And Then She Was Gone

Ill Be Waiting

By the time Elizabeth descended down the stairs, still in her night clothes and shrouded in a robe, she picked up the strong smell of eucalyptus and mint, which seemed to fill her nostrils. She faltered for a moment, before collecting herself with a shake of her head and walked into the kitchen to see Jason sitting on a stool at the kitchens bar styled countertop, his form already at attention as soon as he picked up her growing scent. His fathers demeanor which was grumpily staring into a newspaper, immediately shifting into a gentle smile as she arrived.

"Good morning, Elizabeth. Are you hungry?" Adolphus asked as he began to stand.

"No. I can wait. I'm still not awake yet." She said back, with a soft smile to the older man.

"Are you sure? I can take you to this great place on the wat-" Jason began to suggest before being abruptly cut off by his mother.

"I don't think so. We have plans today." Catherine said firmly, looking at Elizabeth as she entered the room a few seconds behind her. The young woman's face showing she knew nothing about those said plans.

"She can decide what she wants to do, can she not?" Jason leered at his mother in response, finding her to be the most irritating version of herself he had ever experienced in this moment.

"I don't know, Jason. Can she?" She quipped back matching his hardened stare.

"You two, are exhausting. I've been awake for three hours and it's still too early for this." Adolphus groaned behind his paper generating looks from both the mother and son. "Elizabeth, how about you and I go out, and leave these two in their endless squabble? Maybe, we'll both get some peace." He said in an exaggerated fashion unperturbed by the stares lingering on his face as he had spent many years hardening his resolve against them. His remark causing Elizabeth to laugh lightly.

"I think I'll just have a cup of coffee for now." She said quietly as she began to look for the mug placement.

Jason stood up abruptly and walked into the kitchen.  "I'll get it for you." Knowing exactly where everything was in the kitchen, and filling a mug with the dark liquid. Giving her a splash of the vanilla creamer his mother was fond of, on a hunch, that she wouldn't normally drink it black. She only having done so previously, due to heavy sedation and most likely not tasting the bitterness of the beverage.

She took the cup gently from his extended hand with appreciation, noticing he was still in pajama pants and a ruffled shirt. "Did you come back and sleep here?" Her eyes doing another once over on his clothing and not expecting him to be so casually dressed, and his mother whipping her head over and eyeing him suspiciously.

"No. I just haven't gone home yet to change." He said looking away from her.

"You're usually dressed by now and on your way, if not already there." She said looking at the time taking note that it was almost 9am.

"I worked late last night." He quickly replied as he took a lean against the counter top, his elbows slightly bent behind him with hands placed flatly on the counter top. "Besides, I wanted to check on you, and see how you were doing before I went home to change." His eyes diverting to both his mother and father and he leaning in a bit closer to her to quietly whisper, despite he knowing they would hear what he said. "You didn't call or text. So I just wanted to be sure you were okay."

"Your friends out there wouldn't have told you otherwise?" She questioned at normal volume with an arched eyebrow as she began to sip the hot drink, her eyes alluding out the window where she knew wolves laid in hiding.