𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐓𝐰𝐨 ~ 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙖𝙮 𝙄𝙩 𝙒𝙖𝙨

He smiled wistfully as he glanced at her one final time. "I should go", he announced finally.

She retracted her hand from his and took a tentative step back. "It's been one heck of a night, huh?" She forced a grin.

"Yeah", he touched the back of his neck sheepishly, as if he were embarrassed by their momentary display of affection – if one could call it that. He wished to say more but perhaps there was nothing more to be said. She had made up her mind, that much was obvious for him to see.

"I should probably get back inside". She glanced at the open front door briefly, the slight emptiness greeted her, the sun behind him bidding her a farewell. "Goodbye", the finality in her husky voice was not lost on her. She had sealed her fate a long time ago, she could not retreat now. "I'll see you around".

"Yeah", he nodded his head once more in acknowledgement. "Bye", his lips quirked up softly, sadly. He gave her one last smile, a melancholic one before he finally turned on his heel and walked away from her.

The distance grew as she stood and watched him fade away, taking the remaining warmth of the sun with him. She remained with the deafening silence, willing her swirling thoughts to stay at bay, begging them to give her one final moment of peace before walking back into the frying pan.

Now that he was finally gone, she walked back inside, prepared to welcome the chaos - that would eventually ensue - with open arms.

~

The house was quiet but not empty. She heard the clinking of dishes as she stepped into the kitchen area. Max was in the process of wolfing down the remaining pancakes that Billy had so graciously prepared a couple of hours ago. He was a beast, famished and starved, struggling to fit two flapjacks into his mouth. Her face twisted into a disgusted expression as she continued to observe him. He was, of course, unaware that she was watching. Once he finally managed to fit the pancakes into his mouth, she grabbed a chair and purposely scrapped it against the once pristine floor. His blood ran cold, he stood frozen by the interruption. He opened his mouth to yelp but he quickly remembered how famished he had been. He would not dare spit his food out. He turned around, eyes almost bulging out of their sockets in surprise. Her lips quirked up mischievously, glad that she had caught him off-guard.

"Don't let me interrupt you", she smirked. "Please, continue", she urged with her hand.

He rapidly chewed and painfully swallowed his bite before responding. "You scared me", he said finally.

"Good".

His eyes bulged out of their sockets again in realization.

"What now?" She asked, sounding positively annoyed.

"I think it's stuck", he pointed vehemently at his throat, fear had overtaken him as he frantically searched for some kind of liquid.

She laughed as he grabbed the closest thing he could find; a bottle of whiskey. He savagely unscrewed the decanter and downed half of the bottle. He stopped and began to cough incessantly, the rich amber liquid burning his throat and his half-empty belly as it settled in. She laughed even louder, clutching her abdomen in response.

"Would you please stop laughing?" He begged; his voice hoarse.

"No", even though she had rejected his pleas, she could feel the mirth dying down within her as she wiped a final tear from her eye. "Fine, I'm done", she announced.

"Good", he croaked as he settled down to catch his breath. He breathed attentively, taking huge inhales of oxygen. About a minute later, he calmed down and glanced at her. She was still watching him. "Where's Dylan? I thought he was with you".