FROM YESTERDAY

"Are you okay?"

"What's with that scary scowl on your face?", Thompson queried, grabbing Roseline's arms and pulling her into a hug before she even had time to think about resisting.

"Wait, Thompson", she scampered, withdrawing herself from the hug, her face scrunched up in confusion.

"What has come over you?" he inquired with a gentle laugh, showing how pissed her action made him.

"I'm sorry. It's just that--", Roseline stammered, biting down on her lips.

"It's just what?" he asked, impatient.

"It's just that I feel we shouldn't be doing this", Roseline blurted out, lacking the right words to explain what she was feeling at the moment.

"What!" Thompson asked, shocked.

"You want to break up with me?" he asked, his eyes widened.

"No, that's not what I mean," she protested, waving her hands in front of him in disagreement.

"Then what do you mean? You just said we shouldn't be doing this", he asked, burying his hands in his pockets and staring at her curiously.

Confused at her own behavior but the feelings she felt too real to ignore, she asked, "Is there something you would like me to know?"

At that moment, Thompson's breath hitched.

Deeply inhaling and exhaling, he rolled his eyes restlessly. Then, withdrawing his hands from his pockets and placing them gently on her shoulders, he rubbed them affectionately, his gaze dissolving into a gentler look.

"You must be tired. Let's go home", he replied with a smile plastered on his face, his voice smooth and persuasive.

Roseline sighed tiredly.

"You know, I've been feeling a certain type of way since I woke up. I'm not sure, but I feel I'm doing something wrong", she let her face fall to the floor and rubbed her hands together anxiously.

Thompson swallowed over and over again as he listened to her.

"I feel like a part of my memory was sliced off while I was sleeping", she concluded, looking back up at Thompson.

Thompson burst out into laughter, the sound stiff and rough, as if he was forcing himself to laugh instead of being sincere about it.

"What do you even mean? That's so diabolical", he yelled, moving away from Roseline towards where her suitcase was standing.

She watched him draw out the wheeler and began to roll the box towards her. 

Did he feel that?

It was just her.

Roseline froze as he approached her. Then, he moved past her and kept walking ahead of her.

"Come on. Let's go. We should get you to go to the hospital if you think it's serious", Thompson said casually from a distance away.

"I think it's pretty serious. Can you drive me to a hospital now, please?"

"Come on, Roseline. You were on a flight for several hours. It might just be tiredness that sleeping a couple of hours will help."

"You think so?" she replied, walking hurriedly to catch up with him.

"Yes, believe me and you'd be fine", he concluded, then flashed her a smile.

...

"Welcome home, darling", Thompson yelled loudly upon opening the door of the house to let Roseline in.

"Let's cut the crap about memory loss and threatening to break up, focus on resting and being my baby", he said again, pulling her into him for a kiss, but barely three seconds later, Roseline wriggled out of his grip.

"I'm scared, Thompson. There's something I need to know, but I don't. It's eating away at my heart", she cried, scratching her head in a frenzy.

"So, what now?" he scoffed.

"I can't even touch you?", he continued in a lower tone, showing how angry he was starting to get.

"That's not what I mean. You don't understand me, Thompson", she said slowly, her mind completely drifting from the conversation.

"Are you even listening to me?" Thompson said, lifting her chin up to meet his eyes.

"Wait!" She turned to face him squarely.

"How did you know I was in that particular hotel? I don't remember calling you to tell you about it"

"C'mon Rose! I got your location notification and I decided to come get you. Has that become a crime?" he asked, narrowing his eyes, his upper lip curving in a smirk.

"Oh! Roseline breathed out, rubbing her head.

"Look, Roseline. You have to calm down right now", he spoke gently, relaxing his shoulders, the pissed look on his face disappearing into a calm smile.

"I'm sorry, baby. I am so out of it right now. I think I need rest", she sighed, rubbing Thompson's arm slightly before climbing up the stairs that led to their bedroom, her bag still slung across her shoulders.

"What the hell is she on about?" Thompson muttered to himself, glancing towards her direction with a look similar to that of disgust spread across his face, before going after her with the suitcase.

A few steps from the bedroom door, Roseline felt her phone vibrate in her bag. Lazily, she dug her hand into it and pulled her phone out.

It was Anna.

Seeing her name displayed in a bold font on the flat screen of the phone, her breathing became fast and loud. So many thoughts she wasn't able to place swirled about in her head.

The migraine returned, hitting her hard. She shut her eyes tight and held her breath.

The ringing stopped, and she gasped heavily.

A fresh wave of tiredness threatened to pull her to the ground, but she steadied her feet to the floor and then, called out.

"Thompson!", she yelled, her voice heavy with anxiety.

"Right here. Are you okay?", Thompson replied, rushing to where she was leaning against the rail of the stairs.

She grabbed his shoulders as soon as he came up to her reach, her fingers trembling heavily against the material of his shirt.

"Are you okay, baby?", Thompson asked again, holding her up, his eyes rapidly inspecting her face.

Roseline was speechless for a moment. Her hands still grabbing onto his shoulders and her head bowed slightly to the floor space between them, she inhaled and exhaled very slowly.

Then, suddenly revitalized, she straightened her pose, her eyes steady and bold.

She brought up her phone which had been squeezed into her palm all the while up to her face and dialed Anna.

"Hello, Rosie"

Roseline meant to reply, but no sound came forth from her throat.

"The last time I called, you were too busy to tell me how your trip from Tuesday went", Anna's voice rang out from the receiver.

"Well rested now, I guess. Are you free to fill me in on your trip now?"

Slowly, Roseline took the phone down to her face and stared at the powdery blue color of the wall paper with the current date and time displayed at it top right corner.

Then, returning the phone to her ear, she spoke.

"Let me call you back"

Without waiting for Anna's reply, she clicked on the big red button to end the call.

Facing Thompson, who was now leaning on the suitcase against the wall opposite to where she stood, she spoke.

"Why do I feel like I was here yesterday?"