Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2014 9:50:23 GMT -8
"One thing I certainly now how to do,” Aaron rebukingly spoke aloud to his empty apartment, “is make a mess.” He turned to the sofa cushions, and threw each one off onto the floor. He looked in space beneath to find nothing but old crumbs and the stylus Hailey had been looking for the past week. He stopped long enough to eye the stylus with an unwanting gaze.
He let out a harsh breath and sat down upon the armrest. The frustration continued to gnaw at him. How hard was it to find a damn PADD? He let out another, softer breath to temper his emotions, and to allow the truth to wash over his thoughts.
No, this wasn’t about a PADD. This was about everything else that happened in the past few hours. Searching for three hours to find that Bajoran was only the tip of the iceberg. Finding him was far worse. He wished now that the man had told Aaron to scram; butt out; mind his own business, but, no, the Bajoran had been honest, and now his burdens had become Aaron’s.
When Aaron had found out the truth, he’d heavily considered seeking advice from a professional. It was, after all, far outside of his purview. But it was the middle of the night, and Aaron had been tired enough as it was. He decided to wait until morning. Perhaps a good night sleep would give him a fresh perspective.
A good night sleep would have been so welcome, but it never came. The nail in the coffin, so to speak, came when he came home. Hailey, of course, had been curious. He would have been in her place. Telling her wasn’t the trouble. The ensuing discussion had been the trouble. It was only a sad silence at first, but then silence turned to conversation, and conversation turned to disagreement, and disagreement turned to argument. Before he knew it, she’d walked out in a furious rage, and was undoubtedly somewhere in the far reaches of the station avoiding him.
Obviously, there was no sleeping after that. He spent some of the time thinking, some of it working, and the rest trying to ignore the pounding headache that had formed in his head. As morning made its appearance, Aaron began to ready himself for another day of work. He only wished he’d had any inclination towards working.
As he turned the stylus in his hand, Aaron tried to figure out how he was going to resolve this ever-growing tear in his relationship with Hailey. Her desire was so simple, but so complex at the same time. What could he possibly do? He wasn’t ready. It was too soon. Why did she have to be so set on this? She pressured him and pressured him. She didn’t even have to speak. He knew it was on her mind. The burden of that pressure weighed on him constantly. What gave her the right to do that?
He gripped the stylus even harder, and a wave of anger washed over him. He threw the object across the room. With a loud clang and a crack, it smashed into a picture frame on his desk. Instant regret came over him, as he ran over towards the desk. As if to comfort a wounded friend, he gently lifted the picture frame off the desk. It was from the day they had married, when Aaron had experienced the most unspeakable joy he had ever before in his life. Hailey looked beautiful without equal, and the happiness in her eyes mirrored his own. Aaron brushed his finger down the center of the frame, following the new crack within the glass.
“I’m sorry, Hailey,” he quietly whispered. He closed his eyes. His heart pounded in his head as he once again felt the pressure of her desires battling the potency of his fears. He didn’t know the answer. He didn’t even know how to find it. But he knew he had to anyway.
Opening his eyes again, Aaron looked back towards the frame. He turned it around, and released the pins holding the picture into place. The two halves of the glass accidentally slipped from his grip fell towards the floor. He instinctively reached out to stop them from breaking further, but instead of grasping the dull ends, his hand grasped sharp end. He instantly released his grip, but the damage had been done.
Aaron put the remainder of the frame back onto the desk, and grasped at his hand. A painful stinging began, and the line of red across his hand began to deepen. He winced at the pain. He looked away from his hand before the sight of the blood made him queasy. He knew he needed to get to the medical bay, but what little medical training he’d had told him to cover the wound before he made the long walk.
He stepped over towards the first aid kit Hailey had insisted upon having in their apartment. He suddenly felt full agreement for that decision. He awkwardly opened the kit with his uninjured hand, and began to fiddle through the contents. He pulled out a medical wrap, covered his hand, and closed the kit once more.
He inspected the wrap. Though he wanted to be sure it covered the wound well enough, he had another reason for looking. His eyes fell towards the broken picture frame, towards the condition of his apartment, and inwardly, towards the still pounding beat of his heart.
