He whirls on his heel and points the gun back at her, screaming as he gets closer. “I want kids. My! Kids! Not someone else’s you whored yourself out to.”
“I didn’t. I would never. You’re the only one I’ve ever been with.”
“Liar.” He hits her with the back of the hand that’s holding the gun.
She falls, crying out in pain and shock, just like me. My hand covers my mouth at the sight of him hitting her, surprised he would ever do that. That a man so devoted to his wife at the beginning would turn into this… this…monsterbefore us.
“I never lied,” she insists, holding her cheek.
He leans down and spits when he talks above her. “Then who was the lingerie for, huh, Ashley? Who the fuck was that for? You never wore that shit for me. You’ve been acting off since you got knocked up. Bet you didn’t expect to get pregnant with your side piece. Probably thought you were safe to just pass it along to me. But I know. I know!” he yells so loud that Ashley covers her ears and I wince. He pounds his chest before he walks a few steps away.
“The boys at the firehouse told me there’s no way you were that pretty and never got a dick wet before me. Guess what, whore? I’ve been cheating too. You aren’t the only one with a side piece. What do you think about that, you dirty slut?”
His words have her folding over in tears as he stands before her, breathing hard. His declaration doesn’t put a smile on his face. Just pain. Pain at what he sees he caused with her or with himself, I can’t tell.
“You bastard.”
I snap my eyes toward Ruby, shaking my head to make her stop before she even gets started.
But he heard. Either the words or her tone broke through to him. He slowly turns his head to her, and from the look in his eyes, it’s clear he’s left the building. There’s nothing left of the Barry I know in that look. There’s only psychotic darkness behind those eyes.
“What did you call me, bitch?”
“You heard me. You’re a bastard. What? You had too many drinks one night and fucked some trash, then felt guilty about it the next day or some shit? Came home to a pregnant wife and blamed her for your shortcomings? Got wrapped up in the idea that if you did it, she must have too? That if you can fall from grace, then she must have led you there or some shit? You fucked up. Just man up and admit it. You. Fucked. Up.”
“Shut up!” he screams and then fires another round, but Ruby doesn’t even flinch when the ceiling debris comes down on her. Unlike the prospect, who runs to her, and me, who stands in front of her a second after realizing he’s going to shoot at her.
“Barry, stop,” I plead as I take a step back. I bump into Ruby, who’s as hard as steel, but I keep pushing back, even stepping on her feet till she moves. “You have to stop. This isn’t you. You don’t want to do this. Ashley would never cheat. You know that. Her mom was cheated on. She went through that as a kid. It built her up into someone who would never do that. You know that. She’s told you.” I keep walking backward, pushing Ruby and the prospect with each step.
Barry looks at Ashley, who’s sniffing and shaking her head, but at least she’s looking at him.
“Look at her. Look at the pain you’re causing. Those are your kids inside her. Yours. No one else’s. I’m sure that whatever happened, you can work through it. That it will be okay.”
“Ash?” He looks at her, face soft, just like his voice.
She grunts but pushes herself up to a sitting position. “I never cheated. I would never.” She looks at him, pleading that he sees the truth in her eyes. “I love you. I would never, ever destroy that.”
Barry lets out a wail of his own, wiping the tears that fall. “I love you, too, baby.” He shuffles over to her, sinking to his knees in front of her. She flinches but can’t go anywhere, especially when he puts his arms around her knees and cries into them.
I keep walking backward, closer to the door with each step.
“I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry. I fucked up. I really fucked up.” He looks up at her with hope in his eyes that I can still see from this angle. “But we can fix this. We can get through this. Oh God, baby, I miss you so much.”
He wraps her in his arms, and I see the anguish on her face as she cries in his hold.
“Go,” I whisper when I know we’ve gotten to the door. With one eye on it and the other on Barry, I push back to get them to keep moving. I watch the prospect go through the door quickly and quietly.
“Come with us,” Ruby says in a hushed whisper.
I look at her with a shake of my head. I can’t leave Ashley. I just can’t.
“Can we, baby? Can we get through this?” Barry asks, pulling my gaze back to him.
He’s eased his hold on his wife and is looking at her as he presses kisses to her forehead and brushes back her hair.
“We can,” she says as she looks down.
He smiles wide, and when she looks up at him, he holds her cheek in his hand and rubs his thumb over the cut he caused.
