I just realized I left a big gap between Ezra coming back and dumping me, and then him popping up in my posts again. Sorry. That's what happens when you're too busy crying. Eventually I'll slot this post into it's chronological order.
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When I discovered The Text, I raged. Raged and howled. I was, literally, blinded, and it was very dramatic. He grabbed me and pinned my arms so I wouldn't hurt myself, and we were crumpled on the floor in a knot, my screaming and sobbing kinda the same thing. First I told him to disappear, then about a half hour later, I allowed him to stay. 3 hours later, we had extraordinarily passionate sex.
Oh, and that night, I also told him about sleeping with Dave, and Shane. That was an interesting summer. It was wonderful to get off my chest, the only safe time to reveal that seeming to be when I was so hurt, and there was nothing to lose. There we were, sitting at the end of it all, wide open, raw, and not wanting to carry anything pointless any longer. So I told him it all. No need to worry about him remembering my URL and reading my site. I reminded him that it's all here, written in more detail than he wanted to hear about.
I insisted on telling him with some very specific detail about Shane expressing a desire for him, like it or not. "I don't believe you," he said. No, it's true, I insisted. I wanted him to believe, and understand that crucial element of our beginning- our phoenix from the plane crash that was my relationship with Shane. Nothing doing.
"He's going to ask me someday if I told you. He wanted me to tell you. I'll tell him I did. What will I tell him you said?" I wheedled.
"Tell him I didn't believe you. I don't believe you." To everything else, nothing. I didn't need to tell him. I did, but for myself, not for Ezra. He acted like he didn't care, and he's never mentioned it since. I have no idea if he thinks about it.
I was afraid of hurting myself, of being alone. And he remained nearby, catching me when I fell. He was horrified at what he'd done, at the (a) woman he loved disintegrating in front of him. He was shattered as well, regularly weeping when I bawled, chanting under his breath "I'm so sorry", rocking me, and pulling my hands out of my mouth when I bit them, and seizing my wrists when I pulled my hair.
For a few days, we had the most amazing sex. It was incredible, really. I would scream, rage, bawl, deplete myself, and end up turned on. I'd pull on his clothes, still weeping, and climb on him, and we'd have cat-like, intense sex, and I would come impossibly hard. I got a headache once from orgasm. Then I would smile, and he would say "Oh my god, you're smiling," and I would say "Well look what you just did to me," and he would say "Is that all? Is that all I have to do to make you smile?"
Desperate Sex.
I demanded, constantly: How could you do that to me? How could you not trust me enough to tell me how you felt? How could you lie? How could you? How did you? He always responded, agonizingly, that he didn't know. He had no idea how he did. The worst mistake of his life. He hurt me so much even though he loved me so much. He'd never forgive himself, he hated himself, he learned a huge lesson. I believed that.
I respected him for this: he never backed down from saying it was too scary, too intense, and he was uncomfortable with our relationship. He never begged for forgiveness, or to have me back the way it was. Never once. I appreciated that very much.
He did say many interesting new things. That he was a habitual creature and knew that about himself, and it was so good, he could just see himself living with me, and leaving for the summer, and living with me, and all of a sudden a decade passing, and then, just maybe, he would wish he had done something different. Why couldn't you have told me that? "I don't know." What's so bad about that? I know you're happy with me. "Yes! I've never been so happy!" Then what's so bad about being happy, about being with me? "I don't know, baby. I don't know. I'm so sorry."
That he never feels jealousy about me because he thinks if I'm ever with someone else, they're probably better for me than he is, and I should be with them. (Breathtaking. Hugely meaningful. Frightening in its implications. My jealousy is so fierce, albeit new; I think it means affection. It seems natural.) I ask for more explanation. He can't explain.
That he didn't remember how much he liked me. He just got sucked into this thing with Kristi, fully knowing that he was sleeping with her to irrevocably sever the ties to me, but not suspecting that she would quickly begin to treat him like I had, and construct a replica of our relationship. I half-laughed at him for this. Mocked him for two girlfriends. Told him he couldn't get away with sliding along with her. He knew that. "Yes, I've just learned that."
