The Beast of Fox Hill

Seven

The night passed with ease, and soon enough I was brought out of my dream filled sleep by my alarm blaring in my ear. With a light groan, I hit my alarm clock and stretched my arms out. Keeping my eyes closed, I took a minute to let the groggy fog that filled my mind pass. 

Once I'd finally gathered the courage to climb out of the warm blankets that wrapped me up like a burrito, I tossed them to the side. I sat on the edge of my bed for a moment before looking over at my clock. 

I had four hours until Booker came back. Yes, I was indeed a night owl and I liked to excessively sleep in. Thankfully, due to my career path this wasn't much issue in my life. Somehow, Booker's  presence comforted me, though it had only been a day since our meeting. He had protected me, and for that I was ever grateful. Who wouldn't be comfortable in the presence of their hero? 

I stood up from the bed, the cold air finally reaching my entire body causing chills to appear on my bare legs as I only sported a long sleeve black shirt and my sleeping boxers. 

I made my way over to my closet and gathered an appropriate outfit for the day. Dark blue high waisted jeans and a fitted long sleeve black shirt seemed fitting, as the door would be open for a while and I was sure the breeze would flow in freely for an equal amount of time. I figured with this, it would be easy enough to toss on a jacket as needed. 

Exiting my room with the creak of the floor, I made my way to the bathroom where I went about my usual routine. Once I had finished my cleansing, I slipped on my high waisted jeans and tucked my fitted shirt in before buttoning the jeans up. 

With my outfit complete, I wandered out to the kitchen. Looking at the clock on the oven, I saw that only an hour had passed, meaning I still had three hours to go. Maybe I was paranoid of another encounter, or something else bad happening, but I was anxious to have Booker back here. 

Deciding I needed to distract myself from the events of the previous two days, I pulled out the ingredients to make a nice lunch for myself having slept in passed a normal breakfast time. 

I pulled out a package of raw, cleaned chicken I had thawed out as well as all the seasonings I would need to enhance its flavor. I also pulled out the olive oil and a decent pan to cook my chicken in. I set the pan on the stove top, letting the oil heat up a bit.  

I also gathered lettuce, fresh parmesan cheese, black olives and my favorite caesar dressing to make a light salad to go with my pan fried chicken. 

I reached into one of my cupboards and grabbed the cutting board and then a knife from my knife rack. After rubbing the seasonings onto my chicken and cut the fresh meat into smaller pieces. 

Leaving that to the side, I went to the sink to wash my hands. When I looked up from the window, I saw a black shape darting away from my yard, faster than I thought anything could even move. I shook my head, thinking I was seeing things due to the stress of the past few days. 

Returning to my meal, I slid the seasoned raw meat into the pan and put the lid on, allowing it to cook. I turned back to the counter where my salad fixings remained. Humming throughout my process kept me entertained, but eventually I began full on singing and swaying my hips to the lyrics that escaped my lips. 

Pulling out a salad bowl, I pulled the lettuce apart with my hands, rubbing my fingers together once in a while to allow them to rewarm. Once the bowl was full of lettuce, I drizzled a generous amount of dressing over it. Then, I dumped some of the black olives into the bowl as well. Lastly, I reached back into my cupboard and pulled out the cheese grater for the parmesan. After placing a chunk of cheese into the grater, I turned the handle and let the cheese fall over my salad.