One day I'll have it all. // Williamson

Cold

Someone knocked on the door again, as I was about to reach it.

I opened it slowly, and it revealed Katie and Lotte, a guilty look on both their faces, their hands loaded with paper bags.

I smiled softly, and with a nod, invited them in.

"She's upstairs," I announced. Katie and Lotte exchanged a nervous glance before following me into the house. "She slept all morning and just woke up."

"She okay?" Lotte asked, scratching the back of her neck in embarrassment.

"She's okay. Just a cold." I reassured, motioning for the girls to climb up the stairs.

"Drayton!" Katie exclaimed, crouching down to pet my dog, only to get reprimanded by Lotte, who grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her back up.

"Katie, we're not here for the dog!" Lotte whisper-yelled, as if scared to wake Leah up or for her headache to get bigger.

Katie grumbled profanities under her breath like a child, then followed me and Lotte as we walked up the stairs, our footsteps echoing softly in the hallway as we made our way to Leah's and I bedroom.

As we reached the top of the stairs, I pushed open the door to our bedroom, revealing her curled up under the covers, her hair tousled and her face flushed from just waking up. She looked surprised when spotting Katie and Lotte, and sighed softly seeing the look on their faces.

"Don't look at me like that," she said, her voice soft and hoarse from sleep as she sat up in bed, pulling the covers tighter around her. "I'm fine, really."

Katie and Lotte exchanged a guilty glance, their expressions filled with remorse as they approached Leah's bedside, setting the paper bags down on the nearby nightstand.

Katie cleared her throat, her voice tinged with regret as she spoke. "Leah, we're really sor-"

"No, please, don't apologize," Leah interrupted, her voice gentle yet firm as she held up a hand to stop Katie mid-sentence. "it's fine, really."

"You were fine this morning, when we all left," Lotte said, and before Leah could answer, I intervened.

"Correction. She pretended to be fine, 'cause a cold is apparently 'not a big deal'."

"It's not," Leah mumbled, and I playfully rolled my eyes at her words.

"Said the girl who slept all morning and has a huge fever." I retorted, and Leah sighed at my words, using the little strength she had to throw a tissue box at me.

"Girls, I'm fine. Really. Just a cold." Leah reassured, the sneeze punctuating the end of her sentence giving her very little credibility.

Katie and Lotte exchanged a relieved glance, their shoulders relaxing slightly as they took in Leah's understanding response.

Lotte took off her shoes then sat down on the bed, grabbing the paper bag she had brought with her. "We got you some snacks," she explained, offering Leah a warm smile as she handed her the bag.

Katie took her shoes off too, then her jacket, and slid under the covers next to Leah, wrapping an arm around her shoulders in a comforting gesture. "Figured we could all hang out in bed all day while Valentina makes us tea." Katie joked.

"Hey!" I protested with a mock offended expression, but a smile tugging at the corners of my lips. "First it's my bed too. Second, I've got things to do."

"And third, she can't make tea to save her life." Leah joked, nodding her head towards the cup of tea I had made her a few minutes ago.

"Hey! It's not that bad!" I defended. "Is it?" I then asked, slightly hesitant.