Priscilla didn't drink her tea but just sat there in silence as she watched the man in front of her continue with his work as if she wasn't there at all. He was well built and had good muscles, she noted mentally.
Right now she had to find a place to stay since her house was now unsafe but the problem was that she didn't bring her phone or her credit card with her and she had no cash on her at the moment. She looked down at herself and that was when she discovered that she was wearing another set of clothes.
She had been scared at first to notice then she had talked with Richard and hadn't paid much attention to herself and it was only now that she realised that she was actually wearing his shirt!
She was unfazed by this fact so she gently cleared her throat to get his attention and he did look up at her, she asked, "were you the one who changed my clothes?"
Richard froze and the phone almost fell out of him hand and he hurriedly said, "I saw nothing, I swear!"
Priscilla chuckled. "I asked if you changed my clothes and not if you 'saw' anything. There's nothing much to see though."
"Your clothes were wet so I had to change it in case you had a cold…" this was among the rare times Richard felt his face heating up. Why was he so embarrassed by this small thing? It wasn't like he did anything wrong, right?
Priscilla thought that his reaction was priceless. She wasn't bothered knowing that he had undressed her after all, she had been on the other end several times before.
"Now I feel hungry, where's your kitchen?" she asked. She didn't know why she felt comfortable around this man despite the fact that she barely knew him but she just did. She felt like she had this kind of trust that he wouldn't harm her after all, he had plenty of chance to harm her but he didn't.
Richard raised an eyebrow at her. "Do I look like someone who can cook? And my cook is away."
"Yeah, right," she scratched her head a bit. "I'm a lousy cook as well otherwise I would've offered to make breakfast."
"I wouldn't even allow you near my kitchen in the first place." He said and put down his phone, "Let's eat out."
"Nice!" she gave him a thumbs up. "Though I really don't have anything to wear."
Richard sighed; this was going to be harder than he thought. "Fine, I'll give you my clothes to wear and then you'll have to wash them for me alright?"
"You do have a washing machine, correct?" she asked, she didn't want to wash any clothes with her hands.
"I do but I get lazy some times." He went inside to get the clothes and when he came back, Priscilla was tying up her hair into a bun. She looked cute like that.
"Are you done?" he asked steering himself away from any awkward thoughts.
"I am but before we go I have one tiny favour I need to ask you."
"I don't do favours."
"Okay, then it's a request."
"They're the same thing."
"Are you always like this?" she asked unsure of what to think of at the moment.
Richard shrugged. "I've been living alone for as long as I could remember."
"That makes two of us." She said and added, "Can I stay here in your house?"
"I don't know you that well." Richard replied. He didn't know her and letting her stay in his house for any longer than that would be crossing the line given that he had a busy schedule starting on Monday.
"I know but I don't feel safe going back to my house so I need a place to stay at temporarily. I don't have any money on me otherwise I would've booked a hotel."
"I'm still undecided."
"I'll stay for only the weekend and I'll wash all your clothes and clean for you as long as you allow me to stay here. I will leave on Monday, I have a friend close by and I'll go over."
"If you put it like that, then I can't refuse. Let's get breakfast." He smiled for the first time she had seen him this morning.
Priscilla pumped her fist mentally and celebrated while outwardly she was a bit moved by his gesture. She smiled widely and followed along to go get breakfast.
….
After breakfast, he stopped on the way and bought her a few clothes. He figured that if she had to stay at his house for the next two days she would need her own clothes and not rely on borrowing his every time.
He also felt that he was being too nice to her and it was true. He felt like it was his responsibility to take care of her since she was living in his house but at the same time he felt like he was going against all his ethics. When did he become so soft-hearted? When did he start helping strangers?
He could only push the thoughts aside and pretend that whatever he was doing was completely normal and could've been done by anyone else out there with a heart.
He brought her back home and showed her to the room. His room was the only one with a bed aside from the cook's room since she lived with him except for when she went to his parents. The other rooms were empty and he wasn't one who received visitors often.
He had no choice but to give his room to her and decide to sleep on the sofa for the two nights. He, however, regretted his decision when he recalled how painful his neck had been that morning. He groaned silently but didn't say anything.