What a mess he had made. As he finally summoned the motivation to leave, he wondered how he could ever fix it all.
End Aaron
He let out a harsh breath and sat down upon the armrest. The frustration continued to gnaw at him. How hard was it to find a damn PADD? He let out another, softer breath to temper his emotions, and to allow the truth to wash over his thoughts.
No, this wasn’t about a PADD. This was about everything else that happened in the past few hours. Searching for three hours to find that Bajoran was only the tip of the iceberg. Finding him was far worse. He wished now that the man had told Aaron to scram; butt out; mind his own business, but, no, the Bajoran had been honest, and now his burdens had become Aaron’s.
When Aaron had found out the truth, he’d heavily considered seeking advice from a professional. It was, after all, far outside of his purview. But it was the middle of the night, and Aaron had been tired enough as it was. He decided to wait until morning. Perhaps a good night sleep would give him a fresh perspective.
A good night sleep would have been so welcome, but it never came. The nail in the coffin, so to speak, came when he came home. Hailey, of course, had been curious. He would have been in her place. Telling her wasn’t the trouble. The ensuing discussion had been the trouble. It was only a sad silence at first, but then silence turned to conversation, and conversation turned to disagreement, and disagreement turned to argument. Before he knew it, she’d walked out in a furious rage, and was undoubtedly somewhere in the far reaches of the station avoiding him.
Obviously, there was no sleeping after that. He spent some of the time thinking, some of it working, and the rest trying to ignore the pounding headache that had formed in his head. As morning made its appearance, Aaron began to ready himself for another day of work. He only wished he’d had any inclination towards working.
As he turned the stylus in his hand, Aaron tried to figure out how he was going to resolve this ever-growing tear in his relationship with Hailey. Her desire was so simple, but so complex at the same time. What could he possibly do? He wasn’t ready. It was too soon. Why did she have to be so set on this? She pressured him and pressured him. She didn’t even have to speak. He knew it was on her mind. The burden of that pressure weighed on him constantly. What gave her the right to do that?
He gripped the stylus even harder, and a wave of anger washed over him. He threw the object across the room. With a loud clang and a crack, it smashed into a picture frame on his desk. Instant regret came over him, as he ran over towards the desk. As if to comfort a wounded friend, he gently lifted the picture frame off the desk. It was from the day they had married, when Aaron had experienced the most unspeakable joy he had ever before in his life. Hailey looked beautiful without equal, and the happiness in her eyes mirrored his own. Aaron brushed his finger down the center of the frame, following the new crack within the glass.
“I’m sorry, Hailey,” he quietly whispered. He closed his eyes. His heart pounded in his head as he once again felt the pressure of her desires battling the potency of his fears. He didn’t know the answer. He didn’t even know how to find it. But he knew he had to anyway.
Opening his eyes again, Aaron looked back towards the frame. He turned it around, and released the pins holding the picture into place. The two halves of the glass accidentally slipped from his grip fell towards the floor. He instinctively reached out to stop them from breaking further, but instead of grasping the dull ends, his hand grasped sharp end. He instantly released his grip, but the damage had been done.
Aaron put the remainder of the frame back onto the desk, and grasped at his hand. A painful stinging began, and the line of red across his hand began to deepen. He winced at the pain. He looked away from his hand before the sight of the blood made him queasy. He knew he needed to get to the medical bay, but what little medical training he’d had told him to cover the wound before he made the long walk.
He stepped over towards the first aid kit Hailey had insisted upon having in their apartment. He suddenly felt full agreement for that decision. He awkwardly opened the kit with his uninjured hand, and began to fiddle through the contents. He pulled out a medical wrap, covered his hand, and closed the kit once more.
He inspected the wrap. Though he wanted to be sure it covered the wound well enough, he had another reason for looking. His eyes fell towards the broken picture frame, towards the condition of his apartment, and inwardly, towards the still pounding beat of his heart.
What a mess he had made. As he finally summoned the motivation to leave, he wondered how he could ever fix it all.
End Aaron