Illegal Thoughts

5

Kathryn

Kathryn spent the overwhelming majority of the rest of her day curled into a library seat, reading. Lewis left her alone, so it was quiet.

After a while, though, her foot fell asleep, so she stood up and left the library. She roamed the halls, looking into unlocked rooms and getting snacks from the fridge. Kathryn glanced at the clock, which read 12:27 PM.

She wondered how she hadn't fallen asleep yet, now realizing her tiredness. She took the few snacks she gathered and walked towards her room, pausing when she heard noises from another.

Voices, as in plural, as in someone else may have been here.

Nosily, Kathryn poked her head in the room soundlessly. The TV was on, which was where the voices were coming from, but Lewis was on the phone. He sounded annoyed.

"Sir, I think you were misinformed." He rubbed his head. "I don't know anyone by the name of Kathryn."

A long pause.

"I certainly will call you if I hear anything. Thank you, you too. Bye."

He put down the phone, glanced at the TV, and shut it off. Lewis put his head in his hands, whispering angrily under his breath.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what he was mad about. Her father had seen the note she left. And he was looking for her. And Kathryn had heard everything and caused everything.

She held her breath as she backed away from the door, trying to make it back to her room as quickly as possible without making noise, but right as she went down the hall something fell. The silence was so incredibly loud. Kathryn hid inside a closet by her, her heart pounding as she heard Lewis' door creak.

"Kathryn?" He called. She had barely heard him, even though he tried being loud.

When she heard his door shut again, she went out of the closet, sighing in relief.

"Well," Kathryn froze. "I suppose you heard all that, then?"

"Heard what?" Kathryn awkwardly smiled, turning to face Lewis. He glanced down at her arms, full of snacks.

"Are you hungry?"

"No?"

Lewis sighed. "You are the new cause of my anxiety." He muttered, walking past her. A little louder, he said. "Follow me."

Kathryn did, partially because she felt guilty he was going through so much dealing with her and also partially because his cooking was phenomenal.

She sat at the island as Lewis cooked across from her.

"What're you making?"

"Lasagna."

"What if I was lactose intolerant?"

"First of all, you ate cinnamon rolls earlier, secondly you had ice cream as a midnight snack not even 5 minutes ago, and third of all I know everything." He said, not even looking up.

"Ok," Kathryn replied quietly. At this point, she had mixed feelings for Lewis. Like, he wasn't a bad person, but she didn't really like him all that much either. She didn't want to cause him trouble, but she didn't want to be there.

"So, you left your dad a note, huh?" Lewis asked. Kathryn wasn't surprised. She knew it was coming up.

"Yeah. And texted him a few times." She mumbled, looking at the counter. Anywhere but at him.

"Mhm." She could hear the frown.

"Look, I'm sorry I'm causing you so much trouble. The sooner we get this... book business done, the better. I'll be out of your hair in no time."

"Yeah." That was all he said. He finished making the lasagna and waited until she was finished eating. She felt awkward in the silence, so hurriedly ate and washed her plate and whatnot.

Kathryn left Lewis in the kitchen with barely a goodbye.