She Screams

She screams. She rants. He listens and consoles. He gives, she takes. This is the way it has been for some time now.

He only stays for Delia. He loves that girl as if she were his own, but she is not. She is the product of his wife's affair with his one time foe and enemy. But she is all he has. This is the way it has been for some time now.

Her once full and luscious auburn hair is now limp and bleached blonde. Her once bright lustrous brown eyes are cold and vacant. She is consumed by her own greed and hatred. This is the way it has been for some time now.

She cares not for her "mistake" as she calls her young daughter only for a life of partying and raucous times. When she sees Delia in the halls she sends her to her room or off to help the cook with a look of distain. This is the way it has been for some time now.

He weeps for her, and all that she once was. Her family weeps for her and the person she has become. They beg her to change, or to let him and Delia free. But she will not consent. She has him locked in his own home, held by her fragile mind. Thinking only of Delia is how he survives. This is the way it has been for some time now.

She has become a wraith only leaving her home to party and spend his money. She is as cold as a pale morning in December and he is like the gentle summer breeze warm and loving and full of hope. This is the way it has been for some time now.

Polar opposites drawn together by a mere twist of fate, everyone else was together it just seemed that they should be to. And for a while they fit together, but thing's change people change. I just guess that they didn't know how to stop it. This is the way it has been for some time now.

She looks old and haggard, inside she is a bitter old woman. He is still young and dashing though a shadow has fallen on his form these past months. This is the way it has been for some time now.

He hates her, but at the same time he loves her. She has no emotion. She hasn't had any for some time now. She is cold and dead inside and everybody knows. But he will never leave her. For that is the wrong thing to do. He will stay and pay the price. But the price keeps on growing. This is the way it has been for some time now.

Not only is his afraid of her and her tempers, he fears for her family. He fears the pain and humiliation they must endure. He fears the way her daughter must feel. They way her mother feels. He fears the way in which she sees-or rather doesn't see-the things around her, like her family's pain, her daughter's pain, and his pain. This is the way it has been for some time now.

He is alone. Terribly alone. And if she doesn't kill him, someone else will. And death will be a sweet release. Nothing here is his. Not her. Not Delia. Nothing. He sleeps and he eats but he is a ghost. Fading into the memories of yesterday, of happier times. When her hair and eyes glimmered in the light. When he felt alive, -even with death so close. This is the way it has been for some time now.

He may not look old but he is. In his bones. In his heart, he has lived a thousand years and has seen far more than he should. He is here living out his remaining days dreaming of a happier tomorrow. Thinking of the what ifs...and what might have happened if he could have stopped it all from getting this out of hand.