[raphael] ❝ what do you need from me? ❞
Shame makes her footsteps falter.
Jane remembers a time when they were friends, and when they understood each other. Now, the thought of being in a room alone with Raphael fills her with dread. How is she supposed to fill all that silence with things he’ll actually listen to, and find sincere? Lately, whenever she says anything to him, she’s met with silence, or open disdain. Today, he appears to have opted for a smooth blend of both.
But in Raphael’s defence, lately she has exclusively spoken to him about her husband, or to ask something of him. She hadn’t realised that it had become that obvious, or that he would be offended by this new dynamic; after all, if he won’t be her friend anymore, then he has to accept his role of just the help, and see if he likes that any better. Secretly, she hopes it’ll make him change his mind, forcing his forgiveness. Deep down, she knows he’s too proud for that.
“Do I have to need something to come and find you?” she asks. They both know that she’s just putting off her real request.
Jane trots further into the room, swamped by an over-expensive dress that hardly even suits her. She has decided not to think about how her husband makes the money that keeps her in such fine things, which explains why she tries her hardest to not look Raphael in the eye, even as she asks him for something.
“I want to learn how to navigate, and I’d like you to teach me,” she says. Sensing refusal, she continues. “All the maps I have of this place, they’re... Well, none of them are the same, and so I can’t make sense of them.”
His silence unnerves her. She scowls. “Oh, Raphael. Stop making it all so difficult for us both.”










