Black Iris

Little episode.

Iris

This is a bad idea.

The thought echoed around my head, again and again, no matter how hard I tried to shake it off.

"What if Blake finds out?" Sampson asked, glancing back across at me over the dashboard. I kept my eyes trained on the carpark, waiting.

"It's not a matter of if but when," I replied. "I already know that he will. And, when he does, I'll tell him the truth. That I'm doing it to protect myself."

Sampson let out a shaky sigh. "I don't know, Miss, it seems like a long shot."

"That's because it is," I relented, glancing across at him for a minute before shaking my head. "I don't have any other options. He has my son, Sampson."

At that, he quietened. Because, of course, he knew that. He'd been there to witness my breakdown days before.

After Blake's little 'field trip' I was beside myself. It was as though I had left my own body, as though I wasn't inside my skin anymore, and the world around me was miles away.

And there was Blake, gently squeezing my thigh in the car ride on the way home, whispering reassurances as we drove back through the city. Then once we'd parked in our building, he drew me close, and rested his chin on my head, enveloping me in his soft embrace.

We'll be alright, he said. We'll get through this together.

He'd led me upstairs, then made me a sandwich and a cup of tea to calm me down. Yet I still felt outside of myself, numb to the world.

After nibbling on the bread for a while and stirring the tea until it was stone cold, he'd pulled me up and led me to the bathroom. He had gently kissed my shoulder then helped me to undress, shedding my blood-stained clothes as well as his own, then pulling us both into a stream of warm water. I let him wash me, his fingers brushing over my skin in a way that made me feel warm and loved.

Then, he'd drawn us out of the water and wrapped me in a thick fluffy towel before taking me back to my bedroom.

He helped me into a nightgown, tucked me into bed, then gently kissed the top of my head and left, turning out the light.

Of course, I hadn't slept then.

I had tossed and turned, that woman's voice echoing in my head. Every time I closed my eyes I was faced with the image of her pleading eyes staring across at me.

And, the offer. Gareth's proposal, spinning around my head, folding over and over again until I could no longer understand the weight of his words.

I laid in bed, drifting and ethereal until the sun slipped over the horizon. My room began to lighten. At that point, I'd rolled over to watch the sunrise through the apartment's huge glass windows. I stared out at the city, the suburbs sprawling around it, and, in the distance, the plains. On the other side of the apartment, where Blake's room sat, you could see the mountains, soft foothills rising out of the earth before eventually giving way to jagged peaks and harsh rock.

But lying in bed, I could only see the plains, stretching out into infinity, as far as the eye could see.

At some point, I had heard Blake leave, the elevator doors humming as they shut behind him. Still, I laid there, staring out as the world came alive. For the first time since it had all happened, my mind went quiet, and I just let myself soak in the peace.

It was my phone ringing that finally drew me out of the haze. At first, I didn't answer it, expecting it to be Blake. On the second ring, I looked at the screen to find that, in fact, it wasn't. It was Sampson. Relieved, I had answered.