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Tears fell from Armie’s eyes as he packed his things in his suitcase. His wife of 10 years, Liz, walked into the room and saw him. She paused with confusion.
“What are you doing?”
“I told you last night I couldn’t do this anymore, Liz.” Armie told her, wiping his face.
“You’re kidding, right?!”
“Do I look like I’m kidding?” He glared at her.
“You are really gonna throw away 10 years, Armie?”
“No, I’m throwing away constant arguing, lying, cheating, and toxicity.” He zipped his bag.
“That’s just us. It’s how we are.”
“And we are toxic together.”
Liz scoffs. “If you walk out on this family, you are a pussy.” She tells him, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I am not walking on this family; I'm walking out on you.” He clarifies.
“So, all of the couples counseling was for nothing?!” She throws her hands up in disgust.
“Oh, come on. Liz! Therapy was a joke! We both stopped loving each other a long time ago!”
“So that’s it?! You’re just gonna leave?”
“Yeah, because the kids don’t need to hear us arguing every other day. The bad outweighs the good. We don’t have enough good days in between the bad ones.”
“You are such a fucking prick!” Liz snaps. “This is about your little fuck toy, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s not.”
“Yeah right! I’m not stupid, Armie! I know every time you take off you are with him!”
“So why do you want to be with someone who is clearly cheating on you?! It’s not because you love me!” He spreads his arms in emphasis. “You cannot stand me most of the time. I walk into a room, and you roll your eyes in disgust! We never touch or kiss or anything unless we are both half drunk! Do you think that’s good for the kids to see?!”
“So, you think it’s better for them to see their daddy leave their mom for someone else? For a man?!”
“I am not leaving you for him!” He tells her, demanding her attention. “We aren’t even seeing one another!”
“Oh.” She said, raising her brow then a patronizing laugh. “So, this is him giving you an ultimatum. Leave me or he walks.”
“No!” Armie shouted in frustration. “That’s not what this is!” He turned, facing her. “He did point out that I’m treating him unfairly, though.” His voice lowered. “He deserves better than only half of a person. It made me realize that I don’t want to pretend anymore. I don’t want my kids growing up thinking that it's okay to be in a loveless marriage where all you and your partner do is argue. I don’t want them to see us getting pissy and annoyed with one another for entering a room and thinking that’s normal.”
“So instead of trying harder you just want to walk?”
“There is nothing left here to fight for!” His frustration was getting the best of him. “There is nothing here that I want!”
“You are such a selfish asshole!” Liz yells in his face.
“No, staying is selfish. Putting the kids and myself through this is selfish. Will it hurt? Yes! Will I second guess the decision? Absolutely. We spent 10 years of our lives together. But I would rather that, then regretting this and resenting you later. I want to be able to look back at our marriage and say it was great but not forever. I don’t want to think about it and have it be one of the worst time periods in my life. And that's exactly what will happen if we keep this going.”
“I’m so sure!” Liz rolled her eyes, turning away.
“If you need to make me the bad guy to make this easier for you, that’s fine. Do what you need to.” He shakes his head. “You think this is gonna eventually get better and it’s not. It’s just gonna get worse. We tried hard but it’s just not working anymore.”
“If you think I’m gonna just forgive you when you come crawling back, you’re wrong.” Liz spits out as she walks out of the room.
Armie grabbed his bag and walked down the hall, pausing at the kid’s bedroom. He pressed a kiss to his son and daughter’s head with tears flowing freely down his cheeks. He knew this was what was best for them, but it didn’t make it any easier.
Armie stood with his bag outside of the door with fresh tears welling in his eyes as he gently knocked. The door opened and Timothee stood there, his mouth dropped open in surprise.
“Can I crash here a few days?” Armie asked in a low voice. “I left Liz and I just need a couch til I figure out my next more.”
Timothee pulled Armie into a tight hug and held him as he sobbed in his arms.