Melissa slapped him hard across the face, the ringing in his ears because of it matched perfectly by the burn of pain on his cheek. She had gotten mad at him, but never this mad. He could practically see the steam coming out of her head as she spun away from him and grabbed a bag, throwing her things inside it. It took him longer than he cared to admit to realize that she was leaving. The pang he felt in his heart hit him a lot harder than he expected.
"You stupid son of a bitch," Melissa muttered angrily, fighting back the tears in her eyes. "Why do you always do this? When I met you, you were a better man than this. But you've changed." She stuffed clothes and personal belongings into the bag without concern or discrepancy, blinded by rage and bitter sadness. She waited for Leon to say something, to prove that there was some shred of the man she had loved left within him, but he sat and watched her in stunned silence. It only made her feel worse.
Leon watched her, trying to think of something to say. Some way that he could prove that he still loved her, that he was still the man she loved. That her accepting his proposal hadn't been a mistake. But he couldn't think straight now, knowing that she was so sick of him that she wanted out. Flashes of their past together crossed his mind. He wanted to reach out, to return to those times, but he knew he couldn't, and the more he tried to focus on them, the further away they felt.
"Aren't you going to fucking say anything?" Melissa demanded, turning back to Leon. He couldn't help but stare at her hand. He hadn't noticed when she did it, but the ring he had given her was no longer on her finger. It now laid on the bed. He felt the blood draining from his face. He felt cold. His whole life seemed to be disappearing before his eyes. He couldn't even make his mouth open, much less form any words.
"So that's just it?" she demanded again. Leon didn't move. "Fine. Be that way. I'm sick of your garbage. Don't expect to ever see me again."
Leon watched in silence as she stormed out of the house. The door slammed shut, and the first sob racked his body, the sudden force shaking him like he had been punched in the gut and sending him to his knees. Another sob, and the tears were in his eyes, making the room around him swim. He couldn't breath.
Melissa stood outside the door, waiting. Waiting for him to open it, to say something, to find a way to take her back. But the door didn't open. "Fine," she whispered to herself. "I give up. I'm not playing this game anymore. Clearly I'm not good enough for you to ask for me back." And so she walked away, trying hard not to cry, and failing.
Leon woke up in the morning when the sun hit his face through the window. He didn't remember falling asleep. His body was stiff, and the ground underneath him was hard, not at all like his bed. For a moment, he thought that perhaps it had been a dream. But when he opened his eyes, he saw where he was, and he could see the mess that had been made by Melissa's packing.
She was gone. And it was too late to do anything about. Another sob racked his body. He didn't get up for a long time.
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