Bailey quickly ran inside and dropped her bags at the door to escape the frostbitten path numbing her sore feet. Finally home for the holidays. She thought to herself. She hung up her coat and took her things into her room. "Mom!" she yelled, confused. "Who's stuff is this?"
"Oh I forgot to tell you, Ashley and her boyfriend are staying in your room since you have the bigger bed. I've made up the guest bed for you downstairs."
"What? I thought they broke up?!" she asked with a frustrated tone, as once again her bitchy older sister got her own way.
"Oh please, those two have broken up dozens of times, but it never sticks. Now I trust you'll be nice to Timothee, I know you two have never seen eye to eye, but promise me you'll be on your best behavior this Christmas?" Bailey bit her tongue and nodded, as she made her way downstairs to the basement. Even if her sister is a raging bitch, she knew how much this meant to her mom, since Ashley hasn't been home in years. The thought of having to spend two insufferable weeks with her is enough to make Bailey want to go back to San Francisco, but she graciously swallowed her pride and put on a fake smile.
Once Bailey's made her way to the basement, she places down her bags and immediately begins to shake. Great. she thought to herself.
"The radiator's broken, so I brought you some extra blankets," Rose explains as she hands Bailey several sheets.
"Are you fucking serious?!" Bailey says, accidentally letting her frustration and exhaustion bubble over in front of her poor mother.
"Bailey! Language!"
"Sorry, jet lag" she lied. "I'm just tired. I'm gonna try and have a nap, love you, mom." she kissed her mom on the cheek before she walks up the stairs, leaving Bailey alone in her ice-cold dungeon.
Once Bailey woke up, the room was pitch black. It took her a few seconds to remember where she was before it finally hits her - banished to the basement.
she rummages around her nightstand trying to find her phone, to check the time. she's startled by the bright light, but as her eyes finally focus, she reads '02:45'.
Shit. she thinks to herself. I missed dinner.
Bailey slowly makes her way upstairs, shivering as her bare feet make contact with each ice-cold concrete step. As she finds her way to the kitchen, she's startled by a dark figure sitting at the table, clutching a glass tumbler filled with amber liquid. As they slosh around their semi-melted ice cubes around their nearly empty glass, they take one last swig and turn around to meet her gaze. "Oh, hey. I didn't think anyone would be up."
"I was gonna say the same thing," Bailey replies as she slowly walks over to turn the light on when they quickly stop her.
"Bailey don't, you'll wake everyone up."
"Oh please, we are a family of heavy sleepers. I could scream bloody murder and no one would even flinch."
"I'd like to see that." he flirts.
Bailey rolled her eyes, forgetting how creepy he is, before changing the subject. "What are you doing up Tim?"
"Don't call me that. You know how much I hate that nickname." He shoots back.
She sighs. "Sorry, Timothee," She says sarcastically. "Anyway, answer my question"
He reluctantly swallows his frustration, before finally answering. "Couldn't sleep. You know how your sister likes to snore."
Bailey giggles to herself, recalling all the sleepless nights she's spent at her sister's apartment, hearing her snoring from the other side of the New York City flat. "Don't you wear earplugs?"
"Forgot 'em. Might have to run into the store to get some tomorrow."
"On Christmas Eve? Good luck with that." Bailey walks over to the fridge to find a plate of leftovers wrapped in cling film, with a note 'For Bailey' in Rose's handwriting. She unwraps the leftover pizza and sits at the table to eat.
"Oh yeah, your mom left that in there for you. No one wanted to cook so we just ordered pizza. I asked them to get pepperoni, your favorite."
"Thanks," she says between bites, not realizing how hungry she was until she took that first bite. Timothee watches her eat, fascinated by how quickly she managed to polish off the plate. He laughs as she rinsed off the plate and throw away the cling film. "Hungry?"
After her late-night snack, Bailey and Timothee spend the next hour catching up. She tells him about her studies, and how she only has one semester left at Stanford before she finishes. "What do you study again?" He asks, intrigued.
"Literature." She replies. "I want to be a writer."
He smiled and nod his head, impressed by her ambitious goals.
"What?" Bailey asked, surprised by his reaction.
"Nothing, that's just, that's really cool."
She stares at him, forgetting how the best part about her sister really was her boyfriend.
"Well Tim, I'm gonna go to bed."
As Bailey starts to walk back down to the basement, Timothee grabs her arm.
"What?" She asks, before pulling away.
Before she can say anything else, he puts his hand around her waist and pulls her closer towards him.
Her breath hitches, as she stares into his eyes.
Bailey never realized how green his eyes were until now - mainly because she had never been close enough to see them.
Timothee smiles, before letting go. "Just checking." He puts his glass down on the table and walks back through to his room.
Bailey stands there confused, unable to move. After a few seconds, she regathers herself and quickly walks back downstairs.
Bailey laid awake on her uncomfortable air mattress, shivering underneath her useless thin blanket. Her mind racing with thoughts, all of Timothee.
Just checking. Those two words causing her jet lag to wear away, leaving her dazed and confused. Was he just drunk? she tries her hardest to push the intrusive thoughts into the back of her head and get some more sleep, but she can't. She can't stop thinking of those eyes. Those beautiful, green eyes. Like they were trying to tell her something.
But what?
