Dear Adelaide,

8

The grey of the clouds outside rested in a chilling haze, one that caused a strange discomfort to sit along the edges of my ribs. I glanced out the window, then back at the bathroom door. I couldn't decide which sight made me more wary. I was sure now that I was beginning to develop an odor, and I feared it would soon become clear just how vast the paranoia was that I'd developed of that bath tub.

There was a knocking at the window then, and a hot chill shot through my body and I twitched where I sat at the edge of my mattress. With a breath popping out of my lungs, I swung to find the shape of a familiar boy silhouetted behind the setting orange colors of the glass.

"Alec?" The name more-so shook out of me, after being caught so of guard by the sight of him there.

He knocked politely again and cupped his eyes to the glass a moment, giving a slight whistle for me to open it. A small coil of nerves began to hum in the top of my stomach.

He ducked as I undid the latch and pushed the pane up and outwards, creating a glass roof over his head. He bobbed up again from below the base of my window, eyes wide and darting around the room, before resting on me.

"Hello." He said, through what could have easily become a smile if he wasn't studying me so intensely.

"Hello..." I answered back meekly. I'd never had a boy so near my room.

"How are you?"

I glanced down timidly, unsure exactly of how to answer. I wasn't quite sure how I was, especially after the events of this evening.

He asked again. "Are you alright?..." He paused for what seemed like a long while, studying me carefully. "...Olivia?"

"Yes." I answered quickly, feeling perhaps it took him a moment to remember my name.

"Hm?" He seemed confused.

"That's my name."

"No..." He chuckled. "I mean...ha...Yes, I know...I was just checking that you... knew." His eyes peeped up shyly from beneath his brows.

"That I still knew my own name?" I giggled.

"Well-" He pushed off the window suddenly, nearly forgetting he was on a ladder and almost toppled off backwards in the process. I was quick to grab hold of his sleeves to stop him, but he caught onto the window, trying to regain his balance. "Well, you'd be surprised what some people forget-" One of his feet slipped clumsily off it's rung and he dropped downwards.

"Alec!" I pulled upwards on his arms and he let out a snortle, moments before his chin came dangerously close to hitting the bottom of the window. He caught himself just in time and pulled back up to meet me.

I caught myself giggling again. "Gosh...You're not very good with ladders."

"My fault. I walked under it again today...ah...I like to test fate...you'd be surprised. It has quite a strong hand around here." He rested an elbow at the base of my window and rested his head in one of his hands. "So...How are you Olivia Nolastname?"

"I'm-" For some reason I'd expected him to call me Olivia Cottlethorn. Not... no. Not Olivia Cottlethorn. No. That didn't sound right. But perhaps something else. I'm not sure what, but, either way it surprised me. "I'm..." But once again my words drifted off into silence...thinking. How had I suddenly become so unsure of everything? It didn't feel much like me. "I-...How long had you been at my window."

"Oh, long enough to see you staring into nothingness for what seemed half an hour."

"You've been there for half an hour?!" My shock came out as a laugh that rolled out nearly as loud as a yell and I had to stop myself by shoving my hands across my mouth.