Maria slid gracefully from the bed. Her body was tight and sculpted. She invested a lot of time and money into her body. Perfection was her goal and nothing less would do. Chris watched her sit naked at the vanity. He watcher her go through her beauty regimen, as he had many timed before. She was beautiful, but he loved her for reasons other than her looks.
"So," he rumbled, "what are we doing tonight?"
She signed impatiently. "I," she emphasized, "am going to a premier with one of the stars in about an hour. Then I plan to entertain until the ripe hour of 8pm. After that I'll go to bed so I can be rested when I get up at an ungodly hour tomorrow morning." She paused to purse her lips and roll lipstick over them. "As for your plans I don't have a clue."
Chris sat up sharply and crossed his arms. "Once again our interaction is on your terms."
Maria smoothed lotion over her arms as she said, "I don't want to have this discussion again, Chris."
"What?" He demanded and stood, exposing his nakedness. "You figure a good fuck will erase my memory? I came here to talk about our non-existent relationship not to enter another chapter in my book of ten minute encounters with the woman I love."
Maria looked at him in the vanity mirror. "What about the sacrifices I've made to support you in your career? I worked shit jobs to support you. I spent countless nights alone because you were writing. Don't give me shit about our "non-existent relationship" unless you're willing to talk about your contribution."
"That was four years ago." He stated impassively.
She turned to look at him, her beautiful face twisted in barely suppressed anger. "Your right. Four years. And yet you notice this wasn't an issue two months ago when you were in the middle of a screenplay."
He stared at her stoically and didn't answer. She sighed and tried to compose herself. "I don't want to argue, Chris. We made a pact and I think we should keep that in mind when things get hard."
"Oh, yeah. The pact." He said sarcastically.
She stood up, unaware of her naked splendor, and glared at him fiercely. "Don't even go there. You want fame just the same as I do. The whole reason we left our families and what would have been a very comfortable life in suburbia was because we wanted something more. Success takes sacrifice. It takes hard work and long hours. You know that and I know that. Sometimes it takes away the comfort of real friends and family. We made the pact so we didn't have to give up those things. Have you completely forgotten that?"
"Why are you telling me things I already know, Maria. I'm very aware of the sacrifices success takes. I'm also aware of the sacrifices we have both made."
"Then why are you scoffing at the pact?"
He was quiet for a moment, gathering his thought. When he spoke his words were stubborn and unyielding. "I'm not asking to go public. I'm asking for your time."
She looked at him in disbelief. "I give you the time I have. I know it's been hard recently but that's because things are perking up. I'm in the zone. People want to meet me. I've been entertaining a lot to increase my popularity. In my position I can't have a boyfriend-"
He interrupted her. "We both agree on that."
"Thank you." She said before continuing, "And if you are over when I have company people will assume you are my boyfriend. The only other time I have to give is my private time and I already give you all of that. Fuck, I never not busy these days because of the demands on my time."
He stared at her stoically, "I need more."
The anger that had been simmering before was not reaching its full force. "What the fuck! I don't have more to give." She was trying to control her temper but his attitude flamed the fires. "Look, my viability is 10, maybe 20 years. About the time my star is fading you will be on the rise. If we can just survive the next-"
He cut in, "I don't want to just survive anymore, Maria. I'm done getting by. Something needs to change. I need more than this."
She stared at him as the truth began to sink in. Her anger faded as remorse squeezed at her heart. Tears pooled at the bottom of her eyes and she had a hard time speaking because of the lump in her throat. Her lips pulled down on both sides as she said, "You want to break the pact."
"I don't want to but...I know we said we would stay together no matter what and in my heart I can't think of life without you, but I...I just...I'm tired Maria." He looked at her sadly as tears streamed down her face. "I don't think the pact is going to work. We said we would we would stay together through anything. Even if we hated each other, we would stay together, because you can't trust anyone after your famous. It's a good sentiment but I don't think it's very practical."
She felt like someone hit her and the feeling was reflected in her face. "You want me to...what?."
"Sacrifice a little for us." She gave him a dubious look. "Alright, for me." He cons ceded. "I need more of you."
"How could you be so selfish?" She demanded. "A little adversity and your ready to give up on a our promise to each other. I considered that promise marriage vows. It was supposed to keep us together forever." Defiantly she brought her head up and looked down at him. "I've had offers, you know. There is a list of men that would love to worship me on my terms but I've been faithful to you this whole time." Her voice shrilly echoed through the room. "Every time I go to kiss one of my co-stars I pause to think about you. I wonder if you would be mad or jealous because I'm kissing another man. There are rumors that I'm frigid because of my faithfulness to you." She was shaking as she pointed at herself. "Me! Frigid!"
"I-" He stopped and then continued slowly. "I think I'm breaking up with you."
Her face fell. She was pale and trembling as she walked blindly over to her closet. "You can't do this right now." Her heart thumped heavily in her chest. She put a hand on her chest to stop the pain and then tried to swallow. Her words were stilted and uneven. "I don't have time to be upset about this. I'm supposed to be at a premier in an hour."
She felt him walk up next to her. The warmth of his body was disconcerting next to her chilly limbs. She heard him say near her ear, "You don't have any control over this, Maria. If I say it's over then it is."
For a moment she thought he was going to comfort her but instead he picked up the shirt near her feet. "What about money?" She asked faintly. "I pay for everything. How will you survive?"
"I'll work shit jobs and get a smaller apartment."
It was like listening to a doctor rattle off a prognosis. He was so cool and unconcerned. She wondered how long he'd been planning this scenario. Next to her, Chris was the most dramatic person she knew. He wouldn't miss an opportunity to create the perfect scene. In this scenario she was the villain. She was the cold, unfeeling bitch that denied her impassioned lover a place in her life. He would be the hero, getting revenge on his heartless love interest. She finally turned to look at him. He was dressed and calmly composed.
"Please don't do this." She pleaded.
He shook his head. "It's too late, Maria." His eyes went out of focus as he reflected on their relationship. "I think it's been over for a while."
"Not for me." Her mouth was uncomfortable as it shaped her words. "I've never thought, for even a second, that we would part. I'm still as much in love with you as the first day we met."
He shrugged as he walked to the door. "Maybe you should have thought about it. Maybe that would have given you some perspective. At least now we're on the same page." He opened the door. "Good bye, Maria."
She stared at the closed door. Tears were collecting at the bottom of her eyes. She pulled a robe out of the closet and then sat down at the vanity. Water leaked down the side of her face. She stemmed the flow with a tissue.
"Not now." She told her reflection. "I'll make time for this later, but not now."
The tears receded so that she was left with only a pain in her heart. Proudly she put the finishing touches on her makeup. When she walked out the bedroom door there wasn't any grief to be seen on her. Maria would cry a river for the loss of her true love but the starlet didn't have time for true love. The scarlet scoffed at the idea of dating a screen writer. The scarlet was beautiful and serene and perfect. It was the starlet that would survive no matter what.
The End.
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