The Arrangement - [Bensler EO]

chapter sixteen - wars waged

Her blinks came in slow motion.

The anxiety within her was winding down, spinning itself into numbness.

She glanced down at her dress, black droplets of makeup that had fallen from her cheeks were stained on her dress.

More than anything, she didn't want to be in the dress anymore. Elliot had managed to get her up to the apartment, away from where any stray employees could see her. As soon as the door had closed behind them, a blanket had been placed over her shoulders and it was still there.

She was still there. Sitting in the dress that she simply wanted to tear off by the seams.

As time passed, she became acutely aware of the beating of her heart. She could hear it in her ears. It was nearly all she could hear.

Except Elliot.

Every few sentences, the fog in her eardrums lifted and she could hear the cadence of his voice. He and Skylar talking in terms she didn't have the mental capacity to even try to understand. She preferred it when she couldn't hear them.

They were talking about security and it sounded uncomfortably familiar to when they got back from Santorini. Similar words thrown around, similar tones of worry and stress.

She could feel the guilt dripping off of Elliot, mostly because she couldn't feel anything within herself. He was angry that he wasn't there, and even more angry that the cameras in the elevator had seemingly been turned off moments after she stepped inside.