Sudden Independents

Hunter grabbed the doorknob and slammed the door shut. Molly blew off her boyfriend’s agitation as a little phase he’d been going through, probably relating to the cold weather. She swirled her hand through the heated water as the bed creaked again.

“Hunter, I’ll need one more refill in a few minutes, pretty please. Last time, I promise.”

She heard someone yell, but couldn’t make out the words. The voice sounded faraway and muffled. “Did you say something, Hunter?”

“No!”

The yelling was probably one of the brats playing outside. Molly sank her ears below the waterline, listening to the muted sounds of the house swish around her. She closed her eyes and floated in relaxation. After all of her years of suffering, life was finally improving.

Time passed and the temperature of the water dropped below her comfort level. “Hunter, I’m ready for another refill.”

Molly waited for the familiar sounds, but there was no creak from the bed or the tread of heavy feet on the stairs. “Hunter?”

She frowned at the silence behind the door. “Hunter! Where are you? I’m getting cold.”

She shivered as the bubbles evaporated with tiny pops. Her limbs actually shook. Now she was furious because her boyfriend was not showing up and her bath was being ruined.

“Hun — Ter!”

Molly rose from the tub with goose bumps sprouting over her body. She left the cold, dirty water in the tub for Hunter to empty and quickly dried off. She tugged her pink terrycloth robe down from its peg and wrapped her cold, dripping-wet hair in a dry towel before exiting the bathroom that was connected to their bedroom. Hunter was not in the bed and the door to the hallway was closed. He better not have taken off somewhere without telling her first.

She checked her complexion in the full-length mirror, marveling at her smooth skin and the clean pores on her face from the regular baths. Then she sorted through her clothes in the closet to find the perfect outfit.

When she first moved in she had Hunter relocate his things to the hall closet; a girl needed her clothes nearby for modesty. She even had him install a couple more shelves to fit all her stuff inside and keep it organized. He was so handy when he was around-unlike now when she really needed him to dry her hair.

She decided on her cute little v-neck sweater and her Gap jeans with the flared bottoms that Hunter had found. He liked when she wore them. She pulled on a clean pair of Hunter’s wool socks and went searching for her missing boyfriend.

She discovered him downstairs on the couch, snoring in front of a roaring fire. It must have been close to lunchtime and her lazy boyfriend was down here sleeping. Even she didn’t lie around that much.

Molly cleared her throat, but Hunter didn’t budge.

“Hunter, wake up!”

He stirred, driving his nose further into the cushions. He was awake. She knew he was. He was just ignoring her for some reason, trying to make her mad. It was a game he played that started about a month ago after she moved in. He’d pretend to be mad at her and then she would give him the sexy eyes and then it was game on. But she was not going to play that way today. She was really mad and a little fooling around wasn’t going to make her feel better this time.

Molly sat in the crook of Hunter’s legs and pounded him on the back. He twisted around with blurry, red eyes. Drool slid from his mouth, making him look stupid with his matted hair.

He’d actually been asleep, and now he appeared angry with her. But she’d been the one forced to rinse off in cold water. Why was he mad?

“What do you want now?” he asked, rolling back into the couch and closing his eyes.

“What do I want? I wanted some hot water. Now I want my boyfriend to pay attention to me. That’s what I want.”

“And I want some sleep. I figured after the tenth five-gallon bucket, you’d be good.”

“Well, I wasn’t, and I’m still not. What’s your problem?”

“I was asleep. If you’re done, I’d like to go back to sleep.”

“Why are you being such an asshole? You don’t care how I feel, do you?”

“No, not right now,” he said without looking at her.

Molly searched for something to throw at him or beat him with and found the empty orange bucket in a corner. She slipped her feet in Hunter’s boots and grabbed the bucket on her way out. She froze her hand on the metal handle as she pumped the well, but gritted her teeth and filled the bucket with cold water. It was way too heavy and she poured half of it out before struggling to carry it back inside.

It took every bit of her strength, but Molly raised the bucket high and smiled. She poured the cold water over Hunter and dropped the empty bucket on his head. Molly jumped back a couple of steps when Hunter erupted.

He was completely awake now, and furious. He snatched the bucket from the floor and hurled it at her. She ducked as it sailed over her head and smashed into the wall.