Page 24 of Doormat
“Liana, you’re no doormat, so I think it is time you stop calling yourself that.”
“But you think that.”
Diego sighed.“No, I thought the woman you were acting as was a doormat, but you see, Liana, she wasn’t real.”
“It was still me.”
“Yeah, it was still you, but that wasn’t the real you,” he said.“It was a character you were playing.”
Liana sighed.“I didn’t know what to do.I was told to be good, to behave, and not make waves.So, I didn’t,” she said.“I don’t want to be a doormat.”
“You’re not a doormat,” he said.
“I hate that word.”
He smiled.“You’ve not been sick for a few minutes now.You think you’re ready for a bath, and maybe brush your teeth?”
“Yeah, I am.”
Her stomach, although not settled, was no longer making her feel she was going to vomit all over the place.
While Diego ran her a bath, she went to the sink and brushed her hair.One glance at her reflection and she felt awful.Her hair was matted and looked overly greasy.Last night she didn’t have any time to wash off her makeup, so there were lovely brown smudges under her eyes, and she looked terrible.
She quickly brushed her teeth, hoping to get rid of the horrible taste of vomit, but it didn’t seem to matter because whatever she did, it was still there in her mouth.She did the best she could.Then, Diego helped her into the warm bath that smelled like vanilla and cinnamon, and had lots of bubbles.
“Rest and relax, and I’ll be back in a minute,” he said.
She didn’t argue with him, but the scented bath smelled amazing.Leaning back in the water, she closed her eyes because her head was still pounding.Her head was so fuzzy.
Had she told him last night that she loved him?She couldn’t exactly be sure if she had told him that or not.This sucked.
Did she love him?Liana opened her eyes and didn’t want to think of the answer to that right now.She just wanted to soak and try not to move too fast.
Diego came back in, and he held a tray.She watched as he pushed the toilet seat down, then took two pills.
“These are for the headache.”He placed the pills in her hand, and she took them, grateful.There was also a glass of water, which he handed to her, and she took the pills, hoping they would work instantly.Next, he had a small plate and held the triangle side of a piece of toast against her lips.“Have a bite,” he said.
She looked at the toast and the truth was, she didn’t want any food, but she trusted Diego.And that was something to make her pause.She trusted Diego?Since when?Since he hadn’t actually done anything to hurt her or abuse her trust.He said she was boring, but in a way, she could also understand the fact that he was talking about the show she was putting on.That was a pretty good show.She wanted to be a good wife, like her mom.She didn’t think about just being herself.
She took a bite of the toast, then another and another, until her stomach began to settle.“That’s good,” she said.
“There is a chance you might throw up again, but it is a slim chance.”
“You’re not angry with me?”
“No, I’m not.”
“But I interrupted what you were doing.”
“I was playing golf with your brother, and I don’t know if you know this, but he sucks.”
This made her laugh, but then she stifled a groan, because her head was pounding.“Yeah, I know.”
“Do you play?”he asked.
“Yeah, I play, and no, I’m not any good.The only good golfer in the family is my dad.”
“Duly noted,” he said.
