This time, it took several hours for Elizabeth to calm down. Katherine had carried her to the bed in her arms since the woman couldn’t got up, she even helped her to drink a glass of water because her hands were shaking. Katherine sat on one side of the bed the whole time she cried.
Elizabeth just sat there on the bed. Her head was down, tears still running down her chin. “Do you feel any better?”, Katherine asked when she felt that the time was right. Elizabeth nodded and erased the wet path of tears on her cheeks.
Katherine had a hard time choosing her words. She knew that it was a sensitive matter, “Do you remember what happened last night?”
Elizabeth pressed her lips together. Katherine realized how much the woman was fighting to be able to stay strong.
“Not… everything. But I remember the park and… you.”
“I’m sorry, I should have managed the situation better.”
“No, it’s fine. You have done so much.” she raised her head and looked Katherine, “Thank you so much for everything you have done, miss Katherine.”
It made Katherine shiver to hear that enchanting voice call her name. "So she is like this when is not drunk…", she was more self-conscious than yesterday. “It’s fine. I am happy that you are feeling better now. It’s still early, you can rest more. If you need anything, just call me-” She made a move to get up but stopped with a trembling hand on her shirt. When she looked at Elizabeth, she saw the fear on the woman’s face.
She tried to recover quickly, let Katherine’s shirt go, “I- I’m sorry.”
Katherine smiled softly and caught the woman’s shy eyes, “Actually, I was going to ask you that if I can study here while you’re resting, since my desk is here in this room.”
“Ah! Yes, of course! P- please do so.”
“Alright, thank you.”
Elizabeth wanted to sleep but she knew that the moment she close her eyes, the same nightmare would come find her again. In the end her eyes wandered around the room and she saw Katherine as she studied on the desk. The girl was reading a huge book and scribbling something on a piece of paper.
Elizabeth realized that the girl was dressed in casual clothes. That's right, while she was in the bathroom, she heard the front door crash open. According to the clock on the wall, it was seven in the morning. Where could she have come from at this early in the morning? What was she studying so seriously? She had already guessed that the girl was a college student.
“May I ask… What you are studying?”
Katherine looked at her with a smile, her serious face faded away the moment she heard Elizabeth, “It’s about signal processing, a course of mine.”
She sat up in bed, “Were you taking a class this morning then? You were not home so- Oh! I- I’m sorry… I am asking questions out of nowhere-” she tucked her hair behind her ear.
Katherine leaned back in her chair, “It’s fine. And no, I went somewhere else.”
“Oh… Okay.”
When the awkward silence lasted longer than expected, Katharine stood up, “I also stopped at the supermarket on the way back to buy some stuff.”
“Okay.”
Katherine slowly took off her jacket, “If you can’t sleep, wanna take a shower?”
Elizabeth's embarrassed and confused face made Katherine couldn't help but compare her to a squirrel. She tried to restrain herself from laughing. Elizabeth was acting completely different then the woman she met last night. “I mean, you can go on and use the bathroom. After that, let’s have breakfast and go to a mall. We can get you some clothes there.”
“Ah- okay, I will go take a bath now. Thank you.”
While Elizabeth was showering, Katherine wanted to prepare breakfast. Usually, she ate something simple or ordered in, but this time it was different.
She put the breads inside the toaster and cracked the eggs inside a plate. After whisking the eggs perfectly, she poured them into the pan. When she had finished making the omelettes, she put some other things on the table. How long has it been since she tried to cook a decent meal in the kitchen? She didn't even know there was marmalade plates inside her kitchen cabinet!
At the end of her work, she stood infront of the table with her hands on her hips, looking at the 'simplest' breakfast she had prepared, “You know what? I should do this more often.” mumbled to herself.
“What should you do more often?”
Katherine looked up the corridor. Elizabeth was wearing the shirt and trousers she had given her. She had to fold the sleeves of the shirt and the cuffs of the trousers several times to make them fit her body. Katherine froze at the sight, she couldn't help thinking how well her own clothes suited Elizabeth.
“Miss Katherine?” She slowly lowered the towel from her hair.
Katherine pointed to the table after a pause, “Breakfast.”
"Why are you so serious?" Elizabeth couldn't hold back a chuckle.
It was the first time Katherine had ever seen Elizabeth laugh. “Laughing suits her.” She thought. Indeed, she was relieved to see Elizabeth laughing, instead of crying.
She responded with the most sensible line, “Breakfast is a very serious matter.”
“Okay… I guess?”
“Why don’t you have a seat?”
“Thank you.”
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