The Breakup

If walls could talk….

This kitchen is a room of damaging heartbreak.

Among the refrigerator, stove and other convenient appliances sits our couple at the kitchen table they argued over light brown wood or glass tabletop. It was glass because Avery always won every single argument. Tyler sat sullen as he waited to gather his thoughts. His hands were gripping the handle to his mug of coffee so tightly you wouldn’t be able to pry it from his hands.

Avery sat across from him with a cold glass of water with a lemon slice.

“All that caffeine isn’t good for you.”

That phrase she uttered with her signature tone of “I am always right” was just enough to send Tyler over the edge today. Still he sat, demure and unfazed by her even though she was begging for his attention. She brushed his bad mood off thinking he didn’t get much sleep last night. That was the truth. She thought he was out having boys night at the local pub. That was a lie. Tyler and Avery have been together for 5 years, this upcoming June would make 6. The small one bedroom apartment that seemed so big 5 years ago was now cramped and overfilled with stuff from over the years. Avery, the decorator, has bins upon bins of seasonal decor that she painstakingly switches with the season or holiday. Tyler never cared how the place looked. He just wanted a place to come home and relax. Most of his things went into storage or were sold. Movie posters, comic books, game consoles, typical boy things. At first he didn’t care, he was so infatuated with Avery when they met. He always said she was the most gorgeous girl he’d ever seen. There wasn’t a room in this apartment they didn’t absolutely ravish each other in. This room is one of the most frequent rooms following the bedroom.

Tyler kept up the facade of loving Avery for the last 7 months. He still bought her flowers for Valentine’s Day, got her a gorgeous necklace for her birthday in March and went together for all the holidays to her parents house before the New Year. I’ve seen Tyler at his best, but he is truly at his worst. When Avery was on her friend’s bachelorette party trip last October Tyler brought a girl named Olivia here and he cheated. Not a one night stand, but for the entire week Avery was gone. He was with her last night for dinner. He called in the reservation a week ago before he started to make dinner while Avery was working late. The Blue Palm is the nicest restaurant in town. Black tie and super formal. How he skipped out of here in jeans and a Rolling Stones t-shirt must’ve meant he got changed at her place.

“I think we should paint the living room a sage green,” Avery said, perking up from her phone to look at him.

“I don’t love you anymore.” He spit it out as casually as someone would ask how your weekend was.

Avery put down her phone and smiled. “You have a weird sense of humor Ty.”

“Avery, I don’t love you anymore.” He said it louder, more stern and looked her in the eyes. She shook her head from side to side while her lip quivered. The more she quivered the looser Tyler’s grip got on his mug. He finally said it. The living room got to hear the conversation. He told his parent’s that he wasn’t happy anymore and was planning a breakup.

“What did I do?” she asked between sniffles.

“I found someone else.”

“But what did I do Tyler? Am I so bad you had to go looking for someone else?” She crossed her arms waiting for a response. Tyler looked up at her and calmly said:

“You make everything about yourself Avery, even this.”

She scoffed. “What is that supposed to mean?”

He raised his voice. “Exactly what you think it means Avery. When my grandfather died you made me take you shopping for a dress to wear to the funeral. When my parents had to put the family dog to sleep you didn’t even ask if I was ok and to top things off we’ve been living here for half a decade and the only thing here of mine is my clothes.” He stood up and tossed his mug of coffee into the sink, shattering it. OUCH! Poor sink is probably feeling that.

“I wanted a stainless steel microwave, but no you wanted matte black because stainless steel didn’t “fit your aesthetic.” Give me a break.”

“You’re not in love with me anymore because of a microwave?”

He groaned and put his hands on his face. “It’s what the microwave represents. Everything in here really.” He opened the fridge and looked at the perfectly organized and color coded containers. “I don’t want to spend every Sunday cutting up fruits and vegetables to store in smaller things. Throw the shit in there and be done with it.”

There was a deafening silence plaguing the room. You could hear the small cry of the mouse that was stuck between the walls probably dying of hunger. Avery composed herself enough to speak again.

“Who is she?”

Tyler rolled his eyes. “Her name is Olivia,” he finally admitted. “We met at a bar.”

She started to laugh slightly, which caught Tyler off guard.

“Ty I don’t care if you slept with her. We can get through this. I’ve been thinking we could spice up the bedroom a little bit anyway” She stood up to go near him and he backed away.

“You SHOULD care that I slept with her. You SHOULD care that I had a laugh with her and that I have deep meaningful conversations where she asks ME HOW THE FUCK MY DAY WAS AND WANTS TO KNOW WHAT I’M INTERESTED IN.” Tyler yelled so loud his voice went hoarse. Avery’s tears picked back up with his confession.

“So what the last five years meant nothing?”

That was a fair question.

“They didn’t mean nothing, but I can’t keep lying to you. When I kiss you, I think of her, when I fuck you I think of her and when I tell you I love you, I think of her. She makes me feel like a person, Avery. With you, I don’t know, I don’t feel like a human. I just feel like you keep me around to tell your stupid fucking friends you have a longterm boyfriend.” Tyler threw his hands up in exasperation.

Avery moved swiftly to grab her purse. She wiped her eyes and looked at him before sliding her key off her keyring.

“I hope one day when you’re sitting here with her having coffee and laughing that you think about how absolutely fucking selfish you are Tyler. I’ll call you when I’m ready to take my things out.” She slammed the key on the table with such force it cracked the glass from one side of the table to the other. She walked out the door and slammed it just as hard as she did that key.

Tyler breathed a sigh of relief and picked up his phone.

"Hey Liv, want to come see my place finally?"