Chapter 7

After I pulled off the last stretch of tape, Denise took a while to get over her cramp and numbness before she tried standing up. The moment she put both her feet on the floor and lifted herself off, she collapsed immediately onto the floor again in front of me. I was close enough to hold onto Denise and she plastered her wet body against mine.

Jim: arhhh!! ... are you ok?

Denise: I can’t stand.

I supported Denise under her arms and tried to lift her but the floor was slippery and wet. It was hard for me to move about in that position, so in the end I decided to just fuck it and carry Denise.

Denise: erHG!! what are you doing!!! put me down!

I ignored her pleas and carried her towards the master bathroom.

Jim: Go wash up.

I set Denise down on the floor of the bathroom and left her there. I turned and saw that she leaned against the wall, brought her knees up to her face and wept.

Poor girl.

Shaking my head, I went back to the living room. Focus Jim. Focus. Clean up the fucking mess, and you are done. Chair needs to go, it’s too far gone with all the milk soaking through. The floor is simple, just mop and clean up. I spent 40 minutes cleaning up the mess before I went back to check on Denise. She was still on the floor, sobbing away.

Walking over to her, I squatted down and looked at her. She was about 23 or 24 max. More than a decade my junior.

Jim: Hey ... You ok or not? Don’t commit suicide eh?

Denise: Tsk! ... fuck off!

Denise looked up at me with a scowl and reached for the nearest bottle of soap and threw it at me. She looked away and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

Jim: I cleaned up the living room, I’ll take the chair down to throw away on my way out. Anything else you need?

Denise just looked down on the floor and said nothing. I sighed and went out of the bathroom, heading to her wardrobe, I found a towel and brought it to Denise.

Jim: Wash up first then continue to cry if you want to.

Denise gave me another scowl before grabbing the towel and slamming the door in my face. I waited for a couple of minutes and I heard the shower come on. I could have left but I wanted to make sure she didn’t die in the shower or some shit so I hung around for a bit in the living room. My shirt and pants were not only stained with milk stains, I was drenched in perspiration with all the cleaning up.

What a day.

30 minutes later, Denise came out into the living room. She’d washed up and that was the first time I saw her without makeup. She looked refreshingly different. Much better in my opinion. Without any of those fake enhancements, Denise looked like the girl next door you would bring home to your mother. Dressed in a white singlet and grey cotton shorts that reached only to the middle of her thighs, Denise looked really sweet and innocent.

It was like she’d removed a mask, or a disguise. That was when you could really see her true features properly. Her facial features were pretty nice on their own, her eyes big with the doleful look of a wounded puppy.

She looked at me for a brief moment before turning away. I got up from the sofa and Denise folded her arms, unwilling to meet my eye for more than a second.

Jim: You ok? Better?

Denise nodded even though her eyes were still red and a little swollen from the crying.

Denise: Thanks for cleaning up.

She saw the sorry state I was in and she walked back to her room without a word. 15 seconds later, she came out with a set of clothes which I assumed belonged to Herman. She handed me a towel too.

Denise just pointed over to the other bathroom near the kitchen and walked away.

Fuck it. Might as well take a shower. I looked at the time after I came out feeling refreshed. It was almost 9.30 pm.

I popped my head into Denise’s room where she sat staring at her wardrobe blankly.

Jim: You hungry? Need me to get food for you?

I could tell she wanted to reject me right away but I guess her stomach thought otherwise.

Denise: Can you get me fish soup from across the road.

Jim: Oh is it any good? I haven’t had my dinner either.

Denise: It’s edible.

There, that coldness was back.

I managed to stop myself from rolling my eyes as I went to the door. I could hear Denise following me a few steps behind. I stopped right before I opened the door and let myself out.

Jim: I probably shouldn’t ask this but ... errr ... your fish soup ... want to add milk or not?

Denise’s eyes took a second to react before they widened and she screamed at me, throwing 2 cushions my way as I quickly shut the door behind me.

Well, it was a valid question. The soup does taste better with a dash of milk.

I hurried over to the food centre across from Denise’s place and bought 2 servings of fish soup before they closed for the day. My stomach was rumbling and as I waited for my food, I wondered if Denise would even open the door for me when I got back. In case you are wondering, no, I did not choose the milk option for both of us.

Denise did open the door but with a dagger-like stare and I avoided her eyes, heading straight to the dining table to set the food down.

Jim: $4.70 please. It’s 20 cents more for takeaway.

Denise stared at me with her mouth half open and a look of disbelief as she stormed off into her bedroom and came out with a 10 dollar bill.

Well, I’m just a salary man and I’ve got a daughter to maintain. I’ve got to save up for her education, her insurance, maybe a down payment for her house or something. Besides, I don’t exactly know Denise that well even though I’ve seen her half naked. In situations like this, who knows, if you are too nice, people might actually mistake your intentions. So it’s important to be neutral.

Denise: Give me my change!

Jim: Tsk! ... I ... don’t have loose change on me. Don’t you have loose change at home?

The standoff lasted for close to 10 seconds as we just stared at each other.