Fic: original
title: the unbinding, rating: PG
notes: written in 15 mins for prompt #186 - 'thunderous' - in this week's challenge of the 15minuteficlets community.
She wanted them back the moment they fell from a mouth that should have been too dry to utter them. But it was too late. Too late to recall the words; too late to repair the rending; too late long before her resolve firmed, and she was able to make the announcement.
He had been speaking, telling her about his day (complaining more like), standing in the middle of the living room staring at the television, and flipping through the cable channels. Two stations later, he was turning to stare at her instead, his head cocking a little to the side as though he didn’t trust his hearing. His throat bobbed, and his mouth opened, closed, and opened again.
“What?”
“I want a divorce,” she repeated, dropping eyes to the carpet. Ears flooded with sound, none external. She remembered how he had been, how he used to laugh and tease, how he used to say her name. Before the disappointments turned him bitter, and his own limitations pushed him into a whining child of a man.
There was talk, but the words were deflected. Accusations were thrown, and she straightened her shoulders, raised her head to face him. She knew what his reaction would be, how he would respond. His tears came next, followed by threats. But, in the end, she trailed after him to their bedroom.
He packed a bag in silence; she stood by the door watching, wanting to believe it had been a mistake, but knowing it wasn’t.