Coffee and Spice | Harvey | Stardew Valley

-5-

"Hey!"

My eyes snap open. A young woman with strikingly blond hair and the largest eyes I've ever seen is standing over me with her hands on her hips.

"Hey!" She shouts again. Her lips only open the smallest amount and it's almost comical in comparison to the deafening volume of her voice. "You can't be here!"

Her words are barely registering in my half-conscious state. "What?"

Her eyes turn to two slits of blue, as if she thinks that I'm pulling the strings on some elaborate prank. "Are you drunk?"

"Possibly," I say, because nothing is making sense anyways.

I pull myself up into a sitting position and a crochet blanket pools around my waist. I'm on a couch in the middle of a spacious living room. My slight movement has caused a burning sensation to blossom across my temple. I reach up to touch the skin but instead my fingers rub against an adhesive bandage.

It all comes rushing back to me. The saloon, the mug shattering on the floor, falling and hitting my head, Emily rushing me to the doctor - not just any doctor...Harvey.

Right, how could I forget? I think sarcastically. We're neighbors. Theoretically, I could walk right over to his office if I were so inclined. I'm not obviously, but the possibility of it causes perspiration to break out across my palms.

"Listen to me." the woman's demands drag me back to reality. She enunciates each word as if we speak different languages. "This is not your house. You need to leave."

"Hailey?" Emily appears in the doorway that leads to the kitchen. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't yell at my friend."

Oh, so this was Emily's sister, Hailey. Although she was clearly as abrasive as Emily claimed, I had been expecting them to at least vaguely resemble each other. The only similarity I could see was their small noses. Emily's hair is dyed, so maybe her natural color is the same as Hailey's. Their opposing personalities only accentuate their distinctive facial features. It wouldn't surprise me if they were stepsiblings, or if one of them had been adopted.

Hailey's perfectly manicured eyebrows lower down over her eyes and then spring back up again as she turns back to me. "Your friend?"

"I know you aren't familiar with the term but it's what you call someone that you enjoy talking to and spending time with," Emily replies, rolling her eyes. "This is Caira."

I bite back a laugh. There's no true malice behind Emily's words, so I know she's just poking fun at Hailey. As someone without any brothers or sisters, it's always interesting to see siblings' dynamics, especially ones who butt heads.

"Oh, you're the new farmer," Hailey realizes. "I thought you were a drunk hobo that sneaked in or something!"

She presses a hand to her heart as though the prospect is too frightening for her to bear. I can't stop myself - I let out a loud snort and then Emily and I both burst into laughter. Hailey throws a glare our way and heads to the kitchen to make breakfast which somehow only makes us lose it even more. I blame our unbridled giggling on sleep-deprivation. We hadn't settled in for the night until nearly dawn and judging by the angle of light coming in through the windows, it was just past noon. Either way, it's nice to laugh after everything that's happened, even if it is causing my injury to prickle with pain.

I feel a swell of gratitude for Emily. She met me three days ago but is already treating me as if she has known me her whole life. It was not only kind of her to let me crash here, but it potentially saved me from enduring an incredibly awkward situation.

When our laughter dies down, my hand drifts towards my throbbing head again. Emily notices and suggests we go back to Harvey's office.

"That's okay," I quickly reply. "I'm feeling fine now and I have to get back to the farm to feed some cat that won't leave me alone."