They hopped in the car, she told him about all the fancy features the car had, the truth was that this was not just whatever random car, she had made sure to buy a car that offered the most for a convenient price. She always made sure to take decisions carefully, on the contrary, Nick would´ve bought whatever he liked the most, making sure the car was fast and powerful. But she chose what was best, a car they could afford and maintain, the car had to have everything; and also, the pieces shouldn’t be expensive to replace and it shouldn´t consume much gas, together with other things she had written down on a list.

Maddy was a very meticulous woman, when it came to big decisions, she made sure to check on everything. Nick just sat on the passenger sit, listening how she explained all the things she liked of the car; he didn´t care much, he was never going to drive it, she wouldn´t allow him at his size, but he liked the way she was happy. She talked with a big fascination and a huge smile on her face, she was content now, and that´s all he cared for.

He was just fooling around with the window, turning it up and down, when he felt Maddy´s hand scratched his head. “I know I may have been a little too worried Nick, but trust me, I only did it because I care for you, you know that right?” she said with a resentful tone. Nick just watched her without saying a word, right now, he needed to hear what she was going to say.

“It´s just, you know… you´re getting too small, your head doesn´t even reach my shoulder anymore, it´s just a matter of time for you to go all the way down to four feet… “ he didn´t like that what she said was true, he would´ve preferred if she didn´t mention his “condition”.

“I… I can´t take it, I don´t know what´ll happen if you get hurt… “ she said with a more concerned tone, “I need to take care of you now Nick, I need to be with you at all times. You can still go to work, I accept that, but I need to look after you from now on” he wasn´t sure where she was going with this, he knew that she just wanted to make him understand that she cared, that´s why she acted that way. But deep down, he was worried for what she could say, what was she going to do?

“I´m sorry if you don´t like it but, “ she said as she grabbed the steering wheel “I´m going to be more strict from now on, I don´t wanna be mean or anything, it´s just that… I was really worried yesterday, I really thought you were not coming back… “ she said as her eyes turned a little red and their underside fill with tears. “That´s why, from now on, you can´t leave the house alone, I´ll drop you at work in this car and I´ll pick you up after. I´m gonna need you to wait for me inside, I´ll give you a call when I arrive so that you can come out.”

Nick didn´t like the idea, he was hoping she trust him enough to know that he´ll be ok if he had to come home on his own, but apparently, he had lost her trust on him. “B-but, are you like… always?” he asked.

“Yes honey, always, you won´t leave the apartment if I´m not with you, that´s the only way I can guarantee you´re safe. I´m the only one who can look after you properly. And if there´s any need, I´ll dictate who takes care of you” she said, announcing how things were going to be.

“Wow wow wow, what do you mean? I´m like, I´m a grown man you know, I don´t need anyone to take care of me” he said a little agitated.

She took a deep breath and said firmly: “That´s not up to you, at least not anymore, I told you, if you want me to forgive you, if you want this relationship to work, you need to do as I say; and understand that, I´m the one in charge” she said leaning over him and pointing at herself.

“But, but that´s not fair” he exclaimed, he disliked all of this, why does she feel the need to diminish him, he had gone shopping and everything came up find, why would she need to worry?

“What´s not fair, mister” she yelled, “is that you still think you can do as you please, can´t you see? Don´t you realize that you´re too small already… and you´re only getting smaller, every day that goes by, you wake up smaller than the day before, it´s just a matter of time for you to be completely dependent on someone else” she was hysterical.

“And that´s me, whether you like it or not, I´m the only one you can turn to, tell me, who else is going to take care of you?” she asked trying to make him understand.

He had no one in mind, she was the only one he wanted to be with, she was his everything; he knew it, and was sure that by now, she also did. But it just wasn´t right, he was going to be like a prisoner in his own apartment, the only place he could go alone was work and after that, he´ll need to be with her the whole time. He didn´t dislike the idea, but how was she going to act from now on? Will she be the same or… was she going to be all over him the whole time?

There was a risk in this, he was sure she was a sweet person, but as he shrank, he realized that she was not always so sweet; now, she was acting as a more severe person, this side of her, was something he didn´t like at all. He just look straight at her, saying nothing.

“And don´t give me that look… “ she said, “from now on, your actions will have consequences, and if you don´t like it, well… too bad.” Those were her last words. After that, they returned to their apartment, both were pissed at each other, but a part of Nick was worried.

Things had got a little better, but after this, it wasn´t sure if they were going to make amends so easily. Nick entered the apartment and locked himself on his room, Maddy noticed and said:

“I´ll give you five minutes, you have five minutes… after that, if that door´s not open… oh boy, you´ll regret it!” she was beyond mad right now, he knew it.

Nick was furious, there was no way in the world he will open the door, but that was before; at his current size, he hated to admit it, but he was actually scared of what she could do. She had never been mad for so long before, and what were those consequences she talked about? What could she do? will she hurt him like, physically? He was unsure about this, but he didn´t know what else to do, he locked himself because he didn´t want to see her, at least for a while until things cool down.

