The first thing I heard was a slight swish and chatter from somewhere in the kitchen. I was still half asleep and thought that it was just part of my dream, which was weird since I can't seem to remember what I was dreaming about. And then, a loud crash made my eyes flutter wide as I stiffened at the sound.
Swiftly, I twisted on my back since I was lying face down and almost fell on the floor. I gasped as I balanced myself with my right foot while my right hand grabbed the head of the couch as my brain registered the situation I was in.
"God!" a deep voice called from where I heard the sound of metals and utensils clashing together.
I quickly stood up. I glanced down at the clothes I wearing, which were the same clothes from yesterday. I can't believe I didn't even bother changing my clothes last night.
"What is wrong with this thing?" the voice grumbled but this time it was clearer and louder.
I froze at the sound, recognizing to whom the voice belonged to. I looked down at the couch, which was a little messy from my sleep. So, I grabbed the pillows and neatly placed them back in position before going to the kitchen.
As I was about to make it known that I was awake, William cursed again as he flinched away from something. His actions made me raised one of my eyebrows as I glared at his back. I noted that he was also wearing the same clothes from yesterday, though his hair was slightly wet. I grimaced when I realized he had already taken a bath while I didn't.
"What are you doing?" I asked, finally voicing out and making my presence known.
William quickly turned around, his eyes wide in surprise. I mentally chuckled at his startled expression, which was quite rare.
"You're up," he stated softly, his face softening as he continued to study me.
"Actually, I'm not. I'm sleepwalking right now," I replied sarcastically as I shook my head in disbelief. "What are you doing?" I asked again.
"Oh. This … " He finally snapped out from his trance and twisted his body aside as his hand gestured towards a frying pan on my gas stove. "I'm cooking breakfast. Well … I'm trying to cook breakfast … " he continued with a soft chuckle.
"Oh. So, why were you screaming like a girl?" I asked as I narrowed my eyes at him though it was evident that I was teasing him.
William's expression cracked as his amused face faltered. "I wasn't screaming like a girl. This grease is splattering all over my skin," he defended as he eyed the frying pan like it was his mortal enemy.
His response finally did it. I burst out laughing and grabbed the nearby counter as I clutched my stomach. William watched me with anger at first, and then his eyes slowly softened and his face broke into a grin.
"This isn't funny you know … " William said but the amusement in his eyes didn't waver.
"Yes, it is," I countered as I tried to catch my breath from laughing.
I quickly walked towards him and eyed the frying pan. "You get this reaction from cooking eggs. I can only imagine what would happen when you try frying bacon," I remarked and chuckled from the thought.
"The bacon is already cooked. Didn't you see it on the counter?" he asked and pointed at the island counter behind me.
I looked at the table with wide eyes. There were already two plates neatly placed across each other with a plate of bacon in between. There was also a glass of orange juice beside each plate.
"You did all this?" I asked breathlessly as I continued to study the counter.
"Yes. I was hungry and I saw you sleeping in the couch and I thought I'd cook you something … as a thank you … " he replied, mumbling the last few words.
My head whipped towards him as I flashed him suspiciously. I walked towards him and directly placed the back on my hand on his neck and the other on his forehead without second thought. This made his eyes grow wide, which I tried to ignore. His temperature had gone down from the last time I checked.
"Glad that your fever has gone down," I muttered as I removed my hand from his skin. There was a fleeting knot in the pit of my stomach as I released that contact.
"Uhm..." William agreed silently as he stepped away from me and resumed cooking the eggs. "This will be ready in a few minutes," he added softly.
"Okay. I'll go and wash up while you finish here," I mumbled as I stiffly walked away towards my bedroom, suddenly feeling the awkwardness of the situation.
"Okay," he called back abruptly, his back to me.
As I took one last look at him, I could see the tip of his ear slowly getting red. I smiled at his embarrassment. It was a sight to see a blushing Mr. Mogul. Here's another new thing I know about him. Even the most serious person can have such a cute expression.
When I finally reached my room, I quickly closed the door and scanned the place. The bed was poorly fixed, but the rest of it looked the same. I sighed in relief as my heart slowly thumped to its normal beat. I hadn't noticed that I was nervous all this time. Now, how am I going to face him afterwards without making it awkward again?
Twenty-Eight
After taking a quick shower and changing into fresh clothes, I headed back to the kitchen. I stealthily made my way there, thinking that William was still cooking.
"Hey. The food is ready," William greeted after he gulped down a glass of orange juice.
I stopped in my tracks as a blush slowly crept into my face. In my embarrassment, I quickly made my way to the empty stool across from him.
"So, any plans for today?" William casually asked after a few moments of silence.
"What?" I asked, startled by his question. I grabbed my glass of juice and took a huge gulp before giving him a proper reply. "Well, I'm heading out to the hospital as usual."
"Are you going right after this?" he asked as I continued to eat like nothing had happened between us.
I gave him a brief nod as I chewed on my food. William eyed me for a second before getting back to his meal, swallowing it down like he was being timed. I looked at him with wide eyes as I gobbled up the food on my spoon. When he was finished, he quietly stood up and placed his empty plate on the sink where the frying pan he used was being soaked.
He stood there for a second like he was analyzing the situation. I smiled at his clueless expression as he suddenly grabbed the sponge and squirted liquid soap on it.
"Use the gloves if you're washing those. It's in the cabinet right there," I said pointing at the location of the cleaning gloves. I kept my facial expression serious the whole time.
He turned towards me with a knowing look and followed my orders. I continued to study him as he rolled up his sleeves and put on the gloves. I watched as he slowly and messily cleaned the dishes like a kid. I smiled at his kindness and effort. I never thought I'd see a time when William Maxwell would be washing my dishes.
"Thank you for cooking breakfast and washing the dishes," I said after he placed the last plate in the cabinet. "You know I have a dishwasher right?" I added with a smirk.
William turned towards me with wide eyes. "You could have said something before I did all of that," he stated, his eyes blazed in annoyance.
"And, what? Ruin my fun on watching you finally do some chores? I bet that was the first time you've ever washed the dishes," I remarked as I watched his lips stretch into a thin line at his discomfort. By the looks of it, I knew I was right.
"Yeah … Yeah..." He waved in dismissal as he removed the gloves.
I chuckled at his reaction and stood up. I walked towards him and carried my empty plate and glass, placing them in the bubbly sink.
"You go rest now. I'll clean this up," I stated as I nudged him towards the living room. "You can use the couch or the bed."
"I'm fine," he mumbled in annoyance but followed my orders.
I watched him walk towards the couch and slump down in relief. I shook my head and turned back to the work at hand. It only took me five minutes to finish cleaning in the kitchen, which is a short amount of time to distance myself from William. I let out a huge shaky breath as I walked towards him.
"I'm done. I think I'm going to go now," my voice quivered slightly as my nerves sunk in. I don't know why I felt nervous all of a sudden.
"Oh. Okay." He turned towards me and stood up quickly as he straightened his wrinkled clothes. I don't know why he even bothered.
I quickly grabbed my things from my room while William waited for me outside. After I locked the door behind me, I heard a loud gasp. I turned towards the sound, feeling the air being sucked out of me. The situation felt familiar but this was more dreadful since the man beside me was no other than William Maxwell.
"Andy! Morning!" Ally greeted awkwardly, her voice slightly an octave higher than normal.
"Morning," I greeted back with a strained smile.
"Oh, and Mr. Maxwell, good morning." Ally turned to William, giving him a shy smile.