I opened my bedroom door and nearly tripped over the tall, shiny white bag that was in front of my bedroom door.
Trembling, I dropped to my knees. I didn’t even have to look in the bag to know what it was, but I still gasped when I pulled out a boxed thin silver laptop.
I was stunned that Axel had known to gift me something I desperately needed for school.
Does this mean he knows about school?
Once I was in the back of the car and Anton had started to drive me to school, I asked, “How did Axel know about me needing a laptop?”
He looked at me in the rearview mirror, then back to the road. “He must have read the dailies.”
“I see. And what are the dailies?”
“Those are the small reports we write detailing what happened during our shift.”
His eyes met mine again.
“I’m not mad,” I told him. “I figured my husband was keeping some sort of tabs on me.”
“We’re just doing our job. It’s mostly about security, not spying on you.”
“So he knows about me going to school, then?”
“He does.”
“And did he say anything?”
“He told us to support you.”
That made something loosen in my chest. Like I was able to exhale again. “And the laptop?”
“Someone might have mentioned that you were shopping but hadn’t yet purchased one.”
I watched the world roll past the window as I processed this news. Somehow, these men who I thought were controlling mewere actually doing quite a bit behind the scenes to support me. I just hadn’t noticed up until now.
“Be sure to write in the dailies that I was really excited and happy about my laptop.”
“Consider it done.”
The silence between us was comfortable.
Then he spoke. “You nervous about school?”
I was so nervous it wasn’t even funny.
“No,” I lied. “I’m totally fine.”
Me:Thank you for the laptop. I appreciate it so much.
Axel: np
I studied those two impersonal letters and wondered why I suddenly wanted more from him. Why did it matter to me that I was only worth two letters of his time? Yesterday he had bought me a new laptop. Last night he had held my hand against his hard arousal.
And yet today, I didn’t even warrant full words. Just np.
Did I have different expectations after last night? It should have been enough that he bought me the laptop, which was something I really needed. Did I want his attention too?
My own questions confused me, and I put my phone away, trying not to think about the man who thought I was only worth two keystrokes of his time.
