“Adam.” Said Melody gently.
He opened his eyes slightly to see Melody’s smiling face.
“It’s Christmas.” She whispered.
Adam sat up, had she finally given into the excitement of Christmas? He hadn’t expected her to be awake or even waking him up.
He followed her into their lounge where the presents seemed to have doubled. Melody put her arms round him, her warm body pressed up against his as she placed a light kiss on his mouth. “Happy first Christmas. “She said smiling.
“Happy first Christmas.” He replied.
Adam sat himself on the sofa next to Melody. She pulled out one of the neatly wrapped gifts and handed it to him. “Thank you.” he said as he did the same for her.
She opened her present. Inside was a framed picture of them together. The boarder of the frame was silver decorated with matching roses. He had bought the frame especially knowing how much she liked everything to match.
He opened his, inside were two designer shirts, his heart sank. She was always dressing him up, never happy with how he was or his choice of dress. “They’re lovely.” He said trying to hide his real feelings from his voice.
As they exchanged and opened all their gifts for each other, Adam realised he basically had a new wardrobe. There were shirts, jumpers, trousers, jeans and many t-shirts.
“I thought you could throw away all your old stuff now.” Said Melody. “And that nice blue shirt would look good tonight.”
Adam frowned at her. “What's wrong with the stuff I already have?” he asked.
“Oh come one Adam, half that stuff you have had for god knows how long. Don’t you feel embarrassed when you go out?”
“Not really. It doesn’t matter what people think of me.” He said defensively.
She sighed; it was like trying to talk to a wall. “Don’t you want to look nice?”
“Yes, but I like what I like. I don’t see why you’re always trying to dress me up.”
“Talking of dressing up.” She said ignoring him. “I was saying I think the blue shirt would look nice tonight with the black trousers, or even these jeans.” She said holding up a pair of jeans that looked as if someone had worn them in a fight. They were full of tears and frays he wasn’t sure they were new.
“What do you mean tonight?” he asked.
“There is a party that we are going to, I want you too meet some of my Uni friends.”
“Then why can’t I just go as me?”
“Because your scruffy.” She snapped. She was getting angry with him now. Why can’t men just do as they were told?
“Then why are you with me? If the way I look bothers you so much why don’t you shack up with one of your uni friends?” he was angry with her now. Sometimes she could just be so picky. Everything had to be perfect on the outside even if it was falling apart on the inside.
“You’ll wear these clothes tonight.” She yelled. “Or don’t bother coming. Now if you don’t mind I am going to get ready.”
“Its Christmas day for god sake, are you going to spend the whole day getting ready for a night out?” He was shocked, this was mad even for her.
“Yes, and if you don’t like it you know where the door is.” She said as she pointed across the room.
“Fine.” He said. “You spend the day in the bathroom. I’m going out. Happy Christmas.” He said.
Adam threw on his clothes and walked out of their apartment. His head was a mess. What did Melody really want from him? He had no money, she didn’t like the way he dressed and she was always finding ways to try and change him. She hated having cosy nights in. All that seemed to matter to her was going to parties. Whenever he went with her he felt like he was on display.
The streets outside were white from the night before. He could see children trying to ride their new bikes up and down but the depth of the snow stopped them. Houses still had their curtains shut, but the lights that shone through showed that there would be families in there just getting up and handing presents to each other.
He walked slowly until he reached the old building where he and Morgan had shared a flat. A year ago they would be sat in their nightwear exchanging gifts and laughing at each other. The television would be on, playing out some old children’s classic Christmas movie while they sat in a mass of torn paper. Adam smiled sadly to him self as he remembered it. He wished he knew where Morgan was and that she was alright.
Even if she didn’t want to see him. Leaving the way she did just left it as an open chapter in his life. One that he wished he could close.
Morgan sat on the couch. The world around her was celebrating Christmas; she could hear the people in the flat above enjoying the festives with their family. She flicked the channel over bringing the queens face onto the screen as she delivered her yearly speech, Morgan stared at the television, not paying attention to what was actually on.
For a second Morgan dismissed the clicking noise as it came from the lock mechanism of the front door, but once it reached her she sat up. The door opened slowly and she held her breath frozen to where she sat. In her head she saw her self reaching for the wine bottle that was next to her, but she couldn’t get her body to react as the intruder opened the door further.
Blond hair and blue eyes peeked round the gap in the door, it took Morgan a moment to register that it was Adam. She stayed where she was just staring at him, she couldn’t believe it was him, she was sure that he would vanish if she blinked. He stared back at her with equal disbelief and for a minute neither of them spoke.
“Morgan?” he asked as he walked over to her, his face softening into a smile. “Morgan?”
Morgan just continued to watch him, her body still wouldn’t listen to her, her mouth wouldn’t move.
He rushed over to where she sat and stood in front of her. “Morgan, where have you been?”
She let out the breath she was holding as her temper rose at his question. “Me?” she said, her voice raised.” Where have I been? Where have you been? I have been right here alone.”
Adam looked down at the floor; he didn’t want to tell her he had moved out. As mad as that sounded he just couldn’t actually say it. Obviously she knew, he hadn’t been home and his stuff was gone, but to confirm to her that he had moved one, he couldn’t think about it.
“Oh I get it.” She said. “Your living with Melody aren’t you? I am not here for a while and you pack your bags and bugger off like I never existed. Did you even bother that I wasn’t here? Did you leave the minute I was gone?”
“Of course I bothered, I looked for you.” He replied hurt.
“Yeah? Well its doesn’t look like that to me, looks like as soon as I was out the way you shacked up with that, that…”
“That what Morgan?” he asked.
“Nothing forget it. What have you come here for anyway? Shouldn’t you be home with Melody”? She spat the name out as childishly as she could to make her point.
“Don’t slag her off, she helped me when I was searching for you. You had been gone weeks. There was no word, no note, nothing. You had just vanished.
“Yeah I bet she helped you alright, helped you to pack your bags.”
“Morgan your being stupid now.”
“Me stupid?” she yelled. “Don’t you dare call me stupid, you’re the stupid one for moving in with her, you should have…?”
“I should have what Morgan?”
“Nothing. Forget it. Go home.”
“For god sake Morgan.” He said in frustration. “Tell me what you were going to say.”
“Nothing, I told you go home.”
Adam put his fists up to the side of his head, tension running along the muscles in his arms. “Morgan just say it.” He yelled through gritted teeth.”
Morgan turned her back on him and concentrated on breathing. She couldn’t tell him, he wasn’t hers any more, she didn’t have the right. It hurt so much, she didn’t realise how much she had bottled up the pain from Adam not being there.
“Morgan. Tell me!”
“You should have stayed here.” She said in a whisper.
“Stayed here? Why? For you to have your little tantrums with me?”
“No.”
“Then why?” he asked.
She answered him but her voice was so low that he couldn’t hear her.
“Why Morgan.”
She replied again
“Morgan god damn it, just tell me.”
She turned to him, but she wouldn’t look into his eyes.
“Morgan?”
Tears rolled down her cheeks staining her face. “Because I……. because I love you.”
Adam didn’t know what to say or how to feel. He watched as she slowly lifted her gaze up to meet his. She finally looked into his eyes, but they stayed blank, he didn’t know how he was supposed to react or what he was supposed to do, he had never realised.
Morgan forced her mouth into a fake smile and nodded at him. From the look on his face she knew in that instance that he didn’t feel the same, or even see her like that. To him she would always be that kid that he ran away with. She knew that now. She put her head down and turned away from him.
