Lilies And Smoke

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Check out

Anita wakes to the sound of a door closing shut firmly, she sits up; yawning and covers her mouth as she does so. Shortly after there was a soft knock on her door. Knock-knock-knock. She stretches her arms out in front of her, "come in" she says loudly, her voice foggy. The bedroom door creeps open, odd I'm sure I didn't close my door last night. "Hey sleepy head, I've got to pop off now. I let you have a lie in, it's half eleven just about. I've filled Bill's dog bowl, so you don't have to worry about that today" Janice informs softly. "Thank you, Jan, for everything. I don't know what I'd do without you" Anita replies tenderly. Janice waves her off, "it's nothing. Seeing as you don't have your phone, I'll pop around sometime this week".

"Yeah, that would be nice".

"Alright, I'm going to head off now. Goodbye Neet-Neet" Janice says in a half whisper and walks away from the room. "See you later Jan!" Anita calls after her. She listens as Janice's footsteps echo throughout the house as she hurries down the stair, the sound of the front door slamming makes Anita jump in her bed. Anita sniffs and wipes her nose with the back of her hand. Bill's heavy footstep bounce in the hallway, as he makes his way into her room. He barks excitedly, wagging his tail. Anita hears his tail thump rapidly against the floor, as he waits besides her bed. She reaches her hand out and feels Bill nuzzle his nose into her hand. She traces her hand over his nose until she touches the top of his head and strokes him. "Morning Bill" she whispers. She leans in closer as she pets him, lying on her side as she does so. She listens to his breathing, heavy and his breath makes her wrinkle her nose. Anita feels an icy chill ripple up her leg, she sits up properly and realises she no longer had her quilt on her. She crawls to the end of her bed and feels the quilt screwed together. I must have kicked it off me last night, she concludes to herself. She slides out of her bed; her feet flat against the cool wooden floor as she grabs the end of the quilt and makes her bed.

She lets out a loud huff, before crawling over her bed so she could get to the bedside table on the other side. She places her hand firmly on the table and traces down the front of it until she meets the second draw. She pulls out the draw and roots inside until she feels the bumpy stems of her hair brush. She grips it firmly and retrieves it from the draw. She begins to brush the knots out of her hair, untangling the mess. She clenches her teeth together as she detangles her hair, hissing as she struggles to brush the back of her hair. Bill patters around the bed and sits in front of her as she huffs and puffs with each tangled strand. He mooches closer and places his head on her lap, looking up at her with his big brown eyes. It took her a while before she fixed the bird nest that was her hair and it wasn't long after she was dressed into new clothes.

She stands there in front of her wardrobe in thought, Bill lets out a wide, long yawn. She snaps out of her trance and pauses for a moment, "I think we'll go for a nice walk today" she announces tonelessly. Bill perks up and walks with her as she makes her way to and down the stairs. She walks straight, past the hallway, past the sofa in the living room and meets the front door. She bends down to grab her trainers from the shoe rack. She quickly pops her shoes on, tying the laces tight as she does so. She ponders whether or not to wear her fleece jacket, or her warm puffy waterproof coat. She feels her fleece jacket, its thin material as she feels the hem of the jacket. I am cold, probably best to go with my coat, she tells herself; grabbing her coat and pushing her arms through the arm holes. She traces alongside her zipper, gripping the ends with her thumb and index fingers. She struggles for a minute, until she manages to zip up her coat. "Right" she says out loud, as she pats her coat. Where did I last have my keys? She wonders, retracing her steps. She rummages through her fleece jackets pockets and feels the edge of her keys. She seizes them from the pocket, she rummages through the other pocket and retrieves her bank card and places it in her coat pocket. "Bill" she calls softly. Bill walks towards her, standing patiently as she searches for his harness; which is beside the shoe rack. She touches the side of Bill; his fur was warm and cosy. "You're lucky you don't need a coat" she tells him, clipping him into his harness. Anita opens the door, not needing to unlock it after Janice left.