Broken

t h r e e

Melissa hadn’t done much when Chris left. She sat on her bed and looked out the window, watching as the sun slowly started to set. She admired the fountain in the garden outside. She had a nice view.

She turned around when there was a knock on the door. Chris had opened the door slightly and then let himself in, closing the door behind him.

He walked into Melissa’s bedroom and asked how she was doing. He received no response.

“It’s dinner, time, is there anything specific you want?”

She didn’t look at him once, just kept staring out the window.

“I’ll put together a small meal for you and bring it. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

He left instantly.

~*~

“Salad and spaghetti. I hope this will be enough.”

He placed the food on the table in the living room, which was in front of the couch.

She sat down on the couch and began poking at the salad leaves.

He sighed and took the fork out of her hand and picked up a few strings of spaghetti and twirled it around the fork. He brought the fork in front of her mouth, waiting for her to take the bite.

She eventually listened. He watched as she chewed on the food slowly. She swallowed about a minute later.

Chris smiled as he repeated this process over again about ten times. She didn’t have to tell him to stop. He knew she had eaten enough. He took the plate in his hand and told Melissa he would be back.

~*~

Chris opened the closet and took out a pair of long pants and a shirt.

“Here, you can wear this to sleep if you want.”

She hesitantly took the pile of clothes from his hands and walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

Chris waited for her while she changed. When she came out, she had the clothes she had worn previously, in her hand, neatly folded.

“Here, I’ll take it and get it washed for you." He drapes the clothing on his arm. “It’s still pretty early if you want I can switch on the television for you.”

She nodded her head slightly before she followed Chris into the living room.

“Here, this is the remote.” He passed the remote to Melissa, so she could find something to her comfort.

She turned on the traveling channel.

She had then set the remote down and watched as people on the TV talked about different places to visit and things to do.

Chris smiled and excused himself to go put Melissa’s clothes in the wash.

~*~

Before Chris had returned Melissa had already turned the TV off and had made herself comfortable in the bed. She had already tucked herself under the cover and just stared at the ceiling.

“Ready to go to sleep, I see,” Chris said from the door. He walked into the room. “Is there anything else I can get you, or are you going to be okay for the night?”

Melissa just shook her head ‘no’. Chris smiled and said, “Good night, Melissa,” before he closed the door.