Eternal Blossom

A month into recording, things were going fairly well between the two. They had quickly fallen into a rhythm that worked for the two of them. Aiyana got up early and made Brian breakfast before climbing back into bed for another hour or so of sleep so that she could spend a little time with him each morning before his day got started. Once she got hungry that evening she would cook dinner and leave a plate for him in the microwave covered up if he didn’t make it home in time to eat with her. She knew work time for an artist was hectic, and didn’t hold it against him. He was glad that she was understanding, and worked with him so much that she was willing to work around his hectic studio schedule.

Aiyana was spending most of her time with her art projects digitally and at Rayne’s tattoo studio when Brian wasn’t home. When she felt her painting muse kick her into gear, she would spend a few days at home working on them until her muse was content enough with her progress to vanish for a little while.

Today, she was feeling the pain take over her body, making it difficult to breathe, let alone think straight. Therefore, she decided to spend the day on the couch curled up with an ultra soft throw and some movies.

Nipping into her stash for some aided muscular relaxation and joint relief, she carried it into the living room. As had become normal, her toe closest to her poor pinky toe found the coffee table before she noticed her proximity to it, and her toe made a sickening crunch as it turned sideways, dislocating immediately upon impact.

Aiyana dropped the tin, and cried out loudly as her breath left her body, feeling like it had taken her soul along with it. She covered the offended foot with the other in an attempt to protect it and soothe it like one would a toddler who had fallen on the playground while she tried to catch her breath.

“Fucking toes are only meant to find shit in the dark,” she groaned as she flopped onto the couch and brought her foot into her lap.

In a contortionist move, she brought her foot directly in front of her face and checked out the injured toe. Hoping it was just dislocated and not broken, she straightened the toe back out.
The immediate feeling of a little relief the moment the digit was pointing in the correct direction reassured her that the bone was intact.

Aiyana directed her gaze to the offending coffee table, and decided to rearrange the furniture so that she’d stop breaking toes off left and right. Nobody enjoyed stubbing their toes on furniture, but when that was coupled with having to add insult in the form of adjusting your own joints into the correct position, the final die had been cast. That coffee table was going to be her ultimate demise, and if it was hers, she’d have already thrown the damn thing outside and said fuck it by lighting it on fire while she basked in the heated inferno.

Standing, she looked at the room before getting to work on moving the furniture around.
Once everything was settled where it made more sense to her, and her poor toes wouldn’t get smashed up, she nodded and sat down on the couch for a toke and a movie. After the trauma and pain of the morning on top of a high pain day, she figured that she had earned it.


Aiyana had put a homemade pizza in the oven, and opened a bottle of wine by the time Brian made it home that night. It was late, and he wasn’t in the best of moods. Having had difficulty nailing a particular solo in the studio, and being ragged by the guys about his perfectionist tendencies until he was pulling at his own hair had really left him with one of the absolute worst moods he had found himself in in about a year.

She could tell that he was in a foul mood just by the way he dropped his keys into the bowl by the door on his way in with a resounding crash that she just hoped didn’t cause the bowl to shatter. Half waiting for the sound of glass pouring from the shelf onto the tile floor to assail her ears, she closed her eyes for a moment in preparation for his grumpiness.

“Rough day at the studio, hon,” she asked as he appeared in the kitchen where she was pulling the pizza out of the oven.

“Yeah,” he grumbled, his face a clear representation of his irritation as he opened the fridge for a beer.

She cut the pizza, and put a slice on a plate for him, handing him the plate before plating up her own slice and grabbing her wine glass. He took off for the living room as soon as he had his plate, just wanting to relax and watch some TV while he ate.

“What the actual fuck,” Brian yelled as he entered his living room, the couch had been turned 90 degrees from where it had been, and the coffee table moved a good foot farther from the couch. Now, he’d have to sit in the floor so that he could put his plate on the coffee table, or risk scratching up the floor by dragging the coffee table closer. After the stressful day that he’d had, it just felt like his day was once again being flipped on its ear the moment he’d walked into the comfort of his own living room.

