Mel and I didn’t talk. The cold war had officially begun but still the thought of divorce twisted my insides. I had thought I'd found the right person with Mel, but now I knew I'd forced her into that role. Looking back, she'd always been selfish. I couldn’t count the number of times she'd pulled me out of bed sick or weak, to attend a town function or party. Mel had always been all about appearances, it'd just taken me leaving to recognize that. As time passed things had become more strained between Auburn and I, too. I wanted to talk to her every single day about the fucked up things running through my head, but I didn’t. I was conscious of keeping it as it had been, the last thing I wanted was her caught up in my bullshit anymore than she already was. But still, not being together took it's toll. We texted and emailed a few times a week. My contract had finally expired with my cell carrier so I took myself off of Mel's account and insisted she put all the bills in her name. It was time.
