Dark Boundaries(46)

I give her some time alone and head to the nearest couch. I’m tired and hungry. I sit down and go through the list of fast food places I have on my phone. I decide on pizza and place an order.

A while later they deliver the pizza. I place it in the kitchen and take out plates. I pour us each a glass of wine I had chilling in the fridge from when I was here two weeks ago. “Kris,” I call as I carry everything to the dining room table.

“Yes.” I hear her tired reply from upstairs.

“Come eat.” My eyes follow her all the way down the stairs. She looks as tired as I feel.

I pull out a chair for her and as she takes the seat, she chuckles and mumbles under her breath, “It’s a far cry from cheese sandwiches.”

I don’t know what to say to that so I start to eat instead. When I take my second bite I notice she hasn’t touched her food. I drop the slice back to my plate. “You’re not going to eat?”

She shrugs. “Am I allowed to?”

I scratch my jaw in frustration. “Why would you ask me something like that?”

She shoves the plate away from her and I notice her chin starting to tremble. “How do you think this is going to work, Garrett?” She places her elbows on the table and covers her face with her hands. “You say you remember … that you were there, but you don’t! You don’t remember it the way I do! You say you want to get me know me,” she groans and then looks up at me, her eyes huge with sadness. “You fed me! For ten days you fed me. You watched me take showers. You hosed me like an animal, watched when I used the toilet. You watched me get dressed only to be undressed minutes later!” Her voice climbs as she lashes out at me. “You made me have sex with you. You reminded me constantly that I was a nobody, that I’d be some sick man’s slave. How can you not remember that?” Tears spill over her cheeks, making me feel lower than scum.

“That’s why I asked you for this time. I want to fix it-” she darts up, shoving the chair back so hard, it topples over.

“You can’t fix what’s been done! Why couldn’t you just leave me alone? Let me live my life in peace. I was finally getting somewhere, getting over you!”

She’s been through a lot. She needs to get all of this out of her system. We’re communicating, this is good. “I can fix what has been done. Didn’t you see how much better Andrea is?”

Kristine slaps her palm to her forehead. “Garrett!” she screams. “Freaking hell! Are you that stupid? You didn’t torture Andrea! You saved her. Of course you can help her. You’re her freaking hero. But to me …” she seems to be searching for the right words, “you’re nothing but a twisted monster.”

I get up, wanting so badly to touch her, to comfort her. She must see the need in my eyes, because she throws up a hand between us. “Don’t touch me! Let’s get one thing straight,” her voice is hoarse with emotion, “I’m only here to pay a debt. You stole me. You broke me,” she cries. I can see how close she is to losing it. “You made me dependent on you and then you threw me away, like I was nothing but trash. You made it clear you only cared about finding Andrea and now you’re trying to ease your guilty conscience at my expense.”

What she says cuts deep but that last part is a stab through the heart. I grab her shoulders and pull her hard to my chest. Her breaths are fast and hot on my neck as she looks up at me. I can see fear in her eyes which only twists that knife deeper.

“I’m not doing this to ease my guilty conscience. My conscience is something I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life. I regret what I did to you, every single fucking day. I brought you here because I want to help you. I want to get to know the real you. I want a chance to make things right between us, because I do care about you. I care so fucking much it’s driving me insane!”

I weave my fingers into her hair and press her face into my chest. I hold her so tight, scared of what she might say next. By holding her I try to show her how much I care and how sorry I am.

~*~





Chapter Thirty Six



Kristine~

I’ve been here two miserable long days. The first day I practically spent the whole day in bed. Garrett has been sleeping on the couch, that’s one good thing at least.

It’s almost two in the afternoon and I want to pull my hair out from boredom. We haven’t spoken much after the big fight. I think Garrett understands how I feel, that I can’t just shove my feelings of those ten days into file thirteen and trash it. It happened. It is part of my life.

He asked me to make myself at home, to eat when I’m hungry, and to shower when I feel like it. He hasn’t asked me to do anything else. I don’t really understand why I’m here.