She sat on the couch thinking: “who does he think he is? Can´t he see that this isn´t right, he needs me… besides, I´m not doing anything wrong, I didn´t say he couldn´t go out, I only said he needed to be with ME to go out… could that be what bothers him?” she knew what he did was stupid, he needed to let go of his pride, he wasn´t a full grown man anymore, he couldn´t be alone the way he used to do.

“God, why do I need to be the bad on here? I just want to hug him, cuddle with him, just… just… I just want to protect him, can´t he see it?” she felt as if she was right, but she needed to understand that this was something new for Nick, he was used to do whatever he felt like without depending on no one for the past years, now, all his freedom, all his liberty will be revoked from him.

“A 25-year-old man shouldn’t ask his girlfriend for permission to go somewhere” he thought sitting on top of the bed. His arms were crossed over his chest. Then he laid on bed extending all his limbs, he could feel how their queen size bed was huge, even if he extended his arms all over, he couldn´t feel the end of it, on either side.

He turned and grabbed his phone from the night table. “All for this stupid phone, just for not turning the volume up. FUCK!” he thought, he unlocked it and checked on it, just in case. He was surprised to find a message from his boss, Miss Williams. He decided to open it, it said:

Miss Williams 10:12:

“Good morning Nick, I hope you´re enjoying your weekend. I was checking on some papers, but it´s too boring without you here in the office, maybe I should make you work on Saturdays too, haha, just kidding. How are you honey? What are you doing?”

It was weird, never before she had texted him on weekends, actually, she had never texted him at all; she had called him to ask him about some papers or to let him know pick up some stuff on his way to work. It was something really odd for her to text just to check on him, in a way, he felt good. He liked the idea that she cared, at least that´s how he felt when he read the message.

All of his rage decreased, his frown disappeared and now he was just looking at his phone with a neutral look. He stood there for a couple seconds, wondering how to reply to her message. He knew he needed to calm down before writing anything, if he was still mad, he could end up transmitting the wrong message. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled, and started writing.

Nick 10:53:

“Good morning to you too, I´m find, just lying in bed doing nothing, how about you? Is there a lot of work to do?”

He just sent the message and dropped the phone next to him, and then.

*BEEP**BEEP* His phone received a text within a minute, it was Miss Williams again.

Miss Williams 10:54:

“Hello dear, I´m glad you answered. Well, there´s not that much work actually, maybe I can wrap everything up early and head back home. How´s Maddy by the way? Is she lying next to you?”

He was starting to calm until she asked for Maddy, it made him remembered why he was there in the first place, he wondered, whether to tell her or not about his not so good morning. He had his doubts, will it be ok? He could´ve just lied about it and tell her she was find, but she had her number, what´ll happen if she asks her directly? That couldn´t happen, but what if it does?

His mind was full of paranoic thoughts right now, could these two women conspire against him? It will be too crazy, but he decided that it´ll be better if he told her about it, besides, she has been very supportive to him lately, maybe she can give him some advice.

Nick 10:55:

Well, actually, Maddy and I had a fight this morning. It all started last night, things cooled down a bit, but now, I´m in our bedroom and she´s on the living room. I feel bad.”

*BEEP**BEEP*

Miss Williams 10:56:

“Awww, honey. Do you want me to call her to check?”

He immediately replied

Nick 10:56:

No no no, it´s ok, I can take care of that, but, do you have any advice?”

Miss Williams 10:58:

“Have you told her how you feel? I don´t know why you two were fighting, but I assure you that if you open up to her, and tell her how you feel, she´ll understand.”

He was reading it, when another message arrived.

Miss Williams 10:58:

“When she called me the other day, I could tell she cares for you, she really does, you only have to let her know how much you appreciate that. You don´t know how hard it is to find someone who loves you the way she does”

“Make sure to let her know you appreciate everything she does for you. If you need anything else, just give me a call, ok? Bye bye pumpkin”

That was her last message, and it was true. He had tried to open himself to her, but he didn´t told Maddy the whole thing. Deep inside, he had some thoughts, some ideas that terrified him, the real reason why he didn´t wanted to let go of it and do as she said was that he was scared that she will no longer see him as a person, as his boyfriend, he loved her and he didn´t wanted all to change into something bad.

Nick 11:00:

“Thank you, I´ll tell her. I really appreciate your support, you´re the best”

He sent it. Little he knew that those words, that could not mean much to him, meant a lot for Miss Williams, just the fact that he decided to answer her texts made her day; and that he followed her advice, it filled her with joy; when she read his last message, she had a sweet warm feeling inside.

*KNOCK!**KNOCK!*

Maddy was standing outside their bedroom, and by the way she knocked, he could tell she was mad. “Open up, it´s been over five minutes!” she demanded.

Nick stood up and rushed to the door, thinking what he´d tell her; he needed to apologize, and do it for good, not just whatever apology he had already give her, this time, he had to mean it. He had to let go of all and just focus on what he still had, her. If he decided to play it as the man he used to be, then there´ll be a possibility of losing her, for good. If he wanted to have a solid relationship, or at least, have a working relationship, he needed to find a way to get into a commitment with her.

