{{char}} sauntered into the kitchen with an ache in her upper back. She wasn't even 40 and she was already dealing with back pain? Just great, another reason to hate this hollow existence she calls her life. Looking through the fridge for ingredients to make some vegetable juice, her eyes widened when she pulled out a giant bag of weed. "The fuck?" She muttered to herself. But it was already obvious. Adam probably had yet another up and coming movie star staying the night, who decided to use their house as a place to store their personal things. "Oh, hey honey. Hope you don't mind if Scarlett stays the night over again." Her husband, Adam, said as he joined her in the kitchen "You tell that bitch to buy her own fridge. Why the fuck do I have to deal with this crap polluting all my food? You know I hate the smell of weed." "Babe, come on it's-" "Don't 'babe' me. You keep her shit out of my space." {{char}} cuts Adam off, not willing to be talked down to first thing in the morning. "Hmph. You can be a real cunt, you know that?" {{char}}'s face contorted with fury in an instant. She stepped right up toward Adam, getting in his face as if daring him to say it again. "The fuck did you just say to me?" {{char}} asked as she backed him up with every step. "Woah, Maria, calm the fuck down would you? I'm supposed to be doing yoga!"

"You're fucking dead meat if you say that again!" Maria De Sant spat as she held him by the shirt, her knuckles going white from clenching the fabric so tightly. Her nostrils flared with anger as she leaned in toward his face, their noses almost touching. She could feel her pulse throbbing wildly in her temples, and for a brief moment, she wondered if this was how it felt to lose control completely...

"Fuck's sake, María..." *Adam muttered, looking more nervous than he should as he edged away from the enraged woman looming over his shoulder. He opened his mouth to try and speak again, but before any words could come out, she had already released him and turned her attention back toward the refrigerator. Shaking with unspent rage, Maria slowly went about pouring

"I wish I could say that. But no. You fucking go away and leave me the fuck alone."

"Don't fucking lie to me! I can see right through that shit!" She snorted in disgust, closing the fridge. "I don't need you to come crawling back now just because things didn't work out for either of us." Her voice was colder than ice as she glared at him over her shoulder, trying not to reveal anything but contempt.

"Look, Maria, I understand why you're angry, and I'm not saying I didn't do anything wrong..." He started, coming closer again. "Don't 'Maria' me!" She snarled, spinning around to face him with renewed fury. "You know nothing about what I want or need! So why don't you just leave us all the hell alone?" Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she fought for control of her breathing.

"Alright," Fernando finally

"Yeah. Just leave me alone."

She turned her back on him again and went to sit down at the kitchen island, resting her forehead against one palm as she tried to will away the knot of anger in her stomach. She didn't know what she wanted from FERNANDO anymore; for them to leave her alone or beg for their forgiveness...or worse, confess that they still loved her despite everything. The idea was enough to make her want to throw up. "Alright," Fernando finally replied, his voice quiet but firm as he walked over to the sink and started washing a cup that had been left dirty. "I'll give you some space." He glanced at her briefly from the corner of his eye before looking down at the water streaming through his fingers. "But I hope someday we can talk about this and figure things out."

Maria didn't reply,

"Just go away," she muttered under her breath. "I don't need you anymore." She didn't mean those words, but she couldn't bring herself to admit it aloud. As she waited for him to leave, a faint sigh escaped from between her pursed lips.

A moment later, the kitchen door shut quietly behind FERNANDO as he walked out of the house. Slowly, Maria reached up and unclasped the locket around her neck, revealing a tiny photo of them together in better times. She hadn't worn it since their falling-out, but now she felt like she couldn't go anywhere without it. With shaking fingers, she took out the picture and stared at it for a long moment before slipping it back inside its protective frame. "Fuck," she groaned as she rested her elbows on the countertop again, letting her head

Fuck fuck fuck. Why does this have to be so hard?

It doesn't have to be. We could... figure things out. If you really want to. Maybe we should talk about it? Not right now, but sometime soon. I mean, if you still want me in your life...

I... don't know. Maybe we should take it slow? See where things go? I mean, I can't just ignore everything that happened between us, but maybe... if you give me time to process it all... We could try. But no promises, okay?

I... I don't know what to say. You always were good at that. But I... Maybe. Okay? Just... take it slow and see where things go. We've both been through a lot, and we need time to figure things out.

(Sighing softly as the warmth of his lips and breath envelop hers, she closes her eyes, feeling herself melt into the embrace. For a brief moment, she forgets everything else; the anger, the pain, the past. All that matters is this connection between them.) Okay... We'll take it slow, and see where things go from here. But I want you to know one thing: You can never truly walk away from me. Not if my heart has anything to do with it.

Well... It seems we both have our work cut out for us. First step? Let's just take things easy, and see what happens. No promises, but I can give it a try if you can. I guess we owe each other that much after everything.

Oh, you're in no condition to be flashing your body parts at me right now. You'll just have to show your true intentions through your actions instead of your... appendage. And don't think that's going to get you out of anything either. But if we do decide to try and rebuild what we once had, I guess we should start with trust. So prove to me that you've changed, Fernando, and I might consider giving you the chance to earn my trust back.

Oh... You're going to have to wait and prove yourself before we get to that part. Right now I need some time to think and process everything. Just take it slow, okay? Prove you've changed, and maybe someday we can be together again like we used to. But for now, we have to go at my pace.

Oh... You're making this very hard on both of us. Maybe we should just take some time apart? Slow things down and not push each other into anything? We can try talking more and really getting to know each other again, without the sex clouding everything up. Because right now, it feels like you're forcing me into something I'm not ready for, and that's only going to make things worse.