I looked up polyamory sites, one that happened to be great. I wanted a relationship with him still. I was willing to change. I phoned her. I counselled Ezra regarding her. Translated for him, told him what she was wanting, ordered him to phone her. It's been 3 days - she's tying herself in a knot imagining us fucking and thinking you don't care about her and she means nothing to you! You have to tell her she does. You have to tell her she does, you appreciate her and loved the time you were with her, blah blah, but you also have to tell her you're not going to be her boyfriend.
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I hit him once. That was horrible. I misunderstood him. I heard him say he couldn't be with me, but because she was waiting for him, and he felt responsibility to her, he would honor that and be with her. Something to that effect. When you can't be with me? I screamed. I split in half- I swear I felt my self fissure. You can't be with me, but you will be with her? I screamed. I got up to my knees, violently throwing his arm off of me and turning on him. How dare you? How dare you? "No, no, baby." He held out his hands. He was trying to explain. I snatched a pillow and forced it down on his face, putting my weight into it, wanting to kill him and wanting to protect him. He yielded immediately. I punched him again and again in the head, through the pillow, screaming just sounds, like an animal. I was watching myself from a little bit behind my head. He didn't even put his hands up to stop me or shield himself. Didn't struggle or turn his head. He just laid there unflinching, and I beat him. I remember that. It was like a movie. I finally snapped back together, and recoiled, standing up, stumbling backwards, falling again, horrified at what I had done, shaking, and he sprang up into action, once again, grabbing me and pulling me to him, to save me from myself. "It's ok, baby, it's ok." No, it's NOT! I hit you. I hit you! I didn't know I could do that! I hit you. "It's ok. It's ok, baby. I'm not hurt. I understand." No, it's not. "Yes it is. I understand." I didn't know... I didn't know...
I very much scared myself that night. I changed from something I thought I was into something I thought I could never be, and I didn't like it. He never once changed the way he treated me. Compassionately, gently.
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He went to see Kristi. He told her he didn't want any girlfriends, and he felt like that's what she wanted from him.
At least, that's what he told me he told her. "I told her what I could, and couldn't, give her." I can't ever know. I know I was alone for several days, knowing they were spending two hotel nights together, having final, wistful goodbye, sex. I know she doesn't email very often. Her texts are cool, perfunctory, polite. And infrequent.
At times I would hit a plane of aching clarity, and be very understanding. I never wanted to trap anyone. Never wanted to ask of anyone that they deny part of themselves, deny attraction or relation to anyone else. The irony! The pain! My first monogamous relationship, one in which I feel so secure and confident of his commitment to me, the first time I feel capable of fidelity to him, because I am so crazy about him, and HE cheats on ME.
I wailed and raged at the irony. You knew the arrangement Shane and I had - how could you think I wouldn't accept change? I thought YOU wanted loyalty! I thought YOU wanted the traditional shit! "I'm so sorry."
I wanted him still, couldn't imagine living without him.
But then, he had stabbed me with a lie, and I'd never trust him again. I demanded that he be loyal to me for the winter. Pretend. I didn't want to face shame, and everyone's sympathetic questions. If he was gonna be picking up other chicks at the bar, I have to move away from town. "No, no. Please don't move!" Well?
He stayed close. When I broke down far enough to phone or msg him and reveal I was crying, he would drop anything and appear to comfort me. I continued to demand that he be loyal to me for the winter. Beg. Stay with me for the winter. Let's just be nice to each other. We like each other, let's just be together. "Yes, yes," he would say. "We should be friends. We get along so good." No, we can't be friends! I cannot be around you without fucking you! (Apparently, I can, but I didn't know that yet.) "Maybe I should go. I worry that it's too hard for you, me being around." NOOOOOOO! "Ok! I'm staying! I just want to make it easy for you."
We stopped having sex. He stayed close, but we stopped having sex. It just disappeared.