“Is it over?” she said to the cool quiet dark of the room. His answer was silence. He doesn’t know the answer to that question. He supposes it is but why? This question was inevitable. The silence between them grew larger. She rolled over and put her hand on his chest. Her hand was cold as usual.

“It doesn’t have to be you know?” She said this quietly. He sighed and tried to look her in the eyes but it was too dark. He knows deep down inside she speaks the truth. Of course it doesn’t have to be. Everything has two sides. Either it is over or it isn’t. There is no other option.

“Why don’t you ever talk to me?” she said angrily to the dark. Here is another question which rears its ugly head whenever they talk. This time it came out sooner than expected. She removed her hand from his chest and rolls onto her back.

“You are impossible to deal with.”

He knows he is. He always has been. His silence drives most people mad but she always took it in stride. This is one of the reasons he chose her. She accepted his quiet demeanor that is up until now. What can he say to her accusation? Not much which is why he stays silent.

“Why do I put up with you? You never talk. You don’t seem to care. All you do is sit there and say nothing.” All of this comes out like a machine gun blast. Rapid fire accusations are a common attack from her.

“There are hundreds of men I could be with who would actually give a shit. I could go out right now and have someone. Your buddy Steve seems interested.” She said this with just the right amount of venom. It stung. Tears pricked his eyes. He knows Steve likes her. He knows she secretly likes him. He has his suspicions about them. He’s seen Steve’s number on the caller ID, calls made when he isn’t home. It makes a bit more sense now. These conversations have been increasing steadily over the past few weeks. It is strange how it coincides with how much time Steve has been hanging around lately.

“So that is how it is?” he says finally. “You and Steve got something going on? You don’t think I know he calls when I am not home? You think I don’t see how you two look at each other? I’m not stupid.” All of this comes out calmly. No anger, no inflection, just calm and cool. She hates this about him more than his silence. She takes in his words and mulls them over.

“Yep. That is how it is. At least he talks. At least he shows me he cares. He gives me more than you ever could. He even fucks me better than…” She never finishes what she says. Quickly and decisively he shoots his hand out and grabs her by the throat. He squeezes hard. She can’t make a sound. He climbs on top of her and presses down harder on her throat. She tries to fight him off but he simply overpowers her. She is dying quickly. He smiles at her. Her eyes glaze over and she stops resisting. He gets off her and lies back down.

“I guess it is over,” he says to the deafening silence.