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while she devoured her meal. When she was done, he took her plate. “Was it
     good?”
    “Yes, thank you.” She didn’t think anyone’s ever said those two
     words as often in this amount of time. She felt like a broken record, her vocabulary
     reduced to thank you, please, I swear, I don’t know … the last part made her
     eyes water.
    No one spoke for a while. She was tracing circles on the counter
     with the tip of her fingers. He was leaning back against the closet where he just
     put away the broom, openly watching her with an amused smile. She could feel his
     stare, but refused to look at him unless specifically told to do so. The felt
     silence was marked by the incessant ticking of the metal-plated clock on the
     opposing wall. Laura thought an eternity passed between each swipe of the pendulum,
     its ticking sound increasingly louder in her ears. Unable to bear the heavy silence
     any longer, she finally spoke up. “May I be excused?” She felt pathetic, like a
     child requesting permission.
    His smirk broke into a full grin. “Yes, Laura, you may be excused.”
     He had barely finished uttering the words and found her already up on her feet,
     rushing out of the kitchen. He watched her leave, almost breaking into a run. He’d
     let her run and hide, for now .

Day-2
    T
hat night Laura dreamt of Peter again, but
     not the Peter she remembered. He didn’t resemble himself, though she knew it was
     him. They were alone, surrounded by darkness as violent winds roared all around
     them. Nothing but empty black space except for a bright light illuminating their
     faces, as if a spotlight shone on them, its source, invisible. Peter was calling out
     to her, his face distorted in pain as he was being sucked into some kind of black
     hole. She couldn’t see the lower half of his body anymore. She was gripping his hand
     with both of hers and pulling with all her might. Her entire body hurt, but she
     refused to let go. She could feel him slipping away, his hold loosening. She kept
     screaming for him to hang on, but she could barely hear herself through the howling
     winds. He looked up at her, looking like himself again. He seemed serene, his face
     relaxed and his eyes kind. He smiled at her, tender and comforting, mouthed sorry , and let go. He was immediately sucked into nothingness. The force
     threw her back to the floor. She called for him, screamed his name, over and over
     again, breaking down into sobs.
    Her tears were still fresh on her face when she woke up. She opened
     her eyes, long enough to confirm the nightmare was still real, and cried herself
     back to sleep.
    The next morning, Laura rebuffed Olga’s few initiatives to get her
     out of bed. Not even the appetizing trolley lured her out of the sheets. Olga
     graciously gave her space but emphasized that Master Kayne had specifically
     requested she join him for supper, which would be served at seven. Laura dismissed
     her concerned efforts. She had no intention of leaving her bedroom, come what
     may.
    At six fifty sharp, just as the day before, Olga knocked at her
     door. When Laura didn’t respond, she opened it partially, her alarm apparent at
     finding Laura the way she had left her.
    “Miss Spencer… Please, you must get ready. You must
     eat something.” She tried to reason with her.
    Laura didn’t even move a muscle.
    “Master will not be happy…”
    For some reason, the words made Laura snap, with a fury that
     betrayed her previous apathy. “Master will not be happy! Master will not be happy?”
     In one movement, she was up on her feet, almost screaming.
    “Miss Spencer, please, I beg you, calm yourself…” Olga was beyond
     nervous.
    “No! I will not calm myself! Do you even know why I’m here? Do you
     even know who you work for? Who you’re asking me to have supper with?” Her voice
     faltered, as a lump rose in her throat.
    “Oooh, Miss Spencer… please…” Olga appeared to be on the verge of
     tears, her eyes