A Time and Place for Us

The Morning After

Thank you so much for reading. I hope you like this one! The plot thickens xxx

The following morning, Nellie woke up with a pounding headache. Switching on the light, she opened her eyes with difficulty and promptly noticed she was alone. She reckoned it must be late and Sweeney was already shaving patrons because otherwise, he'd be practicing his favourite sport—brooding—in the cabin. She couldn't help but sigh.

Her stomach grumbled and she made a motion to stand up to freshen up a bit and go get some breakfast or lunch, depending on the hour. But as soon as she tried, she realised how heavy her whole body felt, unceremoniously falling back onto the mattress. She began to panic. How much did she drink last night!? She couldn't even remember drinking at all.

She was deep in thought, trying to recall what happened last night, with every memory she unlocked adding to her growing sense of dread, when the door opened to reveal none other than the demon barber himself carrying a tray with some food. She breathed in relief, at least Sweeney seemed fine and hadn't done anything stupid after the incident with that portly man at the party.

He handed her the tray and despite the racing thoughts that were threatening to overwhelm her, Nellie found room in her aching heart to be touched that he was bringing her breakfast to bed. He never had before.

"Thank you" she told him, to which he only nodded as he tried to conceal a not-so-subtle side eye. Was he angry with her? Had she in her drunken stupidity, done something he did not like? She told herself that she shouldn't care, that she was past being desperate for his approval, but the ever growing knot in her stomach kept proving her wrong.

She ate some of the scramble eggs he'd procured for her to try and quiet it and it would have worked had he not been starting at her all the while. One brief glance up and into his obsidian eyes rattled her nerves even more. Nellie being Nellie, attempted to start conversation to ease some of that tension, but he didn't say a word, he didn't even grunt or told her to shut up like he did on his worst days.

He just took his time observing her, and she found herself growing progressively more anxious under his stare, so she eventually stopped blabbering as she finished up her breakfast. His piercing gaze had left her speechless.

She'd never liked silence, for along with quiet, it allowed her worries to fester. Nor did she liked being dissected. He remembered when he first arrived, how he avoided looking at her, and how it maddened her, so she tried everything to get his attention, even stripping naked if she had to. She couldn't pinpoint when that changed, but it was no longer rare to find him starting squarely at her when she wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary, as if he could see into her soul. It never failed to put her on edge.

"The child isn't giving me any morning sickness today, bless it" she tried again, hoping this topic prompted him to engage. She still wasn't sure what he felt about the fact that he would probably become a father again in around seven months, but after seeing him being so attentive the other night, she knew she could at least try without unleashing his fury.

"It should have, it's the least you deserve for how pissed you got last night" he spoke after a while, his inquisitive look had turned into a blatant glare that made her look down in shame. "But I suppose he or she has a soft spot for mummy to turn a blind eye to her antics. So do I, for that matter" he said, making her heart soar. If only for a second, for his voice was grave and detached when he spoke next. "That doesn't mean you should do it again. You put on a very embarrassing spectacle."

He meant to be stern in his warning, but he held back when he noticed her pained expression. There was so much more he could say, so many more implications of her actions he could chide her for, but there was no need to pile on her obvious distress.