Suffolk, Virginia 2023

“Sebastian!” I could hear my name being screamed. I turned off the water and quickly dried and dressed to greet the guest. I knew exactly who it was by the second scream. I walked down my stairs and faked a smile. “Hello, Katherine.” She held out her hand, and I kissed it. I gagged silently and led her to my living room, though she walked in like she lived here. “Well, aren’t you going to offer anything to drink?” I deadpanned her and quickly changed my tone of voice. “Since you barged in here, I just assumed you would have already made yourself at home.” She smiled and waltz inside of my kitchen. Looming over the various bottles of alcohol, she got herself a glass of wine. “Is there anything that you needed?” She was interrupting time that could have been spent with Rosie, and it was getting harder to mask my aggravation. “Why yes, in fact..” I tuned her out. Her voice was so damn annoying; it hurt my ears. I thought about Rosie. Did she think about me? Or was she thinking about her fiance? She did not need him; she had me now. I was more than enough to protect her from her issues, big or small. Maybe I would compel her to forget him. Then she would stay with me forever without anything holding her back. I’ve decided, that’s what I’m going to do. Now I finally have someone to love me again.