I shook my head. “No, I'm fine. Does your back hurt?”
“It stings, but it will be fine within twenty minutes.” Frank pulled himself up. “I'm going to shower, and when I'm done, I have some paperwork I need to do. So, maybe you should sleep in your bedroom tonight?”
I sat still for a second. My stomach sank as I watched him grab his towel off the back of his door. Confusion filled my head at his words. I didn't understand. Didn't this mean we were getting closer? But yet, asking me to sleep in another room didn't feel like it was a good thing.
“You don't want me to stay in here tonight?”
Frank shrugged. “Well, I thought the darkness would have come at us in the alleyway, but it didn't, so you don't have a reason to stay here then.”
I bite my cheek. “Sure.”
Frank slipped out of the room, and I frowned. I shouldn't have been surprised. Sex was what he wanted, and he got it. So, there was no need to keep me around like this.
I grabbed my clothes and made my way to my bedroom. I shut the door and crawled right into bed. I felt used as I lay there, trying hard not to let it bother me. But it did. It did bother me.
I tried to move past it over the next couple of weeks. But I couldn't. It seemed we had gone back to what we were before. I hardly saw Frank, and anytime he saw me, he had an excuse to leave the same room.
I hated how I was searching for that smile like he'd given me. I felt special in that moment. Frank didn't realize the power he had when he smiled at someone like that. It twisted me up, and for the first time, I thought someone saw me.
I stirred my coffee and looked into the kitchen. I knew Frank would be getting up soon. I looked outside the window, taking in the rainy weather. The droplets trailed down the glass, and I sighed.
I then heard footsteps in the kitchen and spotted Frank. He rubbed at his eyes as he walked. He was wearing a pair of sweatpants with no top. I stared at his pack, seeing no trace of the marks I'd left. I should have known they wouldn't be there. It had been almost two weeks, and the marks were likely gone twenty minutes after our fun, just about as quickly as he got rid of me.
Frank looked into the greenhouse, spotting me. “Morning.”
“Morning,” I said, tapping my finger on my mug. “You slept in today.”
“I was up late last night. Had some things I needed to tackle.” He looked around the greenhouse like he did every time he found me in there. “Did you buy more plants? Seems like you bought more. Looks nice.”
“Are you just saying to be nice, or do you mean it?”
He shook his head. “No, I mean it. It looks nice. Like a space for you.” He cleared his throat. “I have to get going. I'll be home late again.”
He turned and left, and I tightened my hold on my mug. I hated how this felt. I felt like a needy wife.
I tried to shake it off and focus on other things. I decided cleaning was the best option to clear my mind. I cleaned the kitchen and scrubbed the bathroom. I watered the plants and did some window cleaning. By the afternoon, I felt ill.
I went to bed early, thinking I just overdid myself, but the next morning, I felt worse than I had the day before. I curled in my sheets tightly, feeling my forehead was hot.
There was a knock on my door, and Frank opened it. “Are you still in bed? It's almost noon.”
Was it really? I hadn't even looked at the time. Had I even gotten out of bed?
“I'm not feeling great,” I admit, tightening the sheets around me.
Frank stepped further into the room, walking towards me. “What's wrong?”
“I think I overdid it on cleaning yesterday,” I sigh, closing my eyes. “I just want to sleep.”
“Are you sure that's it? You don't look good.”
I peeled my eyes open. “Okay, one thing you should know is you never tell a woman she doesn't look good.”
“It's the truth. I'm not going to lie to you.
I rolled my eyes. “Just leave me alone.”
Frank reached a handout, pressing it onto my forehead. His hand was like ice, and I hadn't realized how hot I felt until then.
