The Right One

Fourteen

"Whoever you are, go away," Hope groaned, refusing to crack an eye open. She shut her eyes even tighter as if to will everything else but the sleep away.

The ringing eventually stopped and silence engulfed the room once more. Only, she was now wide awake and there was no chance of her going back to sleep anymore.

Frustrated, she heaved herself off the bed and somehow, she ended up landing butt first on the hard floor.

"Ow! This is happening way too regularly!" She yelled at the floor, giving it the stink eye. She managed to raise herself up and redo the towel firmly around herself. Her throat suddenly felt parched so she dragged her feet out and into the kitchen. She was chugging down a bottle of water when she heard the doorbell ring.

"Coming!" She heard Val call out almost immediately, almost as if she'd been expecting it.

Subconsciously, Hope seized the bottle going up to her mouth and listened. She heard the faint sound of the door opening and then she could make out Val's and one other person's voice. Was her ears no longer working or was that Raymond?

Curious, Hope chugged down the remaining bit of water and tossed the bottle into the sink carelessly before exiting the kitchen, almost coming head to head with Val in the process.

"Hope!" Val exclaimed, although it came off as some sort of nervous shriek. "I thought you were still in your room."

Hope's gaze flew behind her and she saw Raymond positioned just inside the living room, dressed in a caftan. His gaze was already fixated on her, and there was a small smile directed at her. She assumed that was his own way of greeting her.

His gaze then dipped downwards and she watched his brows raise. It then struck her that she was still only in her towel.

She crossed her arms defensively. "My eyes are up here."

That succeeded in drawing his attention off her body and back to her face. His lips quirked up into a smirk and his brows stayed raised in a superior manner.

"I like your new look," he quipped.

Hope scoffed but wasn't chanced a comeback before Val was butting in.

"Hope, I thought I told you to put some clothes on."

Hope didn't like the tone of voice Val used. It was like she was reprimanding a two year old and what she wasn't was a two year old, so she countered, "You know people go out wearing tube dresses that barely graze their thighs and you find nothing wrong with that. I'm in my house wearing something that's much longer so I don't see what the problem here is."

Val blinked, seeming lost for words while Raymond looked thoroughly amused. She was determined to ignore him though, much as he had done to her all week.

"What is he doing here anyway?" She directed at Val.

"He--"

"He is here because your mum called him up this morning to make a delivery to you," Raymond replied, taking the initiative to explain himself. He lifted his right hand so Hope could see the bag he was holding.

"What's that?" Hope demanded, keeping her gaze trained on Val even as she was not so subtly peeking at the package. That only worked to amuse him further.

"Soup," he replied.

"Soup? She called you over to bring soup for us?"

Raymond chuckled. "Pretty much. In her defense, mine is sitting on the backseat of my car as we speak."

"Tomorrow is Sunday," Hope pointed out, regarding them both with a lost expression. "She's going to see us all tomorrow anyway. Couldn't it wait till then?"