I'll Fill the Empty Pages of the Story of Your Life

It was 7:00. I knew it was time to get out of bed before my alarm even rang. Tom would be waking up soon. He would want his breakfast before he went to work. He rolled over and faced me in the bed, taking the blanket with him. His eyes were still closed. My body was only covered by my underwear and a bra. It was all he had allowed me to keep on last time after he was done with me. I didn’t mind. Our room was usually too hot anyway. I looked over at his sleeping body, his chest bare, and his arm resting stretched out under his head. I smiled, even just his figure making my heart melt. I was, after all, utterly in love with this man.

I got out of the bed, walking to the bathroom to get ready. I put his clothes for today on a hanger in the front of our closet and went downstairs, where I started getting breakfast ready. It was around 7:20 when I heard him call my name. “Charlie,” he yelled from upstairs. I walked upstairs to see what the problem was.

“Yeah?” I asked, walking in. Nothing seemed to be out of place. He was standing in front of our closet, clothes on. His back was to me, his golden hair perfectly set.

He turned, holding his tie. “Am I supposed to do this myself?”

I smiled, walking over. He was so lost without me. I did his tie for him while he stared at me. “What time are you coming home today?”

“I don’t know,” he grumbled, grabbing his suitcase. “Probably late.”

“But my sister is coming today,” I reminded him. “You promised to be here when she came.”

“She’s going to be here for three weeks right?” he rolled his eyes as he started walking downstairs. “I’ll see her sometime before she leaves, won’t I?”

I sighed. Of course he wouldn’t be here. I didn’t know why I had expected, hoped for something different. She was my family after all. And it wasn’t a secret how he felt about them. I decided to let it go. It wouldn’t help anything if I argued. “You have to work more hours at the studio?”

Tom was an producer at Hollywood Records, which meant he was always at the recording studio or looking for new talent to sign. “No,” he said as he sat down at the table. “Some of the boys want to go out afterwards.”

I cringed, but didn’t say anything. That meant he would be drunk when he got home, that my sister would see him like that. “Tom, I really don’t--,” I stopped at his gaze.

“Don’t what?” he asked, anger simmering in his voice.

“Nothing,” I sighed. It didn’t matter anyway. Nothing good would come out of fighting. He would threaten to leave me again. And I couldn’t go through that. What would I do without him? He ate while reading the paper. I sat across from him, drinking my coffee. “I need to go shopping today,” I said. “I have nothing to make dinner for tonight.”

“You have the credit card, right?” he asked, not even looking up.

I cringed. Just another way for him to keep me in check. It was his idea to combine our banking accounts, after all, he wanted to give me everything, he said. And that meant more money to get what I wanted. It was no secret that he made more than me as a producer. “Yeah I do,” I said quietly.

He nodded, and continued reading his paper. He got up when he was done, and put his dishes in the sink. I got up too as he grabbed his bag. He kissed me, sighing as he pulled away. “You look so sexy right now,” he said, not moving too far from me. His hand was already pulling the string from my robe. “If I didn’t have to go to work, I’d take you right here on the table.”

I didn’t say anything, too into the ecstasy of what he was suggesting. He still had that effect on me, still made me weak at the knees. He kissed me one more time roughly before leaving. I sat down at the table again, my robe still undone. Tears brimmed at my eyes. He knew what he did to me, how much I wanted him. He knew he was gripping me tighter every time he did that.

I thought of how my life was as I did every morning while I did the dishes. I didn’t know how it had turned out like this. Tom had become such an important part of my life. He was in every part of it. My friends, my old life, it was all gone. My only happiness came from Tom. And for me, that had become enough. After all, I was so lucky to have him. What I would do without him – I didn’t even know.

My phone started ringing when I was done. Demi. I smiled, picking up my sister’s call. “Hey,” I said.

“Hey Charlie,” her perky voice came through the phone.

“What’s up Dem?” I asked. Demi was only my half sister, granted, since my dad had gotten remarried to her mom, but she was my sister in every essence of the word. I remembered when they first moved in with us. Demi would follow me around, doing exactly what I would do. And I did everything to be the perfect role model for her, to be what she needed me to be. I hadn’t talked to my family in a while, since the one time I had finally convinced Tom to spend Christmas with my family instead of his a few years back. Diana and my dad weren’t particularly fond of him. They didn’t want me to be with him. And that had created a bridge between us. Tom was, after all, my whole life now.

“Just calling to let you know I’m on my way to the airport now,” she said. She was coming to stay with me for a few weeks while she shot her newest music video here. I was so happy for Demi because she was finally reaching her dreams, becoming the musician I knew she could always be. Tom was, of course, against her coming, but he subdued in the end.

“Great,” I said. “I’ll be at the airport to pick you up when you get here.”

“You better be,” she joked. “I don’t want to wait too long. Maybe you should have a sign, The Great Demi Lovato or something.”

I laughed. “Anything else oh great one?”

“An espresso should be waiting,” she said after she thought a few minutes.

“Of course,” I said.

She laughed too. “I am so excited to come stay with you Char. I haven’t seen you in too long.”

“Me too,” I said. “This is going to be great. I’m going to go get some stuff to make dinner tonight.”

“Great,” she said. “Do you think you can get a little extra though?”

“Okay,” I said. “Why?”

“Cause I was hoping to bring a few people with me,” she said hopefully.

I laughed. She seemed nervous about this, like she wasn’t sure I’d be okay with it. “Okay, who?”

“Just a few of my friends in LA that I haven’t seen in a while,” she said excitedly. “There’s 3, well Selena is coming too so 4 plus me.”

“Okay,” I said, grinning. Selena was nice. I had always liked her, from the time Demi and her became best friends.

“Is he going to be there?” she asked. I could hear the disdain in her voice.

I sighed. “He’s not that bad Dem.”

“That’s what you so blindly think,” she said. I knew she was probably rolling her eyes.

I winced. “No he’s not going to be here.”

“Great,” she said, her voice perky again. “Okay, we’re about to be at the airport. Gotta pose for those cameras,” she joked.

I laughed. “Have fun. Make sure there’s nothing in your teeth.”

“Oh please,” she laughed. “I have people to do that for me.”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “Okay Ms. Rockstar, see you soon then.”

“Okay, bye,” she said, hanging up.

I put the phone down and sighed, going upstairs to get ready. I wondered what I should make for dinner tonight.