Lilies And Smoke

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: The clean up

Anita jolts up awake from the sound of knocking on her front door, she shifts, pushing herself up straight from the floor. The smell of Bill's fur tickles her nose. She rubs her nose with the back of her hand and sniffs, she was unsure of what time it was, she knew she didn't sleep until early hours in the morning as she heard the birds chirping outside as she started to fall asleep. Anita feels Bill stir awake beside her; he straightens also. Jumping to his feet as he steps in front of her. Anita stretches her arms and legs out, before petting Bill on his side. "It's ok boy" she says, her voice hoarse and sore. Anita gets up to her feet and clenches her teeth through the piercing pain in her foot. She sits back down on the floor and gently scans her feet with her fingertips, carefully picking out the small shards that are embedded in her skin.

Knock, knock-knock. Anita snaps her attention back to the door; I really can't deal with anyone right now. She gets up once again, trying to remain on her heels as she walks around the edge of the room; hoping to avoid any more glass as she moves towards the living room. Her leg thumps against the table, "Um!" Anita groans as she limps towards the front door. "Hang on!" she calls, patting her hand along the door as she feels the handle. She moves down a little from there and feel the round latch and turns it. She moves back, thumping on her heels as she does so, opening the door. "Hello?" she asks, her voice croaky. "Nita! Look at the state of you!" Janice exclaims, her mouth ajar.

Anita gives her a weak smile, "I had a tough night I guess... could you get this stuff out of my feet please?". Janice rushes into her house, closing the door behind him. She shrugs off her padded waterproof coat, Anita could faintly hear the pitter patter of the rain outside. Janice hangs her coat up, "fucking hell Nita what did you do last night?" she opens the zip to her coat and takes out her nail kit that contained her tweezers. Janice shakes, rubbing her arms from the cold "how did you manage to do that to your feet Hun? Come on, lets sort those feet out" Janice announces sternly, concerned for her friend as she takes hold of Anita's hands and draws her towards the living room. Anita feels Janice pull her hands down, as Janice sinks into the sofa. Anita follows suit willingly, sighing she lets go of Janice's hands and rubs her face. "I'm so tired" Anita groans.

Janice nods, "you sure look it, red rimmed and all" she agrees. Janice smacks her hands against her thighs; "alright, legs up chicken while I pluck yer'". Anita give her a small smile and raises her left leg and feels it brush against Janice's and plops it into her lap. She hears the click of the small purse of her nail kit open, Janice pulls out her tweezers. "So, from the looks of the mess behind me you smashed your cup and managed to walk straight into it, you didn't half leave a mess" Janice points out as she prods, pokes and pulls at the tiny shards of glass in Anita's feet. Anita grunts as Janice pulls out a shard of glass, "I guess I don't need to tell you then Detective Jan" she jests. Janice narrows her eyes, "don't get smart with me, you need to be careful. Look at the state of you, honey you know I'd never lie to you and if you could see yourself right now, you'd be shocked".

Anita rubs her right arm, "yeah you're probably right, I'll take peace knowing I don't care how I look in front of you" she chuckles trying to cheer herself up. Janice looks up from Anita's foot after pulling out another piece of glass and is taken aback; "is that a plaster on your head? How did I not notice that until now?". Anita gives a short laugh, "you're as blind as a bat". Janice raises her brows, "coming from the horse's mouth". Anita's face drops, "Janice" she says in a half whisper. Janice relaxes a little and replies tenderly; "yeah?". Anita feels the tears plummet down her cheeks, she tries wiping away with the back of her hand as she begins to shake.

"It was a really bad night Jan" she lets out a small cry. Janice pushes Anita's leg off her thigh and moves in close to her and pulls her into an embrace, "it's alright Hun, tell me what happened". Anita sobs, hesitating to tell her. "It's nothing, I just got so worked up last night and ended up scaring myself and I dropped my mug and stepped in it". Janice rubs Anita's arms and shushes, "it's ok Nita, what happened to your head?". Anita shrugs, wiping away her tears "I fell down the stairs and thought someone was in my house, I dreamt that someone was in my house... I went to Alex's". Janice brushes the hair out of Anita's face, "well, there's that at least. Lucky, I decided to pop round today, aren't you? Is it Andy that's got you all worked up? It's around the time when...". Anita fiddles with her hands, "yeah, I know". Janice cuddles her close, arms wrapped around her as she whispers, "we'll sort it all out, you've got a new start. It's time to keep looking forward, not backwards". Anita nods, "you're right".