I sit here watching you sleep, memorizing the features of your face. This may be the last time I see you this way. Calm and peaceful, I lay my head on your chest. The smell of you surrounds me and I fight to keep my composure. I let myself be vulnerable, just one more time. I allow myself to truly feel the love I have for you.
Tomorrow will be different. You will feel it in the way I tense when you try to hold me. My words will be harsh and my manner cold. All the while my heart is hammering with such force it’s a wonder I can walk away upright, that I can escape without my ribs broken and bruised.
I have loved you fiercely. The fire has at times burned so hot that I have felt pieces of myself melting away. They slide down to pool at my feet until they are unrecognizable.
For some reason, whenever faced with the possibility of losing you, I can only remember the good things. I remember how your smile lights up your entire face. I remember your hands. So worn from manual labor and the sun, yet they felt like velvet when they touched my skin. I remember the love you have for my children.
The infidelity dissipates, as if it were just a terrible nightmare. The words spoken in anger and resentment are gone. I forget the threats and the fear. The way my whole body trembled in the morning, not knowing which version of you to expect.
You are the real-life Jekyll and Hyde. Split with surgical precision straight down the middle and sewn back together seamlessly. He is you, and you are him. Somehow, each is unaware of the other. One spews vile words while the other promises love and peace.
I remember the way you look at our son. How amazed you are at his existence. Not the venomous words spoken to my daughter, or the look of embarrassment and shame on her face afterwards.
Half of you contradicts the other completely. So completely, in fact, that I question my sanity as a result. How can someone be so callous and cruel, and also so kind and courteous?How can the highs be so high, and the lows so low?
I grieve for the man I wish you were. For the half of you that I love so completely. The man with the infectious laugh, and irresistible smile. The man who will drop anything to take a moonlit ride on horseback.
You are both the man I’ve always dreamed of, and the man I have always feared. And as all dreams must end, you will forever be my favorite. The man trapped with the monster. I hope I can still see you in my dreams. I hope that we can meet on horseback under the stars, where the monster can’t find us. In the quiet countryside under the full moon with nothing but silent adoration and peace.
About The Author
Ashley Rodgers is a single mother to four incredible children. She holds a degree in Early Childhood Education, and has worked for a school district in the heart of Missouri since 2016. She has a passion for animals, literature, and travel. Ashley hopes to pursue a freelance or contracted writing position where she can contribute her experience with trauma, domestic violence, and mental health. She strives to make a difference to not only her children, but other woman who are seeking validation in a harsh, patriarchal society. Forget the knight, and grab your sword ladies.
