^-^
"I'm going to bed," Bella said the moment they arrived home. She didn't wait for their reply. She went directly to her bedroom.
Laurie watched Bella climb the stairs to the second floor. She couldn't blame her after what she had to experience because of her squabble with Hideaki.
With Andrei driving the rest of the way home, the drive was quiet. But not until Andrei shut his mouth from cursing Hideaki with what he did.
"Are you okay?" Andrei asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."
After taking off her shoes, she didn't bother wearing house slippers. She walked barefoot to the living room and dropped herself on the couch.
She closed her eyes and placed her arm over them.
"That's a deep sigh. Care to tell me about it?"
Andrei followed Laurie to the living room with two cups of steaming hot coffee. When Laurie inhaled the delicious scent of caffeine, she removed her arm from her eyes but didn't move from lying down on the couch.
