Kennedy's POV
Stepping under the hot water , the burning sensation created by it's heat rushing over my cold skin , I wonder what the fuck I'm doing with myself.
I just want the ground to open up from underneath me and swallow me whole ; I can't believe I let Rosie see me like that , to the point where she didn't even want me going back to my own home alone.
She was right though ; I don't want to go home , I don't want to feel sorry for myself in those empty rooms , alone with my thoughts whilst basically in silence , barring the hushed background noise of the TV.
That being said , I can't help but feel like a charity case. In my right mind I know that Rosie wouldn't let a student into her personal life without good , genuine reason , yet I still can't beat the feeling of her wanting to just quickly sort me out and send me on my way.
My head hurts , and the heat cultivating inside of this steamy bathroom isn't helping. I rapidly finish up my shower , using minimal amounts of the most inexpensive looking body wash , shampoo and conditioner I could find.
After switching the taps off , accidentally engulfing myself in freezing cold water during the struggle, I took a second to look at myself in the large mirror positioned above the sink. I ran my hands over my mid-section , my abdominal muscles feel slightly sore from heaving so hard earlier whilst crying. It's never been that bad before.
Eventually I open the cupboard above the toilet like Rosie instructed , and find two soft , grey towels. I wrap the larger one around my body , fastening it over my boobs before flipping my head upside down to wrap my hair with the smaller one.
If Rosie was still in the house, I'd have undoubtedly changed in the bathroom , but since she's gone , I know an awkward encounter with her whilst both naked , and red faced from the hot water , can definitely be avoided.
Still , I open the bathroom door cautiously and pad swiftly down the hallway, escaping to the safety of the guest bedroom.
I close the door concretely behind me and then turn back around to properly look over the room. It's warm in here , not a stuffy and claustrophobic warm though, a comfortable and safe kind of warm.
A double bed sits against the back corner near the window , the simple white bedding making it look untouched and pristine. A standard looking bed side table and lamp sits beside it , and against the right wall is a big chest of drawers with candles , a small plant and a random toothbrush sat on top of it.
Even if Rosie had offered me a place to sleep on the floor of her garden shed , I would've still taken that chance just to be away from home. The fact she's allowing me to stay in this room is something I'm beyond grateful for.
On the end of the bed laid out are the clothes Rosie's letting me borrow , and on top of that are two paracetamols and two ibuprofens. Not wasting another second , I shove two pills at a time into my mouth and dry swallow them , desperate to ease the incessant pounding in my head.
Slowly , as bending down at the moment causes a rush of dizziness to take over my body , I get changed into a pair of grey jogging bottoms (which are a little big , but maximum physical comfort is what I need right now) , and a black hoodie with white lettering that reads "University of Cambridge" across the front. Although in mint condition and with a perfectly intact layer of soft fleece on the inside , the hoodie seems old so I assume it's authentically hers.
I had no idea she was such an academic? Intelligence is wildly attractive and I stand by that.
Finally , I slip on a pair of white Nike socks left in a ball next to the rest , pulling them up over the cuffs of the joggers.
Next I brush out my hair with a hairbrush I found in the bedside table and take one last look at myself in the mirror. My eyes look like I've had some sort of allergic reaction ; red , unsightly and swollen.
Frustrated with the way I look , I turn a cold shoulder to the mirror and leave the room , closing the door behind me.
I won't lie , I feel a little awkward. Whilst in the shower , I was debating whether to just stay upstairs out of Rosie's way the rest of the night as if i didn't exist , but in the end I decided that it would be weirder to act like I wasn't there than to actually be in her company. I wouldn't want to be rude after she was so generous in allowing me to stay here.
At the bottom of the stairs sat Evie excitedly wagging her tail , her mouth open and tongue sticking out waiting for me to reach her. With Rosie's dog toddling behind me , I sat myself down in the same spot on the couch I sat in the other night. I curl my legs up to my chest , still in awe of this room even though it's not my first time seeing it.
Immediately, Evie came bounding up onto the sofa with me , forcing her head between my legs so that I'd stroke her. I smiled to myself as her tail continued to happily wag. It's quiet, but I don't mind it here.
The longer I sit here , the heavier my eyelids start to feel. I'm exhausted , and being a teacher , Rosie is more than likely gonna make me go to school tomorrow. For the first time in my life , I don't know how I'm gonna get through the school day.
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Rosie's POV
I'm exhausted. Thank god Claire is so understanding, because when I got back into school, she seemed almost unhinged with stress trying to pack up everything on her own. The minute she saw me however, she dropped everything she was doing to ask if I was okay , and when I apologised for leaving prematurely, she acted as though it wasn't even a slight inconvenience despite it visibly being so.
I think being so knackered set us both into motion, because within 35 minutes, everything was swept , tidied, and put back ready for the school day tomorrow.
I didn't tell Claire about Kennedy , mainly because i didn't think it was my place to do so , but also partly because of the long winded explanation behind why I was so adamant to help her. But since Claire isn't the type to demand details , keeping it to myself wasn't any sort of struggle. I feel terrible not telling her everything, because if anyone deserves to know , it's Claire. I just don't want to risk anything for Kennedy or myself, it's not a dirty little secret , but I think it would be better kept on the down low.
Stepping out of my car and up to my front door , i pledged to myself that this would be the last time I go out today. It's only Tuesday , yet it feels as though I've experienced a week's worth of hussle and bussle already.
"I'm back , everything been okay?" I called out to Kennedy upon entering the house.
Silence.
Maybe she went to bed already? I wouldn't blame her after everything she's been through tonight.
After hanging up my coat , kicking off my shoes and setting my bag down on the dining table , I walk into the the living room to finally sit down for the first time in many hours.
As I turn the corner and emerge from the hallway , I stop in my tracks at the sight of Kennedy curled up on the couch sleeping soundly with Evie half in her lap.
I forgot how to complete basic bodily functions such as breathing and swallowing for a few moments; never did I envision a student in my home , wearing my old uni sweats , cuddling with my dog.
I stand there stagnant for what I'd guess to be around 30 seconds, unsure if I should go sit down or just go upstairs. Do I wake her? Do I leave her be and just do as I normally would like she isn't there?
Get a grip Rosie.
What did I expect letting her stay here? Of course she was going to be around , besides I would hate the thought of her feeling as though she had to hide away upstairs.
Quickly composing both myself and my thoughts, I retrieved the TV remote from on top of the fireplace and , ensuring that the sound wasn't going to blast out of the speakers and scare the living day lights out of Kennedy , stuck on an old episode of bake off for some background noise while i make myself something to eat.
My weekly shop isn't until tomorrow, and looking at the state of my cupboards, there's not much here to work with. I do however have some fresh tomatoes in the fridge , and I'm pretty sure I have some stock cubes and tomato purée in the larder too. Tomato soup's good enough, it's a comfort food right? Plus , if I make soup it can be easily reheated for when Kennedy wakes up ; she's gotta eat something.