Getting time away from Owen was
easier said than done. I could tell just by looking at him that he was earning for
affection. It rolled off him in waves, break after break of need that was slowly
but surely pulling me under.
We
spent the following week by each other’s sides. In that short time we had
effectively moved in together. My mattress and other various belongings were
transported to his shipyard bunker after many protestations from me. The docks
were not meant for continuous habitation. Now in the heat of summer they seemed
like the ideal place to hole up, but three months had already passed since the
first phase of the war or the destruction of the ‘black holes’ as Owen liked to
call it. Holing up wasn’t going to be an option for much longer. We needed a
stable living situation, one with fresh water surrounding us, rather than
poisonous salt water. I personally needed to break free of the ties that were
linking me to this place.
Everything
around me was concrete and metal and hard. I could feel the coldness of these
things surrounding me, sapping my energy and draining me of any happiness that
Owen could muster. Not even Fins could get a laugh out of me anymore and I
think Owen was beginning to catch on. After a few more days of monotonous
living I told him that I needed some time alone in my apartment. He nodded at
me, not saying a word. I knew that I was somehow hurting his feelings, but the initial
connection that I had felt with him was gradually fading, I just didn’t care
anymore.