I grunt and place a hand on my lower back, closing my eyes for a moment as the slight stinging pain makes me salivate before I shake it off and then quickly finish the task at hand.
 
 Once I’ve put all of Eastin’s clothes away, I set the hamper in the corner of his room, then turn to leave.
 
 “Greer?” he asks in a distracted tone.
 
 “Yes?”
 
 “How long have you been sick?”
 
 I scowl.
 
 I’ve been priding myself on being able to hide it from Holden, but his goddamn son seems to be a lot smarter than he is.
 
 “I’m not sick,” I snap at him as I walk out of his room and slam the door behind me.
 
 With a pained sigh, I rest against it and close my eyes as I wipe the sweat away from my forehead.
 
 I wonder what time it is.
 
 I’m lyingin my bed, curled up on my side, staring out of the bedroom window. Today, the pain is a little more unbearable but I’ve found that being in this position helps to alleviate it some.
 
 When I looked at myself in the mirror this morning I could see the sickness becoming more contrast on my face.
 
 The dark circles under my eyes stood out a little more, my skin was becoming a paler shade of yellow and my body easily sweats now at the first sign of pain.
 
 I wasn’t like this before Holden.
 
 No, that’s a lie.
 
 I wasn’t like this eleven months ago.
 
 Around the same time that he stopped being as affectionate with me as he had been. Around the same time that I stopped caring about his needs and in turn my own.
 
 As I hear the door to our bedroom creak open, I smile and close my eyes.
 
 Everything will be better when I wake up.
 
 I just wish I knew what time it was.
 
 Chapter
 
 Seven
 
 I’ve been awake for God knows how long.
 
 I haven’t moved from my bed, but I know that I’m not alone. I never heard the door close before I fell asleep and I can feel eyes on me.
 
 “I’ll be up in a minute,” I say groggily as I use the tip of my finger to rub the itch away from my lower lip.
 
 “No, it’s okay,” Eastin responds in a nervous tone. “I just wanted to be sure that you woke up is all.”
 
 “Eastin?” I croak out when the bed shifts under his weight. I hadn’t felt when he sat on it but it’s reassuring to know that he was close enough to help had I needed it.
 
 “Yeah, Greer?”
 
 “What time is it?”
 
 The only answer I hear is the sound of the door closing gently in response and I sigh.