the metal numbers and smiled to herself, pain and happiness fighting against each other inside of her.

"Bye." She mumbled to herself with a smile before turning and heading across the parking lot towards the office.

The door chimed as she stepped through it, bringing back the memory of the first time they both stepped through it. The plump, grey-haired woman sat behind the desk and smiled when she saw Reba.

"Hello there, honey."

"Hi." Reba smiled as best as she could and rested her elbows on the counter in front of her. "We're off, just wanted to check out please."

"Certainly! Your key?" The woman said as she scribbled on a piece of paper in front of her.

"Right!" Reba stepped back from the counter and rifled through her pocket until she found the small piece of metal. "Here." She set it down with a thud against the counter and gave the woman her best smile.

The woman smiled and slide the key across the counter and into her palm. "And how was your stay?"

The question took Reba off guard and for a moment, she was silent and a smile spread across her lips. "Perfect."

Because it had been, despite it all and if she could go back and change their time together, she wouldn't.

"Good. I'm glad to hear that."

Reba looked around the room as the woman finished up the check-out process. Their room may have been an eyesore, but this office made up for it. The cherry floors, the burgundy walls, the wood-carved signs that covered them, and the smell, like pine and cookies. She would remember that smell for the rest of her life. It was warm and rustic and it was perfect. Her eyes stopped on the business cards to her right and she quickly picked one up and thumbed it, smiling absentmindedly.

The woman in front of her watched her out of the corner of her eye and had to suppress a smile.

A cough filled the room and Reba was brought out of her trance.

"Here is your receipt, miss. I hope to see you again sometime." The woman smiled and Reba returned the gesture as she took the piece of paper from her hand.

"Me, too. Who knows, maybe it'll become a tradition." Her smile reached her eyes for the first time in a while. She turned and walked towards the door. Just as she was about to turn the doorknob, she heard that soft voice once again.

"And tell your husband I said goodbye, too!"

Reba's smile fell from her face for a moment and she took a deep breath before turning.

"I will, take care."

The woman watched as the redhead left the room and headed across the parking lot. She had watched those two a lot over the weekend from this very spot and what she saw warmed her to the core. Something had happened between them, that much was clear. Exactly what? She didn't know, but she had an idea.

Her motel had a habit of doing that to people.

She picked up the phone beside her and dialed a familiar number.

"Hello? Yes. I just wanted to let you know they're leaving now. Okay. You're welcome. Talk to you soon. Bye."

She held a hand over her heart and smiled to the ceiling. Her job was done.