Catacomb Heart

Attentive

I shook my head as I looked down at the rap sheet spread across the kitchen table. I had essentially turned it into my desk as I worked furiously away at the criminology questions and built a profile for my case study. Only I had one problem.

My case study was a fucking mute.

Not in the medical sense. But in the sense that he wasn't speaking to me at all, in any sense or fashion. Not even a flinch of an eyebrow as he stared at me. I had resorted to giving him a staring contest just to try and ease up his tense state, but I ended up scaring myself and resorted to looking back down at the desk trying to divulge in a conversation.

- He was being impossible.

Every day for the two weeks I had been trying, missing the weekends as they weren't allowed visitors. But first thing Monday I was back in front of him showing him that I wasn't giving up on him that easily.

But my patiences were limited and through the forum of other distance learners. I had learned that they were progressing at an exceeding rate having developed a bond with their studies who apparently had nothing but stories and gossip.

Stressed out wasn't the word.

"Can you move some of this? Jesus Christ I want to eat breakfast." Zak complained.

I lifted my brow in annoyance. Yes he too was beginning to act weird with this, I presumed it was down to the fact I was spending my time on my course and working than tending to his needs. It was a lot to do, and sometimes, most of the time we clashed resulting in heated arguments and hot making up sessions.

Usually resulting in Zak getting his own way, either way.

"Sorry." I apologised moving the papers before he could pick them up with slightly sticky fingers from his fruit.

"I just wanted to look." He answered defensively.

"What do you want? For me to move them or to look at them?" I asked.

I knew instantly that I had pissed him off when he abandoned his breakfast. "Forget it. I'll eat breakfast with you when you're not preoccupied with another man who doesn't want to talk to you.."

My eyes flittered slightly as his underhanded comment struck a nerve within me regarding Joe and the last situation we were in.

"That was uncalled for." I answered back causing him to stop at the kitchen door before he could leave.

"No, what's uncalled for is you're spending your time on two men who don't want anything to do with you, yet push away the man who's begging for some interaction with you." He pointed out.

"Begging? You're hardly starved of attention Zak. Every night for the past three weeks we've had sex! I'm tired! You're tired! This isn't working and I'm falling behind and  I'm gonna fail the whole course because he won't speak! But this isn't important to you? Is it? This is beneath you!"

He turned looking just as angry as I felt and boy was I ready for a fight.

"Do not start on me about being tired! You do realise I've had to deal with your barking every single night, having to get up and get you drinks because you're gasping for air? So yeah I'm tired and I'm frustrated because I have work problems too. But you'd know that if you looked up from those fucking papers once in a while! You're getting obsessed Haven. It's not normal, and frankly it's a little weird. I would presume you had a crush on the guy."

I scoffed "Really? You're pulling that one huh?"

"Well? Do you? You spend more time with that photo than what you have with me this week. You're awake all hours and when I can't distract you with food or sex, you're back on it! What about me?!"