Chasing Anne

Shattered

Brianna filled her cream colored mug with hot water and then ripped open the paper wrapping around a tea bag. Holding the now exposed bag by the string attached to it, she lowered the bag into her hot water and then let it steep. Andrew McCourtney was across the room, his eyes on the TV as the electric screen rattled on about the black motorcycles found near the Wisconsin River. The report was nothing new. Still no one knew where the cycles had come from, or what they had been used for. The reporter went on for a few more moments and then switched to another topic about something else happening in Washington D.C. At that, Andrew clicked off the TV, and stood up, stretching as he did. Since Mark and the others had left, Andrew had changed. Brianna always remembered him as the grade A doctor who always seemed to know everything about everything. But now, he seemed more . . . well, human. Instead of wearing his white lab coat with his name stitched into it, and the right shoulder pocket that always had two pens in it; and the black slacks that he seemed to wear everywhere; he now wore a long-sleeved gray t-shirt with a pair of navy jeans. Maybe he was normal.

He turned around, scratching his head and began to walk over towards the kitchen where Brianna stood. She slid onto a stool beside the counter, leaning onto and resting her elbows on the freckled gray countertop while she took another sip of her tea. Andrew seemed not to pay much attention to her and simply walked over to the bag he'd left in his seat at the kitchen table, fishing out a metal thermos. Brianna raised an eyebrow and watched as he unscrewed the lid, tipping back his head and sipping what looked like the last of yesterday's coffee. He made a face, but forced himself to swallow the beverage. Andrew set his thermos down and walked over to the kitchen sink, washing his hands and then cupping his palms so he could drink some of the water from the tap. Brianna sighed and shook her head, setting her mug down on the countertop.

"Andrew," she called. "There's hot water in the kettle, mugs in the cupboard to your right, and tea bags in the cupboard to your left. You're free to use whatever you'd like. We don't have coffee, but I think you'll be able to find something."

Andrew seemed to almost freeze as she spoke. He slowly turned around and with a sheepish grin, he reddened fiercely. "That's all right, Brianna. I'm fine," he said, leaning back against the counter.

Brianna rolled her eyes and hopped off of her stool. "Look, you don't need to starve yourself when you're here. Trust me, I have plenty of food for the three of us."

Andrew scratched the back of his neck. "I just don't want to bother you."

Brianna almost laughed, but forced her giggles down and just smiled. "You're bothering me by not accepting the offer, so please, help yourself to whatever you find in the cupboards."

Andrew smiled and nodded, shoving himself forward into a standing position and reaching for the left cupboard Brianna had spoken of. He opened it, and pulled out the box of peppermint tea bags, pulling out a packet from within the box. He then went for his thermos and filled it with hot water, dropping the tea bag into the steaming liquid to steep. Taking his thermos over to the counter where Brie was sitting, he set his thermos down and sat down beside her. Brie watched him seat himself out of the corner of her eye, but paid no mind to it. She just took another sip of her black tea, and then stared blankly out the window across from her, trying to keep from tears. Having two houseguests was a lot more stressful than she'd thought. It was overwhelming—even if it was only for a day. She took a shaky deep breath and closed her eyes, forcing back the tears that she felt coming to her eyes. She couldn't cry. Not now.

"You okay?" Andrew asked softly, noticing her strained expression.

Brianna smiled and nodded, refocusing her eyes on the tea swirling round in her mug. "Yeah, why do you ask?"