Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 64851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
I took every piece of furniture from that office, as well as the computer. Before it was packed away however, I noticed that there was a thumb drive plugged in that I pocketed before it was packed away.
Later than night after having my brother’s things placed in storage, I plugged the drive into my computer to see what was on it. There were several files of his past works. A lot of it was for his job and some of it was personal. Tears poured down my face as the beauty of his poetry touched my heart. This was the side of my brother he didn’t often let me see before because I had never been a poetry kind of guy. I would often brush him off when he used to show me a poetry or humor him until he just stopped showing me. I truly regretted that. I’d be so wrapped up in my own shit that I didn’t get to know this side of my brother. I stayed up for hours that night, reading every poem and committing it to memory.
Then I found a folder titled My Life. I thought it would be another collection of poems, but it turned out to be a journal. I was getting tired and debated on whether to save it for later, but I started to skim through the pages and stumbled across Kenny’s retelling of his life with Frankie. He talked about promising her money to get her to marry him, pretty much confirming what me and my mother had already expected. But it was those damning words of how she was throwing his feelings back in his face which really fueled the hatred I felt for her.
All I had to do was think of those words and any feelings of regret vanished. It was why Frankie didn’t deserve another restful moment for the rest of her life.
I was tempted to leave her bound for the rest of the night, and I almost did, but I remembered she needed to get up and make my breakfast. I left her for an hour to make her suffer a little.
Frankie was still wide awake when I entered the room. The only light in the room was the lamp by the nightstand that illuminated her body. My seed had dried up on her body, and her hair was mussed. Dried tear streaks stained her cheeks, and her eyes were puffy. She looked so fucking pathetic, like one of those puppies in the animal rescue commercials with the sad music playing in the background. In normal circumstances I might have actually cared, but again I told myself that every bit of pain she experienced was on her.
I kept my gaze averted as I released her cuffs. Frankie didn’t acknowledge me while I accomplished my task. She simply stared at the ceiling. As soon as she was free, she sat up and massaged her wrists and ankles.
I didn’t want to linger or look at her; for that matter I couldn’t help it. I wanted to join her on the bed, but I grabbed on to the anger and pushed that thought away. “You should probably get some sleep, so you can get up early enough to fix breakfast.”
“What? You want me to cook only for you to already be gone?”
“If I wanted you to cook for a legion of lepers, you’d do what you’re fucking told. And don’t forgot that, Francesca. As it stands, I will be here in the morning because I’ll be working from home for the next few weeks. So get used to seeing me around.
“Will you at least put the door back on the hinges?”
“No…I don’t think I will.”
“Then can I at least switch rooms? I think I should be allowed some privacy.”
“You’re allowed what I say you fucking are. In case you’ve forgotten, you’re not here as my guest but to work off your debt, and I’m going to make you earn ever single penny you’re getting.”
She opened her mouth as if to speak but then closed it. Instead she rolled off her bed, headed for her bathroom and closed the door. It reminded me that I would take that door down as well. Sure, it was a dick move, but I wasn’t particularly disposed to being kind to her.
I headed out of the room just as I heard the shower turn on, and I paused when I thought I heard her sob. Why it caused me to hesitate was something I couldn’t comprehend because I didn’t want to feel anything but disgust for her. Somehow she still found a way to penetrate the walls I’d erected around my heart.
I barely slept a wink that night tossing and turning when I should have been sleeping like a baby. The sound of her cries in the shower was more upsetting. It pissed me off, and by the time the morning rolled around, I was in a lousy mood.