Elizabeth groggily opened her eyes several hours later, awoken by the sound of him rustling around the bedroom.
“Did you nap well, Pet?” He asked, smiling down at her from the foot of the bed.
“Yes, Sir.” She muttered, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
“Excellent. I’ve brought you some things.” He tossed a plastic shopping bag onto the bed. It was filled with toiletties – a toothbrush, feminine products. She blushed at the thought of him purchasing these things, but she supposed that they signed his intention for her to stay. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
True to form, he read her mind, stating casually, “I thought you might need something… if you planned to stay.” For a moment he seemed almost nervous, but it was so uncharacteristic of him that she wasn’t entirely certain she’d seen it at all.
“Thank you.” She said quietly.
“If you do plan to stay, I doubt you’ll need very much clothing.” He smiled, the fleeting uncertainty disappearing from his face, “But I suppose you’d be more comfortable having some. We’ll work on that later. In the meantime, it’s probably been a while since you’ve eaten and I can’t have you passing out from hunger on me.” He tossed her one of his shirts and beckoned her to follow him to the kitchen.
As they ate he told her about his day at work. The domesticity astonished her. He had completely dominated her, punished her, and made her come until she couldn’t think, over the course of the past twenty-four hours, and now they were sitting at the dinner table conversing about the banalities of daily life. She listened thoughtfully as he explained his work and the recent events of his life. They had been out of contact for a while, but not much had changed. He had recently ended a relationship and was living alone at the moment – a fact she was very much glad for. Her arrival would have been far more awkward if he was not alone. His work was not exactly what he wanted, but it was acceptable for the time being. She dreaded the moment when the conversation would turn to her recent failures.
He could guess what had happened. It wasn’t the first time he’d watched her fail spectacularly and come running back to him. “So, what happened this time?” He asked casually, clearing away the plates from their meal.
She sent and began to fidget in her chair, suddenly developing an insatiable urge to pick at her fingernails. “Oh, you know,” She laughed nervously, “Same shit, different relationship.” There were a whole host of reasons that Elizabeth could call to mind regarding her overwhelming urge to ruin every relationship she’d ever had, but no matter how many times she went over the reasons the end result was always the same. She always felt the same dissatisfaction, the same urge to wander, and she always justified it in her own mind until it came back to haunt her. No matter how perfect the relationship, she always needed something else. Eventually that needwould overtake her and she’d actively seek out the missing piece. Then, guilt ridden, she’d confess her sins and another relationship would be over.
“Things didn’t work out with what’s-his-name?” He asked calledously, arching an eyebrow.
“No.” She frowned. “I wanted things to work… I thought it would be different…” She trailed off.
“And yet it never is. Why is that, Elizabeth?” His voice was stern, but his back was turned to her and she couldn’t read his expression. The running faucet filled the silence as she struggled to find an answer. He knew the answer already, although he wondered if she would ever come to the same conclusion herself.
“Because I can’t stop sabotaging myself?” She questioned, rather than answering.
He witnessed and turned off the faucet. He would have her admit it sooner or later. “I have some work to do. I assume you can entertain yourself for a while?”
“Yes, Sir.” She wondered at the abrupt end to their conversation, but did not question it. Without another word she made her way back to the bedroom, hoping to organize her scattered mind. She was still exhausted from the journey that brought her here and she promptly fell asleep.
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