Page 75 of Dark, Forbidden, & Taboo

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.

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