Skin deep

It was late at night and all the lights were off. Nawra was sleeping and didn't hear him coming in. He took of his shoes and left them by the front door, blindly, he headed to their room, brushing the furniture in the living room but not stumbling on it. They had built all of it themselves after a lengthy trip to IKEA, it had been fun to chose which dinning table would witness the start of their life together. He had insisted for better furniture, but Nawra convinced him that it was only temporary. It took them several days to put it all together, mainly because he couldn't keep his hands away from her. He smiled at the memory, he had had a sore back for a week after the furniture-building streak and not from the actual building. His left pinkie toe got caught on the corner of the coffee table. He cursed, Nawra must have moved it. The light from the lightlamp across the street illuminated the room. Nawra was sleeping on the sheets, naked as she always did despite it being winter and the house being cold, she didn't feel the cold, she never did. He shuddered when he took out his jacket and placed it on the chair next to his side of the bed. He would sleep on his clothes, he had decided, he was too tired and didn't want to wake Nawra up. He slid under the sheets, kissed Nawra on her forehead who moved in her sleep, and fell asleep almost instantly. 

Nawra woke up with the sun and sat by the window in the kitchen to have breakfast and check her email. When he got to the kitchen a half-empty bowl of cereal lay by her computer as she went from spreadsheet to spreadsheet. He rubbed her shoulders and she jumped as his hands touched her skin. 

-Ouch.-she said ignoring him. 

-Want some French toast, honey?-he asked. 

-No, thanks.- she said glancing at him for a second before returning to her spreadsheets.  

-Will you work all the weekend?- he reached for the cinnamon, his back on her. 

-Mike, you know I've work to do. 

He sighed and kept cooking. Nawra didn't talk to him during the whole time, focused on her work, only breaking her silence to talk to herself about her work. 

-Don't you want to get out of home, honey?- he suggested when he finished his breakfast. 

-I told you I need to work. 

Mike looked at the floor, disappointed. Nawra had been busy for a long time, as long as she had been distant with him. He didn't dare to ask whether she still loved him, it hurt too much to think otherwise. He changed his clothes and went out on the sunshine. He walked down the street to the park, enjoying the game the sun played with the leaves. Kids ran everywhere, shouting and laughing. The park was full of life. Mike walked around for a long time. So long that the smell of freshly cut grass and wet dirt had become part of him. He stayed out until it was lunch time, when he thought that maybe Nawra would want to have lunch with him. She was still at her seat by the window, working. 

-Stop working, Nawra. It's Saturday.- he softly placed his hand on her arm, she yanked it away from him. 

-Don't touch me. You're hurting me. 

Mike looked startled at his hand. 

-I only brushed you.- he said. 

-It hurts, Mike. It hurts every time you touch me. You can't imagine how much it hurts. 

-Maybe you should see a doctor. 

-You don't understand.- she said exasperated. 

-Then tell me, why are you avoiding me? What have I done?- he could feel the tears piling on his eyes.-Don't you love me? 

Nawra shook her head. Some short curls flew free from the messy bun she had constructed on top of her head. 

-I love you. I do love you. But it hurts. It hurts every time you touch me. 

-Why? Why does it hurt if you love me? If I love you?- he didn't understand. 

-Sometimes love hurts.- Nawra explained. 

Mike sat across the table and looked at her in the eye. 

-What can I do? 

-Leave.- she whispered, her hands clenched in fists. 

-Where? I have nowhere to go. 

Nawra started crying silently. Tears fell down her olive cheeks onto the laptop keyboard. 

-They are waiting for you. They've been waiting for you for a long time. 

-Who are they? You know I have no one.- what was she talking about? She knew his parents had died a long time ago. 

-Yes, you do.- she paused for a moment, her hand reached for his but stopped an inch before touching him.- You're dead, Mike, you have been dead for months.