Memories That Still Haunt Us

Chapter Thirty-Four:

The morning doves sing in the early hours as I venture back inside the main house. I'm in my black dress from the night before, heels hanging from my hand, mascara smeared under my eyes. I'm in desperate need of coffee or a hard drink. My head is pounding. I got about an hour's sleep at Iris's family house. We spent the rest of the night bar hopping until eventually going back to hers, where, in bed, she kissed my bare shoulder, ran her fingers along my skin, and fed me compliments. The night's a bit of a blur—white sheets pulled over our heads, dim lighting in her room. Blurry faces of men from the bar.

In the kitchen, Ellis is already awake, dressed in his work attire. There's a kettle on the stove for tea. When he sees me, he looks over my outfit and smirks. "Rough night?"
"I actually had a splendid night, thank you." I smirk back.

His eyebrow arches. "That so?"

I groan and take a seat at the barstool, placing my head in my hands. "No."

He chuckles lightly. "Want a cup of tea?" His accent is like music to my ear. It soothes the pounding in my head for a slight second. I want to listen to his voice as I fall asleep at night, the best sound machine.

"I was hoping for something stronger."

"I can make you some coffee."

"That'd be great." I close my eyes and hear him moving around the kitchen. "I would've rather stayed here with you last night." I say and look at him.

The coffee begins brewing, and he leans back against the counter, eyes on me softly. "Why didn't you?"

"You were already asleep."

"I would've stayed up for you."

"Well, you didn't say anything. You let me leave." I grumble, irritated that now he decides to say something when I so desperately wanted to be with him last night.

Steam begins coming out of the kettle, and he moves it off the stove. "Reign, I wasn't about to ruin your date night because I selfishly wanted you to stay. You were on your way out already. I didn't think you'd want to." He pours the water into the cup and drops the teabag inside.

"I always want to be with you." I admit to him, and he looks over his shoulder at me. His eyes drop, and he goes back to messing with his tea. A silence looms over us. Nothing but the sound of coffee being made. My teeth grind with frustration, and the lack of affirmation returned on his end. In some ways, he gives me a lot. With his kisses and the strokes of his hands and the movement of his fingers. In other ways, he's still very much restrained. He keeps his emotions to a minimum. His walls are still fairly high. His affectionate words are rare, and when he says them, he says them so quickly that it's hard for me to latch onto them. He never gives me any insight on what this means to him—if I'm anything but a casual fuck. I can tell he still feels guilty about our relationship.

It then dawns on me that I didn't notice my car in the driveway during my hungover stumble through the front door, and I'm mortified at the fact that Ellis will have to see my slutmobile. Eyes wide, I look towards the entryway of the kitchen.

"It's at the shop." Ellis says, reading my thoughts.

My head snaps towards him, cheeks flushing slightly. "It is?"

"Yes." Steam comes from his coffee mug as he leans casually back against the counter, eyes on me. "I had it picked up this morning. All tires are getting replaced, fresh paint job, and your oil needed a change as well."

"Ellis—"

He shakes his head once. "It's no problem." He brings the cup to his lips, blows lightly, then takes a sip. "Was that the handywork of your ex?"