9

He’s taken my watch. 

He’s taken my phone.

I keep working later hours.

I keep doing more and more because he won’t ever stop asking.

I was supposed to go over to a friend’s last night. We hadn’t seen each other for years. It had been planned for a while.

But he told me that someone needed to go over to his house and groom his cat while he closed a business deal. Right away.

So I spent the night grooming his cat.

When he got home, I thought it was over. I thought I could finally leave.

But the house needed to be cleaned. So I cleaned it.

The dresser needed to be moved down the stairs. 

So I pulled something in my back carrying it.

I could see the eyes in every painting, every picture, watching and looking and judging.

Always judging.