Cored

Chapter 2: Over the Hills

Katherine walked back into the pub. There were a few more people in there, and Kevin was busy setting glasses down in front of a group of four sitting at a table near the front. She slipped past him, not wanting to chat, but figuring he saw her as she made it to the stairs. They were squeaky and gave a little under her feet as she scanned the pictures again with no luck.

She opened her door and shut and locked it quickly. Feeling the need to wash a long day of travel off, she quickly grabbed her toiletry bag and jumped in the shower. The warm water was refreshing after the heat of the day. She reached for her soap, hoping that the lavender smell would bring a bit of calm.

While she washed her hair, she felt the familiar tug of it catching on her ring. She thought to herself for the thousandth time that she should take it off when she showered, but as always, she left it on. It was silver, the band made of two twisted bands. The part that caught her hair was a small bevel set stone, white and opaque like an opal. She pulled the hair away from her hand, letting the water take care of any lingering shampoo.

Once she was out, she threw on her pajamas and dispelled any thought of drying her hair, suddenly completely overcome with the fatigue she had been fighting. She grabbed the television remote off of the dresser and grabbed her phone charger and an outlet adapter, plugging both in by the bed. She pulled back the sheets, knowing that the comforter and quilt would be of little use given the heat. After setting her alarms for the next morning, she hit the remote and found some dumb television show. She didn't even bother putting her glasses on, so she could just barely make out the fuzzy shapes. After only a few minutes, she was fast asleep.

~

As always, Katherine slept through the first three alarms, only waking to the fourth. Looking around disoriented, she looked at the time—8:30—and stared angrily at the sun coming in the window. She hated mornings.

With a groan, she threw herself out of the bed, which creaked underneath her, and went to the bedroom. Sleeping with wet hair last night had not been great for her—the auburn nest on her head looked ridiculous. She picked up her hairbrush and fought with it for a while, eventually just pulling it into a braid. Her eyes looked sunken and cried out for mascara. After washing her face, Katherine pulled out her makeup bag and set to work, doing the same paint by numbers routine she had for years on her round face. A tinted moisturizer to tamp down the ruddiness of her cheeks, concealer beneath her eyes, and a bit of powder to keep it in place. She added a little blush, which always made her laugh—just replacing the natural redness of her face with a softer version. She combed through her unruly eyebrows with a bit of gel, wishing she had remembered her tweezers. A few coats of mascara and a spritz of setting spray later, she felt ready to turn her mind to coffee.

Pulling on a pair of jeans, a plain black t-shirt, and sliding on her Vans, Katherine slid on her glasses and picked up her backpack. She didn't imagine she would see Kevin, given the earliness of the hour, but there he was behind the bar when she made it down the stairs.

"Good morning," he said, looking up at her. "Everything okay last night?"

"Great," she said back with a slight smile. "Though, I could have slept through a tornado, I was so tired."

"Sure," he said, still smiling. "Big plans for today?"

"Coffee, then plans," she said. "I passed a bakery when I was walking around yesterday, figured I'd check it out."

"The woman who owns it is nice. And she might recognize your picture—she's lived here forever."

"Wonderful," Katherine said, suddenly caught up in the lead. "Thanks!" she said as she made her way out the door.