Bellboy and the maid

Chapter 3

She decides to give him a few minutes longer to finish up. After all, it' s not as though she has anywhere else to go right now. She walks over to the bed and sits down, resting her feet on the edge of the mattress and placing her elbows on her knees. She looks down at her feet, clad in her socks, and sighs.
Why does she care so much?
It shouldn't matter. After all, they're just colleagues. Nothing more. Yet, she can't help but wish that there were more. She wishes that he had asked her out. That he had kissed her. She wishes...
"Kassandra?"
She jumps a little bit. She hadn' t realized that the count had arrived. "Yes?" She stands up, smoothing her skirt down.
He looks at her with curiosity. "Are you okay?"
She forces a small smile, not wanting him to worry about her. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

He shakes his head in disbelief. "You've been sitting here for almost fifteen minutes, silently staring at nothing. Something seems to be bothering you."
She bites her lip anxiously. She doesn't want to worry anyone. Not him, not the people who hired her. She'd rather he thought she was fine.
"I'm just... tired. I guess." She shrugs helplessly.
He studies her for a moment, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. Then he takes a step towards her. "Do you need anything? Food perhaps?"
"No," she answers, shaking her head lightly. "Thank you, though."
He smiles. "Okay. Well, I hope you feel better soon."
She nods, watching as he leaves and closing the door gently. Once the door is closed, she collapses onto the bed, burying her face in her hands. Why do I do that? She asks herself. Why do I allow myself to look at him? She sighs heavily, pressing her palms against her cheeks.
What am I even thinking about right now?
She hears the door opening again and raises her head to look at the person who opened it. "Sorry," he says sheepishly. "Didn't mean to startle you."
"It's okay."

"So..." He clears his throat. "I heard you talking to yourself."
She blushes. "I did?"
"Yeah. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help it. I was curious."
"Oh." She looks down at her feet. "Well, I'm sorry. I  didn’t mean to disturb you."
"That's okay. You weren't disturbing me. In fact, it was kind of nice to hear you speaking to yourself like that. It gave me something to think about."
She raises her eyebrows.
"I don' t mean you should do it when we're in public," he clarifies. "But maybe we could talk privately sometime?"
Her eyes widen.
"Don't worry. I won't ask you out yet. At least not now. We've got a long road ahead of us." He pauses, taking in her appearance. "And I don't mean physically. Just mentally. I understand what happened. I do."
She swallows. How could he possibly know? No one has ever mentioned what happened to her. They don' t even remember. How could he possibly know?
"We'll work through our problems together, yes?" He holds out his hand for her. "Forgive me for interrupting your thoughts. I should go. Don' t you think you should sleep now?"
She stares at his hand in silence for a couple of seconds before finally taking it in hers and giving him a weak smile. "Thank you."
He nods. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," she whispers softly. She watches as he walks back out of the door, leaving her alone once more.
When the door closes again behind him, Kassandra sighs loudly and rests her forehead against the door. She doesn't bother trying to fall asleep; she simply lies there on top of the covers, staring at the ceiling. She knows she won't be able to fall asleep, so instead she thinks about how things are changing between them. And she wonders if this change will remain permanent. If they can maintain their friendship. She knows she shouldn't expect more. She knew from the beginning that this would not last forever. But she couldn't stop hoping.
She stays awake for quite some time, lying there on her stomach, gazing at the ceiling, lost in thought, her body feeling numb and cold. It's strange, she thinks, that her heart feels lighter.