Any Other Name

Chapter 3

Eliza almost slept through Marshall's call at lunch. He called again almost immediately and she sprung from bed with her heart hammering in her chest. She fumbled with her phone and answered by the third ring and began apologizing before Marshall said anything.

"Elly," he said, cutting her off, "why didn't you pick up the first time?"

"I'm sorry, I fell asleep."

There was a beat of silence before he said quietly, "Is this from yesterday."

Eliza felt herself stall. She hadn't thought about it specifically, and she had been trying not to. She opened her mouth to answer and closed it when she heard Marshall sigh. "It's okay, I get it," he said. "Did you get everything at the store?"

"Yes."

She imagined him nodding and leaning back in his chair like he would have at home. "Good. Listen, I've got a present for you when I get home."

"Again?"

"Mm-hm. Don't worry, not a book this time. Excited?"

Eliza nodded even though he couldn't see her. She pulled the phone close to her ear and rocked back and forth on her feet. "I can't wait."

"Good. I gotta go, but I'll see you later. Love you, Elly."

"I love you, too."

She listened for him to hang up before she put the phone down. Suddenly filled with excitement, she didn't think she could go back to sleep despite the ache in her side. She wanted to bask in the thrill but knew that she had put it off long enough. Marshall was being careful for a reason and she needed to respect that and heal quickly.

Eliza settled back into bed and slowly lifted the edge of her shirt to the middle of her ribcage. She wasn't surprised by the blue and dark purple spot that sat between the top of her hips and just above her waist but damn did it hurt. She lightly ran her fingertips over the red edges to test it and thought it was a miracle that she lasted so long at the store earlier.

She sighed and put her shirt back down. While she was still excited for Marshall's gift, this bruise was yet another reminder of her mistakes and she felt that she didn't deserve Marshall in the first place. The issue at the store proved that she couldn't take care of herself if she drew strangers' attention, and she wondered why Marshall even put up with her.

She considered going up to the roof and sitting on the edge with her feet hanging over thin air. It'd be nice, she imagined, and thought that it might be better for Marshall—he could return the gift and get his money back, could save money once he stopped paying for Eliza's freeloading. It'd be nice for everyone, even that old lady who liked to garden. She could use Eliza's body for the fertilizer.

Get a grip. She needed to cheer up, and sitting her ignoring the soaring pain in her side wasn't working. She had already made the marinade for dinner, so there wasn't much she could do in the kitchen. The house was clean enough for the moment—she could tidy up when Marshall came home and pointed out what she missed. That meant that there really wasn't all that much for her to actually do. She could read or watch television, but Marshall would prefer the former, so that's what she did.

A couple of hours later and only twenty pages read, Eliza heard the deadbolt disengage and the knob turn. "Elly," Marshall called out, "where are you?"

"In here," she called out and threw the covers off her legs. Her excitement covered any pain she felt in getting up and going to meet him. She stood on her toes and kissed him on the lips in the hallway. "How was work?"