In The Bleak Midwinter | T Shelby

TWELVE - TEA AND TOAST

Kaia woke up the next morning with a stomach that wouldn't stop turning and a pulsing headache that she was sure was going to kill her off.

Her bedroom was cold and as she looked up, she noticed the curtains fluttering in the breeze from the window being open just a crack. Shivering, she pulled on a silk dressing gown and pulled it closed, running a brush through her hair and wiping the black smudges from underneath her eyes.

Feeling heavy, she perched on the edge of her bed. There was a solemn weight on her shoulders and her chest that made her feel like she couldn't breathe properly. The overwhelming sense of fear and what if hadn't stopped infiltrating her brain since last night, making her feel sick.

She knew Thomas had brought her home, but she barely remembered the journey and she didn't at all remember getting into bed. She supposed that her mind had tried to forget as much as possible.

On her dressing table she saw her pearl earrings and necklace. She let out a sigh, feeling relieved that at least they had survived the whole ordeal, even if her sanity and pride hadn't.

Kaia pulled the cord of her dressing gown tighter around her, her eyes darting to the door of her room when she heard a noise from downstairs. Creeping out onto the landing, she softly opened the door and hung her head over the banister.

"Bonnie?" She called out, clearing her throat when she realised her voice was a little croaky.

"Dad?" She called out again, edging slowly down the stairs.

"No," Thomas replied, followed by the sound of pots and pans clattering together, "No, sorry. It's me, they're not here."

Suddenly feeling a little exposed by being covered in only a dressing gown, Kaia hesitated on the staircase, intending to go back upstairs and get changed. That was, before Tommy leaned around the door frame and looked up at her with a small smile.

"You like tea?"

She smiled down at him, the feeling suddenly draining away as she nodded and made her way down the stairs.

The kitchen smelled of sugar and burnt bread and there was a pile of crockery stacked up on the side ready to be washed, but Tommy looked happy when he turned around with two plates of jam on toast on them.

"I don't er," he chuckled as he set the plates down on the table, "I don't really know how to cook."

Kaia shook her head and sat down in her usual seat, taking a bite of the toast.

"It's alright, thank you."

Tommy sat down beside her and slid a cup of tea across the table, keeping a cup in front of him for himself. They ate in silence but Kaia couldn't help herself from stealing glances at him while he wiped crumbs from his mouth. It was odd to her, she'd seen the man before her with a gun in his hand, killing people in cold blood and now, he was sat at her kitchen table eating toast. Thinking about it almost made her laugh.

"Are you, are you alright?" Tommy asked after he'd finished eating, stumbling over his words slightly.

Kaia took a deep breath, "I'm fine." She nodded.

Truthfully, she thought she was fine. Kaia woke up feeling heavier than usual, the weight of what had happened to her was pressing on her mind, but she'd always been good at ignoring her problems and it had taken her a matter of minutes to dismiss the thought.

Though she also knew that if a crack started to show, she would break completely. And Kaia Gold never broke.

"Are you sure? Do you want to talk ab-"