Feeling marginally better, I take a moment to gather myself. First thing first, I need to warm up.
Turning the dial on the shower at the highest temperature, I strip off the many layers I'm wearing while the small bathroom slowly begins to fog up with billowing steam from the shower.
The moment I step under the scorching stream of water, I wince at the burn. Maybe, I've taken it a little too far, but I'll do anything to shake the unease creeping up on me. It's still early afternoon, and as I scrub myself trying to get the blood flowing again, I make plans to spend the afternoon huddled between blankets with a book to keep my mind off what happened today.
Tomorrow, I can think of it tomorrow, or any other freaking day, but not today.
I'm so lost in my own thoughts that I lose track of time. Once I'm properly warmed up, and scrubbed clean, I wrap myself in the plush bathrobe and open the door to enjoy the peace and quiet that I so much need and covet.
When I open the door door, I can't quite believe what I'm seeing. I guess it's time for round two. Ding, ding.
" What do you want?" At this point, I'm resigned. I don't have it me to fight with him anymore, " How did you get in here anyway?" I lean against the door, waiting for him to answer. He looks up through the open window and I follow his line of sight. It never occurred to me that Mason might be as agile as I am. The fact that he is a business man can be quite deceiving, but sometimes it slips out of my mind that he used to be a thief. So that must involve some type of athletic skill. Graham is quite lean-looking, light on his feet, but also deceivingly trim when you see him without his clothes. Something I got to experience very early on this morning.
" Why did you leave?" Mason drags me back from my wayward thoughts, and I remember the snippet of conversation between him and Ava.
" Your fiancée didn't seem pleased that I was there. I thought it was for the best to spare everyone the trouble and make myself scarce," I reply with veiled honesty, and he seems to believe me because it is also somewhat true.
" You still haven't told me why are you here? I go out on a limb and assume that Ava won't be pleased that you're making house calls," He chuckles under his breath, and I push myself off the door jamb and make my way to the small kitchen to make myself a cup of tea. Despite what Enid thinks, it doesn't make everything better, but it does help.
" Since when do you care what Ava thinks," I hear the bed creak and I look over my shoulder to see him walk around the loft and stops to look at the spider that has made a home for himself between two wooden beams.
" Since she is your fiancée," I turn the stove on and I turn around to lean against the counter while he studies Harold intently.
" Mason, meet Harold," I say softly, and he looks over his shoulder, with a lazy grin that makes my heart pinch in my chest. Damn him. I wince at the feeling and turn around to finish making the tea because if I watch him for one more second, I'll cave. And that is the last thing I want to do. We are at war Lily.
Another mental note, any more and soon I'll begin losing track with so many.
He sighs, and I hear his footsteps thudding against the wooden floor. I swallow the boulder stuck in my throat feeling my earlier resolve slip away.
No. No. No. Simply, no. I tell myself repeatedly, that maybe the word would finally sear itself into my brain. At least that's what I'm hoping anyway.
" You said that you had questions about the Kallah. I'm here to answer them," I stiffen at the sound of his voice right behind me, and I make an effort to pull myself together before I turn around and face him.
When I do, he snatches the cup out of my hand and takes a seat at the small table, takes a sip, smiles," Thank you for the tea," I swear to god that he is doing it on purpose. He is poking at me just so he could get a reaction.
Snatching the cup out of his hand, I take a sip," It is my tea. If you want some, you can make your own. It doesn't require a degree to man the stove, and I'm pretty sure you are perfectly capable of brewing your own tea," He chuckles and stands up to do just that without too much of a fuss.
" Can you tell me if you know how I have been made?" I ask while he fumbles with the kettle, and pulls himself a cup to steep the tea bag.
" I have a theory, but before we get to that, what is in it for me?" Excuse me? I'm shocked that he is expecting payment for the information but also not all that surprised.
" You want me to pay you?" I'm cursing like a sailor in my head, but I grit my teeth so I don't let it slip out loud. He smirks at me over his shoulder while he takes his sweet time dunking the tea bag in the cup.
" Not exactly," He croons, and I jump out of my seat like my ass is on fire at the implications of those two little words. Also eww. If he is expecting me to sleep with him, then he has another thing coming.
" I hope you're not asking what I think you're about to ask, because that is completely off the table," I fret desperate to clear the air. I have thought about it countless times, but the thought of doing it as a form of payment is out of the question. And again, ewww.
" Good to know," He purrs with a wicked grin and blows in his tea looking at me rather suggestively. It is not an assumption, I know the wicked glint in his eyes, and there is nothing pure going on in his head at this moment. I'm no saint either, so who am I to judge?