IT'S OVER

I stared into his aqua, puddle, eyes and they filled me with too many emotions. Mostly anger. The divorce hadn’t been finalized, and I could barely stand being in the same room as him. Cody had always been stubborn. Now he got his way in the divorce too; he wanted to move on, and I didn’t. We were on our way to finalize the process when he’d stopped the elevator.

“Can’t you take the next one?” I had fumed at him.

“Look, let’s just get this over with” he stated indifferent.

We had gotten onto the elevator and pressed the corresponding button for the floor we needed to get to. The tension in the air gave me the worst anxiety. It was only made worse when the elevator stopped halfway and beeped loudly. My head spun as I scanned the elevator. I was always terrified of elevators since I was very young. My chest felt tight. I scanned the red and gold tint and saw the light flashing towards the buttons on the main panel. Yellow letters illuminated the panel with a big “error,” warning.

“This can’t be happening!” I screamed

“Just like you to freak out the second something bad happens” Cody said annoyed.

I hate him! This is the exact reason we can’t work through our problems; he just doesn’t care! She gritted her teeth.

I went to start searching the panel to solve the problem, ignoring his remarks. I had fumbled with the buttons for several minutes before getting frustrated and sat in the opposite corner of my soon-to-be ex-husband. I rested my head in my palms out of resignation.

“We are so sorry for the inconvenience,” a grainy voice spoke on the speaker. “We should have you out of there in about an hour.”

“I really just wanted this to be over,” Cody spoke softly.

“I really didn’t want any of this, I love you,” I spoke “Please, why can’t we just work this out?”

“You hurt me! I can’t just forget about him, okay?” he yelled softly

“You were in prison! I was lonely, please understand!” I choked.

I started to cry, knowing I messed up. I couldn’t undo the past; all I could do was try to make up for it in the future. I met his eyes as he began to cry himself.

“Why? Why couldn’t you just wait? Just talk to me,” he cried.

“I was so confused, I thought we would be different people,” I spoke softly “I thought you wouldn’t… love me.”

“I have always loved you! I cried every night in my cell, just wanting to hold you. I would have given anything to see you and my son,” he cried again

“I am so sorry I made this mistake; I would do anything I could to take it back, or make it up to you,” I cried starting to stutter.

He grabbed me then, pulling my body into his. He had lifted my chin up to face him directly. He stared deep into my eyes, piercing them with a ferocity I have never known. We sat in silence for a moment, just taking each other in. I’ve missed his smell so much. Sandalwood and ember. Sophisticated beyond his actual means. He’s a cook, and usually reeked of French fries.

“I love you, I don’t want to lose you, but this can never happen again.” he spoke sternly

“It won’t I promise! Please, I just want to love you again!” I screamed

“I need some time… Then maybe, we can try again,” he almost whispered.

The elevator came to life almost as soon as he was done speaking. We both rose to our feet and composed ourselves. The janitor stood at the open door and beamed at us apologetically.

“Sorry folks, were going to have to replace to unit, hope it wasn’t too much trouble,” He spoke bubbly.

“No, not a problem at all. Just going to drop my divorce case,” he said casually.

The janitor almost skipped off happily as my husband stood there stoically. He turned to face me, trying not to cry, and held me close. He ran his fingers through my hair like I loved. I had missed him so much.

“We will get through this,” he said softly “I need time though.”

“Anything you want. I am just so glad at the end of the day, I won’t have to say It’s over,” I spoke burying my face into him.

We walked hand in hand to the clerk’s office. We began to explain the situation to them and were provided the appropriate document to sign so the case would be dropped. He smiled his goofy smile at me, and all the bad from the day seemed to just melt away. I thought it funny, but on this day, I would never hate elevators again.

Alyssa Woodward is a devoted mother to three beautiful children, and not afraid to speak her mind. When she isn't writing, or engaging with her children, she loves to go urban exploring, and also loves concerts! She also has two furry, feline, friends.