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"Yeah." She tried to blink back her tears. "Today, he won some kind of gift card to the strip club, and he spent that plus most of my last check to have one of the workers come home for more fun. I worked so much overtime to get that extra money, and he just blew through it like I'm not allowed to have the rights to my income."
"That's horrible, and you deserve so much more," I told her honestly.
"That's what Kasey says all the time, but I have this guilt that shadows everything. How can I toss in the towel instead of fighting for love?"
"Easy. Love isn't a lonely fight, Sunshine. While someone might go through bouts of depression, they don't permanently drain their partner to exist themselves. There's usually some kind of rejuvenation even when they rely more on their partner. I can promise, if you were mine, I'd never let you tire. I'd work all hours of the night to make sure you were provided for, Sunshine."
It probably wasn't the best time to announce something so strong, but she needed to know there were devoted men in existence. Tony and I had a love that was stronger than death, and she'd learn just how powerful that love is. She needed to know that her light saved me. Her angelic soul ignited against mine and claimed it like Tony's did.
"W-what?" Ah, my words set her back. Good. She needed to be shaken.
"You are the only woman I've ever felt this connected to. You have this essence about you that makes me want to protect you from any harm. I'm sorry if my brazenness made you uncomfortable, but I value being honest with you. Someone as good as you, deserves a man who will hang the stars and ask you for a dance under their light. Don't settle for trash who knows he's taking advantage. Cut him off."
"I am cutting him off," her voice was small. She needed to ponder my claims of endearment, so she ignored it for now. "Tomorrow, I'm going to the bank to get a new debit card, and I'm turning off any extra services I don't use. No more internet or streaming. He'll be so bored he'll have to try harder."
"So you're not leaving him?" I raised the question she needed time to sit with.
"I'm not sure. I'm really upset, so I need a few days to figure it out."
Nodding my head, it nearly killed me to see her idle the fence. She had been trained to do this through some gaslighting by the idiot. He made her believe her own thoughts were against her true wants, but I knew her intuition warned her about his disgusting ways. She just needed a push in the right direction.
"In the book, Maisie's strength endured the worst of things."
"She did," Millie agreed, unsure where I planned to take this conversation.
"She sold her body to save those boys," I reminded her. "Millie, you need someone who is willing to do that for you. You deserve someone that will place themselves on the front line like the people you read about. Someone who will risk everything to make sure you stay happy, like you do for him. If you're not getting that, why stay? Why put up with the bare minimum when our human life spans are already short? Why stay miserable because the fear of the unknown challenges us?"
"Why are you always right?" She cried for a new reason. "But Maisie is fiction, Draven. She gets her happy ending."
"The only reason you haven't gotten yours is because you're living in the fluff of your story. The slow and boring bits that don't add value to your book. Maybe it's time to wake up and live a little harder to get out of it?"
"And what? Be whisked away by another man?" she snorted.
"No." I couldn't tell her our plans, but I could challenge the feminist inside of her. "You can save yourself. A life without a partner is better than a life with a shitty one. As much as I hate to be the one to tell you that, I will because I'll never lie to you. And if you need to, get more cats for Whiskers to have some friends!"
"You remembered Whiskers?"
"Of course. You always talk about him and his one eye that makes him walk into walls. He's your closest friend other than your dad and Kasey. Kasey has been working a lot, so you haven't been able to talk to her as much, and it's eating at you too."
"You really have been paying attention."
"Always, Sunshine."
With that, I knew she had a lot to think about. Letting a woman see she could be seen in her life of isolation was the one way to make them recognize someone cared. This woman had stolen my heart, so I'd be literally stealing her to never let go. Tim be damned.
Her eyes were lost in the wonder I created for her to escape to. She looked at me like I hung those stars I spoke of, but she didn't know I'd be doing more than that when I got out of here. Her reverie was broken when Costas coughed. Shaking her head with a light laugh, she reached for her bag that sat on her chair. "Oh, I almost forgot! I did bring you something that's not pitiful."
"What?" I tried to pretend I didn't know about the book in her hold.
Quickly setting it down between us, she looked at Costas. He just waved her on and said the other guards told him it was fine. Probably because he knew if he opened it, she might see the hollow spine. My mother would be rolling in her grave if she ever saw what they did to this book, but she'd also be okay with it to see me have my freedom.
"Oh my god," I breathed. Reacting appropriately after unwrapping the brown paper along the edges. My hands gently touched the cover of my childhood favorite book. The memories of my mother came back with her animated voices of each poem. Getting slightly emotional, gripped the book tighter than planned with my cuffed hands and chest. It made me hunch over the table to honor the gift.
"You said this was your favorite childhood book, so I found a rare first edition that was signed."
"You heard me too," I murmured between us.
"You're worth listening to," she replied, blushing profusely. Even though I knew about the sabotaged gift, something about actually receiving it made the reality of my love for this woman set in heavier. Tony kept the true book with him to carry back with us, and he wrapped it nicely so I could have the gift she gave me right now. For today, I relished in the fact that she would spend the pennies she had to see me smile too.
