Ella hasn't eaten in nearly three days. This fact makes the delicious looking pile of meats and vegetables on the white plate in front of her very tempting for her to eat.
But eating this food she made for her means letting Shawna win their silent battle for power.
Ella can't let her win.
Shawna sits across from Ella at the little table in the kitchen. Ella pushes the plate away from her as if she is not hungry at all. But she is. She is starving. Her stomach is eating itself alive because she hasn't eaten even the tiniest crumb of food in days.
"Eat your food, baby. I made it special for you." She smiles and pushes the plate back towards her. "I know your mom used to make this for you. You love this dish."
"I'm not your baby." She says, glaring up at Shawna. Days ago, she would never have spoken this way and been so harsh to someone. Not even her. But she has awoken anger inside her. She is so angry not even her anxiety or fear can hold her back now.
She shakes her head. Ella can see that she does not like her talking back. It makes Shawna feel weak and powerless when she speaks to her like she is an equal. She doesn't like the feeling.
"I thought you would like a home cooked meal. I don't know why you are fighting this so much." She grabs the dish, deciding she doesn't get to eat if she is going to have attitude about it.
"Maybe because you put a shock collar on me and killed my girlfriend? Maybe that's it?" She shrugs her shoulders. "I'm not positive but that might be part of it." She watches Shawna close her eyes, trying to keep her anger inside.
She knows she needs to keep talking back to her. It's her greatest weapon right now.
It might not be the best superpower out there but now that she realizes it affects her, she can use it to her advantage. It just may disarm and confuse her long enough to possibly escape.
"Eat." She demands.
"No." She replies simply.
She opens her eyes and places her hands on the table softly. "Look," she sighs. "I am doing you a favor here."
"You call killing my girlfriend a favor? You and I have different definitions of a favor then." She shakes her head in disbelief that Shawna actually believes she is helping her.
"I rescued you from her. She was only going to hurt you." She says. She knew she was going to break Ella's heart. She followed Aubrey too. She wanted to see what he was up against. Shawna knows things about Aubrey that Ella would have never found out. She is protecting Ella from Aubrey.
"She was going to hurt me? You are the crazy one with the gun." Ella argues her deranged facts. Ella is not sure if this tactic is still working but she is going to keep trying.
Shawna bites her lip and shakes her head. She does not want to tell Ella what Aubrey was up to and who she was with when she wasn't with Ella. She knows it will hurt Ella. She does not want to see her cry. She wants to protect her.
"She was in the way. She was a problem for both of us and I eliminated the problem." Shawna explains her motive to Ella.
"In the way of what?" Ella inquires.
"In the way of our perfect life together." She replies to her question with a smile. Shawna thinks she may be starting to warm up to her.
She is wrong.
"You are a psychopath." She growls. "You are sick." She spits across the table at her. Unfortunately for her, it missed Shawna's body but it did piss her off.
A lot.
Her words cause Shawna to lose her temper. She snaps. She wants to hurt Ella. For the first time since she has met her, Shawna sees flaws in Ella. Shawna wants Ella to suffer. She wants her dead.
She stands up and slams her hands on the table. "Eat!" She screams.
"Make me!" Ella yells back.
Shawna quickly decides she does not actually want Ella dead. She loves her. She does want her to understand that she is not joking around here.
She needs to teach Ella a lesson.
Shawna pulls a little remote out of her pocket and holds it in between her fingers. "I hoped I would not have to use this on you. Look what you have done, Ella. Look what you made me do." She presses the little round button on the remote, triggering the shock collar around Ella's neck to release electricity into her body.
Ella grabs at the collar and falls out of the chair as she vibrates from the electric shocks.
Shawna lays on the floor beside Ella as her body shakes uncontrollably from the electricity being pulsed into her body. "Next time, when I say eat, you will fucking eat."
She stands and leaves the room, flicking the light off as she exits.
AN: Well? What do you think? Be honest! I love to hear your feedback!
