I was living with the bare bones now. I had some undies, a few dresses, lounge wear, work heels, and bathroom stuff. That was it. I was too scared to send for more, because I knew Eli would find out where I’d disappeared to if I sent someone. I’d opted for remote work this week as well. I wasn’t ready to talk to anyone. Not Eli and not my father.
Eli hadn’t contacted me yet, but the onslaught was coming.
I fished my keycard out of my purse as I came up to room 1046. The door clicked softly, and I pushed it open, welcoming the sterile breeze that floated out. I appreciated the neutrality of this place. It wasn’t mine, but it certainly wasn’this.
It was just a place to get my bearings. Until I could figure out the next step.
I hummed a nameless tune to myself, pushing into the hotel suite. My skin prickled, though I didn’t know why, like the electricity before a thunderstorm. It wasn’t until the door clicked shut behind me and I rounded the corner that I spotted the threat.
Eli was here. Draped over the chaise longue, one knee propped up, looking absolutely wrecked.
“About fucking time you got here,” he spat, sitting up. Today, he was every level of disheveled, from his hair to his clothes, as if he’d been tossing and turning for days and had forgotten where his closet was.
“Eli.” I swallowed, my tongue nearly sticking to the roof of my mouth. “What are you doing here?”
“Just trying to find my fucking wife.” He balled his fists, resting his elbows on his knees. His caramel gaze was unsteady again. Shrouded. Even though it was barely four p.m., it looked like he was completely fucking drunk.
“What’s wrong with you?” I asked, but my voice came out a whisper. “You look…”
“Distraught? Because I am.” A humorless laugh slid out of him, and he pushed to standing. Despite the glassiness of his eyes, he rose steadily. And the steps he took my way were level, powerful. Fear pinpricked through my limbs, and the low thrum of a warning began pulsing inside me. “You just fucking disappeared for days. Fromourhome.Ourcondo. You think it’s funny to pull a stunt like that?”
“Eli, you were so drunk,” I started, but my voice failed me. I was backing up toward the small foyer of the suite, my legs turning to jelly. Nobody knew I was here. The hotel phone was behind Eli. I didn’t know what he planned, but I worried it was the same thing he’d wanted Saturday night. “You hurt me.”
His laughter came out booming, sardonic. “Like you didn’t hurt me?”
I suddenly remembered my handbag. I fumbled to open it, groping blindly for my cell phone. Everything I touched inside felt foreign, strange. I could only recognize that nothing was my cell phone.
“What are you doing?” Eli snarled, lunging forward and snatching my handbag away. I stumbled away from him.
“I-I-I was checking that I had—”
“Don’t.” He tossed my bag to the other side of the room, continuing his slow prowl in my direction. “I’ve been talking to your father. He thinks we need to mend fences.”
My head was spinning now. My high heel wobbled, and I stumbled, my ankle twisting. I sucked in a sharp breath, but I couldn’t feel the pain, only fear.
“Don’t you think we need to mend fences?” He held out his arms, as if beckoning me into a hug. “Come on, babe. It’s been so long since we fucked. I know if we just fuck, everything will feel right again. And maybe we can finally have a kid. You know we need a kid.”
“Eli, I—no.” I blurted the word before I could think better of it. “I didn’t ask you to come here. You can’t be here.”
Darkness filled his face, and he slammed his fist on the wall as he passed by. I was almost backed up to the door now, but I struggled to calculate how I could execute my escape without him grabbing me or worse.
“I don’t understand why you’re being like this all of a sudden,” he spat. “We’re married. This is not how it’s supposed to work. Our marriage has always had rules. I want something, you give it to me. You want something, I get it for you. We’re in a mutually beneficial relationship here, Cora. Or have you forgotten?”
“I don’t want you here,” I said in a shuddery voice.
“And that’s what needs to change,” he said. “Remember how it works? I want something, you give it to me. I wantyou. Now you need to give it to me.”
“Why did they let you in?”
A condescending grin twisted at his lips. “Because we’remarried. You’re mywife. That’s what theydofor people like us, Cora. This is how the world works. Hello? Are you new here?”
I could barely process what he was saying to me. Not when I could sense that the door was within reach. I whipped around, my focus lasering in on the doorhandle. One step. That’s all I had to cross in a half second. And I could be free.
Go!
I lunged for the door. Hand outstretched.Please please please.
Eli roared, surging up to block my reach. Our hands landed on the doorhandle at the same time.