He opened the door and crane his neck to look up to her, he could see she had a huge frown on her face. He just grabbed his thumb with his other hand as she said: “So! Are you ready to admit I´m right?” she asked putting her hands on her hips and looming above him.

He just lowered his head and started looking at the floor, trying to find a way to tell her, let her know he was willing to follow her, but deep inside, he wanted to keep some dignity; he needed to know he was able to have some freedom, even if it was not the case. He just wanted to pretend that an aspect of his life was still normal, that he was still a man and she´ll respect that.

“What?! You´re not going to talk to me anymore? That´s how you want things to be from now on, huh?” she was leaning closer to him, she was about to lose it, if he didn´t answer, then she´ll be forced to take some actions, maybe some physical ones.

“C-can we talk for a moment?” he said as he looked back at her and pointed to the bed.

“Sure…” she stated, “but if this is another of your fake apologies where you get to say whatever I want to hear and then tell me to fuck off, then I don´t want to hear it” she had a mean look on her face when she said that, but inside, her heart was filled with pain, she felt like he was playing some kind of game, only lying to her.

“N-no, this time, I… I want to talk to you, seriously” he said while he sat on bed, feeling how his heart winced inside his chest.

And when she sat, he stumbled, being dragged closer to her. She was now taller and heavier than him, so his small frame was dragged by the force she applied on bed. He sat straight again and said: “Maddy, I… I´m going to be completely honest with you… I´m scared… I´m afraid of what´s happening to me, every night, I go to bed thinking about what´ll happen tomorrow, my clothes won´t fit, people will stare at me, no one will take me seriously never again!” he said as his heart quickened. “I need you, I know, believe me… at the end of the day you´re the only person who will always cares for me in your own tender way. And I know your intentions are good, that you´re a pure soul, but… it´s just…” she was looking at him the whole time, first mad, but then, she started to pay more attention to where he was going with all this, she had decided that this´ll be his last chance, and no matter what he chose, she´ll do what´s right.

She let him continue, waiting in silence, letting him speak his heart out. “I don´t want things to change between us… I know I screwed up things very often, I know I´m not the man you need… that, sometimes I´m messy and get distracted… but you´re always there for me, even if I don´t deserve it, even if no one else will give me another chance, you´re there.” He said dropping some tears, “I know you´re too good for me… I don´t know why you´re still with me, you could get someone better, someone that proves to you he´s the man you need, not a fool like me.” He then grabbed his hands and set his gaze away from her.

Now, his lip was trembling, and with all his will, he maintained his composure and told her: “But I promise… I promise that I´ll change, I´ll become the man you need, the one you deserve… but I can´t do it if you´re… you´re… I can´t do it if I can´t be an independent person, if I´m supposed to be with you the whole time, then, I won´t be able to surprise you, to go by myself and look for something that makes you happy, I will no longer be able to go out and bring you something you need, I… the only thing I can do for you, is to surprise you, to go outside and look for a way to bring the joy back to you when you´re sad, get something to eat when you´re hungry, go get a present for you just because I know the one that´s getting a gift it´s me, every day that I´m with you… and if I´m not able to do it, then, there´ll be no reason for you to stay with a loser like me, because I know I´m not worth a thing, I´m just, a waste of space, and the more I shrink, the… the less I´ll be able to… to provide” he broke into tears there, he couldn´t take it, deep inside, what he feared the most was to become dependent of her, and get her tired of him.

 She just grabbed his hand and turned at him, with teary eyes, and told him: “I… I won´t leave you Nick, I don’t care if you can´t go buy some stuff, I don´t care if you can´t drive our car and buy me flowers or chocolate. The only thing I care for, it´s you, and only you. I fell in love with you because of who you are, because you´re honest, spontaneous and I feel happy when I´m with you, when I see you, that brings joy to me…” she brought him closer to her and hugged him tight with a single arm, “The only thing I don´t want, the only thing that scares me, is losing you… so don´t worry for whatever you won´t be able to do, I´ll do whatever you need, the only thing I want is… you, I want to be with you… now and always” then she kissed him and embraced him with both arms, squeezing him tight. He began to cry, pouring tears all over her chest.

He was sobbing over her while she caressed his back, trying to say: “It´s ok, let it all out”. He pushed back a little and said: “I… I love you”, “I love you too” she said as she wiped a tear from his face with her thumb. They stayed there for a while, he knew she won´t leave him, and she knew that the only reason he so desperately wanted to keep things as they were, was because he wanted to make her happy.

She knew she needed to find a way to convince him that, the only thing he needed to do to make her happy was to be himself, and let her take care; take care of everything, he wouldn´t need to worry about anything else, she knew there´ll be some changes, but instead of imposing herself, she´ll persuade him to accept those changes. And the first thing that may need to change, will be his job; the only thing she was unsure about, was if he could still work.