Aiyana hurried up when she heard his yell, rushing in right behind him. She looked at him questioningly, wondering if there was a mess, or something she was missing.

“Did you move my furniture,” he asked her, his face twisting beyond irritation into pure anger as he walked over and put his plate and beer on the coffee table.

Seeing an argument coming, Aiyana did the same, putting her plate and glass down near his. She looked around and then up at his angry brown gaze.

“Yeah, I did. I kept dislocating my toes on your coffee table, so I rearranged it to where it made more sense,” she said calmly, not seeing what the problem was.

Brian tried to reign in his anger, and closed his eyes for a moment before turning to face her, his hands waving about the room as he spoke, “This isn’t your house, Aiyana, you can’t just go moving everything around without talking to me! Why do people think they can fuck with everyone’s shit today?!”

Aiyana was taken aback by his outburst, and raised an eyebrow at him in question. Why he was so upset about his couch and coffee table being moved about within the same room completely eluded her.

“I get it’s your place, Bri, I was just moving things around. I didn’t throw anything out, although I’d love to cut the legs off that coffee table,” she tried to joke.

“How about you just stop moving shit, Aiyana? If you want to move shit around, go back to your place. I like where I have things in my house, and I don’t need you moving things around at your whim,” he nearly yelled, anger lacing his voice thickly.

Backing away from him, her mouth held agape, she took a moment to process his words. Once the words sunk in, she didn’t know what else to do, so she just nodded. If he wanted her to leave, that’s what she would do. She rationalized that he probably needed some space, and after all his lashing out tonight, she could do with some as well. She walked up the stairs and slipped a pair of shoes on before grabbing her purse.

She paused at the foot of the stairs, wondering if she should say anything. She didn’t want to stoke the fires of his irritation, but she felt like she needed to at least say good bye. Aiyana turned and looked at him where he sat on the couch. He’d pulled the coffee table closer to the couch, and was broodily eating his pizza in silence.

“I’m going to give you some space. I think we both need some,” she said, her voice sounding strange and mechanical even to her own ears.

“Yeah, I’ve got some furniture to move,” he grumbled from his spot on the couch, not looking up at her.

“It’s a fucking coffee table and couch, Brian, chill the fuck out,” she yelled, her own anger finally rising.

“Aiyana Deer, it’s MY fucking shit that you moved. You didn’t ask, and you didn’t care what I would think.You just took it on yourself. Go ahead and go home. It’s obvious that’s what you want to do anyways,” he yelled back as he stood, facing her from across the room.

“Fine,” she yelled back, turning on her heel and heading for the door.

She half expected him to run after her and stop her before she left. She hope that he would, but when he sat back down with a frustrated groan, her hand turned the knob and she walked out to her bike. Hurt to a point she hadn’t been in a long time, she felt her emotions closing down, leaving her numb because she didn’t know how to feel. Call it a defense mechanism or what have you, she had hit a point where her emotions had overloaded her brain, and she shut down.

Kick starting it, she pulled her hair into a bun and secured her purse better. With one final look at his door, she sighed and took off in the direction of home. He needed space, and at that point, she did as well.

Aiyana took the long way home, letting the wind against her face relax her, taking the curves and straight aways easily as her mind churned emotionlessly over the argument and how out of hand it had gotten.

As soon as she left and he’d heard her beast of a motorcycle pull out of his driveway, he put his head in his hands. He looked over and saw her plate and glass of wine. Brian instantly regretted telling her to leave, and then letting her leave.

He’d been in a shitty mood all day, and he’d taken his frustration out on her when he shouldn’t have. He knew that he was being an asshole, but he couldn’t stop himself in the heat of the moment. Hopefully she’d come back tomorrow, and things would go back to normal.

Brian left his unfinished plate and went upstairs to shower and climb into bed. Once in bed, he stared at her empty side of the bed, his gaze lingering on her pillow. With a sigh, he grabbed her pillow and brought it over, curling around it as he would if it was her. With a deep sigh, he stared into the darkness, and let his mind wander.

Notes

Oh Brian, what did you do?