Salvation

Chapter 18: How I went on a business trip

Chapter Eighteen: How I went on a business trip

Edited and Rewritten

The sunlight streams through the thin floral curtains. I blink the haze from my eyes, and I sit up before rubbing the sleep from them. I look at David, who is sleeping soundly beside me, and I smile. David turns around, blinking in the streaming light, a smile takes over his face, and I beam at him. He wraps his arm around me, pulling me close to his chest.

"Good Morning," David whispers, kissing my neck. I link my fingers in his, and I kiss his hand.

"Good Morning," I whisper, turning to face him. His eyes are happy, and I am becoming used to the new and improved David. For the past two weeks, he has not drunk, and he has been more affectionate, and I feel myself remembering the relationship at the beginning stage.

I close my eyes, enjoying the warmth of his embrace and the loving strokes that he is giving my arm. I take a deep breath in, and I turn to look at him.

"I need to get up for work," I say grumpily.

"No, stay in bed with me," David tells me cutely while squeezing me tightly in a hug. "Work doesn't matter. They can survive without you,"

"Unfortunately, I still need to make money," I tell him, kissing him deeply. His hands trail up my back, pushing up my t-shirt, his fingertips brushing lightly over the bare skin of my back. I fall deeper into the kiss, the feelings of the old days rushing back to me once again.

"Now, I really need to go," I whisper, leaning my head against his forehead. His eyes shining with a smile on his face.

"I'll make us a delicious dinner tonight," David tells me; I slip out of his arms. I smile at him before he rolls over back to sleep, and I creep silently downstairs.

Before Nathan had come to our house, things had begun to change in me, and I could feel the tether to David fraying. I was waiting for the day that I finally allowed it to snap, but I have felt a change in him since then.

The click of the kettle takes my attention, and I make the coffee.

I take a drink of mine, and I turn to the trash to bin the empty sugar packet. The gleam of silver catches my eye, and I move paper to see a pile of empty beer cans hidden—disappointment slices at my skin. I stand there for a second, sadness stabbing at my chest, and the tether loses one string. But, eventually, I pull myself together before walking upstairs to the bedroom. I force myself to suck in the sadness and the brimming tears, and I walk upstairs. David has drifted back to sleep, and I leave his coffee on the bedside table.

"David, there's coffee for you," I say softly, stroking his bare arm gently with the tips of my fingers. I smile to myself, looking at the peacefulness on his face. He looks smiles before sitting up, and he takes the coffee from me with a thank you. It was almost perfect, and I let myself believe that I could have that romance, that I deserved a love like that, but reality always finds a way to bring me back to earth.

The bathroom door closes behind me, the lock clicks, and the shower thunders against the bath, and I finally can let the tears of frustration and defeat spill. I look at my tear-stained face in the fogging mirror; the bruises have faded and barely show. My ribs are marked with faint yellowing harsh marks made by David's hands.

With shaking hands, I cover myself quickly with my work clothes, and my shaking hands fumble with the thin belt that I have fastened around my pencil dress at the waist. I use light concealer on my face for the first time in a while. I blush my cheeks, and I put on mascara before emerging from the bathroom. I step into my shoes under the smiling eyes of David as he drinks his coffee.