35. Irritation

                                    

                                          

♟️ 







Hollie honestly expected Elena to be sleeping when she opened the door to their bedroom. 
It's just before midnight, and she's been discharged from the hospital just a week ago. Elena has gained her energy and healed from her wounds, but it hasn't even been two days since she was last told to rest by her doctor. That's why Hollie came home from yet another exhausting day at work and truly and honestly expected Elena to be in bed.
She finds the bedroom empty, however, as the clock ticks over to a new day, and the moon lights up the night sky outside their large window. Sighing, Hollie puts her bag on a chair by the door and walks further into the room, taking off her suit jacket in the process. Her footsteps echo loudly in the otherwise silent and empty apartment. It's lifeless, soulless, and way too clean.
Work was exhausting. She had to deal with everything that comes with helping the company rise after its harsh fall, but that's not all. She's also had a heavy cloud of stress hanging over her head throughout the entire day. She'll have to meet up with the members of the board tomorrow, and convince them of VOID Investment's success and Elena's capability for chairwoman.
Hollie has never had a meeting of such importance before. She's nervous, to say the least. But it's something she needs to deal with. She has responsibilities now. She is a wife, and she is a CEO. Not just some student locked under her father's patriarchal ways.
Hollie walks up to their walk in closet, slides the glass door open and switches on the light. Rows of perfectly ironed and folded clothes are lit up in the darkness of the bedroom. Hollie sighs and takes a step inside. She takes off her suit pants, along with her white shirt. The pieces of clothing are thrown into the laundry basket, discreetly stowed beneath a shelf of clothes. Hollie shuffles around the closet, and eventually finds a pair of gray sweatpants and puts them on. She finds herself appreciating these few moments of comfort more and more the longer she stays as CEO.
It's fun at times, but right now, she feels so tired it's almost irritating.
Seventeen or sixteen hours of work every day, barely five hours of sleep every night and less time to eat or relax. She is more tired than she has ever been, and it's a feeling that gets under her skin and prickles and boils her nerves. She's frustrated, so frustrated and tired that she just can't find a shirt that is comfortable enough and before she knows it- she's throwing a pile of clothes to the floor and swearing under her breath.
Her lips feel dry, her hair feels electric, her eyelids feel heavy, her skin itches, her throat is always sore and her head is always, always hurting. She's starting to like this job, but after several days of barely sleeping and always working, always on her own, it's just-
Hollie hears the front door open and snaps out of her thoughts so fast she forgets she ever had them. She hears muffled voices talking by the entrance to the apartment, and recognises them as the security guards bidding Elena good night.
Hollie looks around herself and drags a hand through her hair. She sees the pile of clothes on the floor, and waits a second before bending down and picking them up. Elena closes the door and walks through the apartment. Hollie puts back the folded clothes, one by one and each one with great care. Annoyance prickles under her skin. She gets more and more irritated with each and every step that Elena takes. Every sound she makes that echoes through the apartment makes her more and more frustrated.
She hears Elena open the bedroom door and walk inside, also taking off her suit jacket. She hears her put her bag down. Every single movement makes her annoyed. She wants to say something. Words are bubbling on her tongue. Hollie, still in nothing but sweatpants and a bra, walks out of the walk-in-closet and leans against its door frame, her hands folded over her chest. She watches Elena rummage through her bag, and then move over to the bed. Something about how she carries herself, so confident and relaxed, just makes her more annoyed.