The Comeback

Chapter Seven

Renee's View 

The car journey was awkward. Normally when I was with Roman we would be laughing and joking, there was never an empty silence. I didn't have a clue what to think or say. My heart was heavy and my mind was riddled. The man who I loved unconditionally had betrayed me in the worst way possible. There was nothing that I could say that would pull me back into his arms. 

The problem with cheating on your life partner is that nothing is the same afterwards. It demolishes trust. I would spent the rest of my life questioning him, I would live my life in paranoia. It was no way to live, it wasn't fair to him and it wasn't fair to me either. Trust is like a mirror. In that once it's broken no matter how much you try to repair it, the cracks are still there and the imagine will forever be distorted. Nothing would ever be the same. 

"So..." Roman spoke while his eyes remained on the motorway in front of us. 

"So..." I responded. The silence was deafening and exhausted, but I just couldn't find myself to care. I could feel the buzz of the alcohol wearing thin. My emotions were becoming more and more prominent. 

"Look, I know what you are going through Ree', it's difficult. You know it will get easier right?" Roman replies. I could hear the hope lingering in his voice but all I could feel was this sense of anger and darkness consume me. I just couldn't feel anything positive at the moment. 

"Due to recent cutbacks thanks to my cheating husband, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off." I said sarcastically. 

Roman roars with laughter at my snippy remark. "See Ree, your gonna' be okay. Your already making jokes!"

I know he can't see my face, but I am scowling so heavily that I am pretty sure I am adding twenty years to my life. Honestly, what do I do with this man-child. I sit in the darkness and stare at my best friend wanting nothing but to throttle him. "Don't rhyme Ro', it doesn't suit. We established before you are not made to be a rap artist." 

"Hey!" He shouts as he points his finger in my direction. "That was one day! After too many tequila shots!" He exclaims. I chuckle in response. 

Roman turns the radio up as we pull off the motorway. I know we are heading to his dad's place and to be honest I can feel myself relax more and more as the journey goes on. Roman's dad is amazing and his home is a sanctuary from prying eyes. Roman comes from a family filled with talented sportsman and he has spent his lifetime in the limelight. He explained that it was his favourite place to be growing up, there was so many memories. Although it wasn't my first time visiting his father's home, I had never stayed overnight. The times that I had been were when there was a family event or birthday. I was excited to get away and hide from the world. 

I'm following in Roman's steps from when she separated from his bitch of an ex-wife. Roman didn't let me visit him for long periods because he had the children with them and they were trying to come to terms with the new dynamics in their family. Both boys loved their father deeply and made the decision that they wanted to live with Roman. It was then that my hatred for his ex-wife grew when Roman told me how his children had suffered. 

His children were both teenagers now but they were good boys. Both polite and kind, they had a buzzing personality and took after their father. They called me Aunt Ree and would always make me laugh, help me to prank their father, they even helped me cook whenever I visited their family home in London. Both boys were a credit to their father and over the years we had grown close. 

SPLAT!

"What the fuck!" Roman screeched. My thoughts were interrupted by a big white blob on the windscreen. It was then that I burst out laughing. 

I can't believe a bird just pooped on his car. The tears were streaming down my face, all I could think was what else could go wrong. It's then that Roman flicks his windscreen wipers on and the white blob of poop spreads across the whole windscreen. It's then that my belly starts to hurt from laughing at his actions.

"This is not a laughing matter Ree!" Roman angrily says. He starts to spray the window wash as the wipers swish back and forth. All it does is water out the poop and allows it to spread further. 

Again, I have nothing to say. All I can do is laugh. I start to loose control of my breathing, my belly starts to hurt further and the tightest in my chest isn't from pain but because of the laughter. All I can hear over my muffled laughter is Roman huffing and puffing. I can see and feel his irritation as he flicks his indicator on and pulls to the side of the road. 

As the car comes to a halt, he swings his door open and pushes himself out the car. I can't see much over the smudged bird shit. I can imagine Roman standing outside assessing the shit on his windscreen. I slowly start to calm down as he opens the car door and slumps down into his car seat. I try to hold back laughter at his look of disbelief only to snort loudly. 

His gaze wonders from mine to his windscreen, not quite knowing where to direct his anger. He stops looks at me. "Bloody bird. Is it wrong of me that I want to eat a plate of wings to show that bird what I'm made of?" He huffs. 

It's then that I burst out laughing. This time he joins in too as he shakes his head. He suddenly turns to me and smirks. "Don't suppose you packed some wipes in your toiletry bag?"

"Why" I laugh. 

"Well how else are we going to get the shit off the window?" He shrugs his shoulders as he assesses the damage. 

"We you say?" I question. "I think you mean you Ro', time for you to start scrubbing." I smirk.