Private Finished There's a Shadow Just Behind Me

RE: TO BE TITLED

This was getting no where.

Lochlann couldn't think.

"Can we...can we talk about this in the morning?" he asked her.

He needed a drink.

He'd try and get some sleep, have something to drink when he woke up, and then he'd know what to say to her, what to do to her, to make her leave.

The kitchen door opened a moment later and there was a clattering and a female voice that wasn't Lochlann's mom.

"I'm just saying it's ridiculous that Lochlann can bring girls home just because he goes to "special" school but I can't bring Jacob over for the evening. Jeezus Christ," she said.

Heels clopped across the wooden floors.

"Hey Lochlann I heard your girlfriend is staying with us it is Ad--" Lillianna perked her head into the kitchen and caught Lochlann staring at Guinevere and Guinevere staring at Lochlann.

Lillianna inspected Guinevere from head to toe.

Of the three Cabyll-Ushtey siblings, Lillianna was the most clever. She was perceptive, and right now, she knew that there was something going on here that was more than Lochlann's mysterious girlfriend.

But, Lillianna decided, she didn't care.

"Hello," she said instead. "It's nice to meet you."

And then, Lillianna was gone in a clutter of noise, stomping up the stairs and then back down them, now with a pair of boots on, and she disappeared.

He hadnt' been home long and he was exhausted.

Lochlann couldn't take his family and GUinevere Haze.

RE: TO BE TITLED

Lochlann pushed his plate away, put his head down on the table, and groaned.

This was too much for him.

This whole day.

Too. Much.

"Yeah," his voice was muffled by the tablecloth. "It'll probably just be us in the house, I think, tonight."

He yawned and didn't pick himself up.

"Do you want something to drink?" he asked. "There's probably cider."

RE: TO BE TITLED

"Okay," Lochlann said.

He didn't know how he was going to sleep knowing that Guinevere Haze would be in the same house. But, he didn't know how he was going to have the energy to get through to her that she couldn't stay here.

It took him a long time to realize the water was running. He picked his head up and watched Guin struggle for a moment, and then Lochlann said, "Let me."

He brought his own plate up to the counter and reached for a container for the left overs. He stood behind her then, reaching over her to turn the water to hot and taking the sponge from her hand. He applied a generous amount of soap and got started on the dishes.

He didn't meant to make this sensual, but it might have been mistaken at a tempt at domestic flirting. He was pressed up against Guin's body so her ass was aligned with his groin and when he leaned over her, his head lowered so it was near to her ear.

But, for once, his intentions were innocent. He was just sexual out of habit.

"The spout is a little tricky, if you don't move it right, it will just stay cold," he said, demonstrating. "Thanks for trying them, though."

RE: TO BE TITLED

"Yes," he said. "Food and other residue come off easier in hot water."

And then, he said, "But not with fabrics. Wash them in cold to help remove the stains."

He did not know why he just recounted this piece of information to her, or why he was giving her these things so she might feel more at home or more in control or whatever it was, he didn't want to give her that feeling.

He wanted her to go away.

But mostly, Lochlann wanted to sleep.

He pulled away from her then and returned his food to the small fridge in the corner. He plugged it in first and then reached up and stretched. His shirt rode up. He was as thin as she was, but he'd barely noticed either of their physical condition.

RE: TO BE TITLED

He blinked at her.

Bags?

Why did she bring..bags?

"My room, I guess," Lochlann said. He motioned for her to gather her stuff while he returned to the living room and grabbed his own bag. He beckoned her towards the small wooden staircase, which went up in a straight line.

Midway up the stairs, he stopped and opened the closet, and Lochlann removed the quilt and bedsheets. He piled them on his bag and then came up the stairs and led her down the small hallway, past the bathroom, and to the room at the end of the hall. It was a modest sized room for a house this size, with wooden floors and two windows whose view was blackened by the night sky.

Lochlann set his bag down and got ready preparing the bed, fluffing the pillows, and adding the sheets. Unlike Guinevere's sheets, they were thin and plain, and the quilt was patched in places.

"You can sleep in here," he said.

He turned to leave and said, "I'm going to sleep downstairs. Goodnight, Guin."

RE: TO BE TITLED

"Oh," Lochlann said.

His face paled and then, immediately, Lochlann looked away. He decided to draw his attention to the window, gazing into the darkness, all in an attempt to hide the blush that was creeping it's way up his face.

"Right," he said. "Um."

He tried to clear his mind.

He was scared.

He was like a virgin on his wedding night.

"We passed the bathroom on the way up, if you need anything," Lochlann said.

He set his bag on the floor in the corner and then, Lochlann sat down on the edge of the bed. "I don't think I can do this."

He didn't have a choice.

Guin trapped him in this game.

"You can sleep on the bed," he said. "Do you want the wall side or floor side?"