Rays of morning light spilled through the blinds and cast stripes over the bed. One gap in the shadows crawled over Levi’s eyes. His lips twitched and he let out a groan. He was half-slumped in a chair with just his upper body sprawled across the covers. At some point, his exhaustion got the better of him and he fell asleep in this odd position.

He rubbed his face to clear his blurry vision. His eyes were bloodshot with dark circles surrounding them. Levi wasn’t sure how much rest he got, but it wasn’t enough.

Eloise was missing. Somehow she had wiggled out of his bed without waking him. He checked the time. Just after 07:00. She had probably already left by now.

The scent of something cooking disproved that guess immediately. Levi stood up and stretched the kink out of his neck creating an audible cracking noise. He left the bedroom and found Eloise in his kitchen standing at the stove. A few strips of bacon sizzled in a pan and there was already a plate with eggs prepared. She looked the part of a stereotypical domestic little housewife and was only missing the apron.

How sweet, she made him breakfast. Where did she get the ingredients though? Levi knew his cupboards were bare at the moment. Maybe it was from the convenience store down the street. His stomach was growling at him. He didn’t care to think too hard about it.

“Good morning.”

Levi walked into the kitchen and sat at the table. Eloise looked to the side and gave him a shy smile, brushing her hair behind her ear. She was wearing her uniform again, but she still had his hoodie on over top of it. The bulky sweatshirt did not match with a pleated skirt and kneehigh socks.

“I meant to get up early and make you something, but I guess I slept in. So thanks for this. It smells great.”

The girl lit up with an even brighter smile. She seemed to be in a good mood compared to last night. Time really heals all wounds and a little rest does the mind wonders. Eloise still did not talk very much, but perhaps that was just her personality. She was obviously feeling a lot better. She even swayed cheerfully side to side while she cooked. Levi half-expected to hear her start humming a tune. He quickly became infected by her lightheartedness. 

When was the last time someone had cooked for him? Sophie couldn’t microwave an instant-dinner without burning it, so it had never happened when they were together. Maybe the last time was all the way back when he was living with his parents. 

Eloise finished cooking and added the bacon to the plate she had prepared. She only made one plate? Well, maybe she already made herself something else before he got up.

She tiptoed across the kitchen to where he was sitting and set the plate down in front of him. Levi was about to thank her again, but before he could react, she slipped into his lap and sat on his knee. Not across from him. Not beside him. On his knee.

“Whao..”

The sudden forwardness left Levi speechless and made him gawk. He was glad she was feeling more at ease, but wasn’t this a little too comfortable? His hands reached up and held either side of her waist with the intention to lift her out of his lap. She grabbed both of his wrists and locked her gaze on him. Her position made their eyes even despite their size difference. Eloise shook her head slowly looking deathly serious. 

No? What does she mean, ‘no’?

Like a deer caught in a car’s headlights, Levi did nothing but freeze up. How was he supposed to handle this situation? The girl was unfazed and didn’t notice his discomfort. 

Levi watched her grab a knife from the table. The steel shined proving that it was freshly sharpened. Eloise’s movements were jerky and reckless. He tensed up afraid that she would hurt herself by accident. The slightest slip and that blade would easily slice through skin.

Luckily, no such thing happened. She simply cut up the fried eggs into a few smaller pieces. Pressing it with a fork, she brought a bite to his lips and met his eyes a second time. He couldn’t just refuse to try a bite after she went through this much effort.. Right?

Levi obediently let her feed him much to Eloise’s satisfaction. Her eyes narrowed into half-lidded slits and the corner of her lips curled up so much that she showed her teeth. All her attention fixated on him intensely as she twirled a few strands of her hair around one finger. Was this really the same shy and quiet girl he saw yesterday? This was clearly a man-eating predator.

No, this was wrong. He needed to put a stop to what was happening before it developed further. It was sweet and all that she wanted to thank him, but she was taking it way too far. He needed to cut off whatever feelings she had before they developed into something serious. Levi conveniently forgot that he was still holding her waist.

“Uh, Eloise, listen.. I-”

Thump. Thump. Thump. Three knocks on the door interrupted what he was about to say. Like a drowning man being thrown a life preserver, Levi snatched the opportunity to escape. Eloise pouted as she was lifted from his lap and he slipped away. 

He answered the door and greeted his rescuer. A pudgy middle-aged woman with thick caked-on make-up and her hair in curlers stood in the hallway. She was Mrs. Bernard, one of his neighbors.

Levi’s floor only had four units, two on each side. The two across from him were occupied with Mrs. Bernard in one and an old widower’s named Mr. Willer in the other. The apartment directly beside Levi’s was vacant.

“Mrs. Bernard, how unexpected.. Is there something so early?”

After finding out who his ‘rescuer’ was, he lost a lot of his enthusiasm. This neighbor of his was a huge hassle to get along with. 

“But of course. Would I do something so troublesome without a reason?” The lady scoffed.

Yes, Levi thought to himself. This pushy and judgmental hag always found a reason to stick her nose in other people’s business.

“I suppose not. Well, what did you need then?”

“Did you have any hoodlums stay over last night? My apartment was broken into early this morning.”

“Um, no.”

“Then did you see anyone unusual snooping around?”

“I didn’t see anything, sorry. If that’s all, then I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

Is this lady for real? Her apartment gets broken into and the first thing she does is come over to accuse him? Levi had already begun to close the door on her, but Mrs. Bernard shoved a foot in the way and peered around his body into his apartment.

“You’re right across the hall, you must have seen something.” 

“Mrs. Bernard, you were in the apartment and you didn’t see them. I’m sorry you had something stolen, but it isn’t my fault.”

“Oh? Then who is she if you did not have anyone here?” She pointed her nose over his shoulder with a smug smile as if she just caught him in a lie.

Eloise was standing a couple steps behind him giving Mrs. Bernard an icy stare. 

“There’s no reason to be so rude. As you can see, Eloise is just a normal girl, not a ‘hoodlum’.”

“Normal? She looks like she just crawled out of a gutter. Pale and skinny with all those split ends.” The woman harrumphed. “Does that sweet Sophie of yours know you’re letting other girls spend the night? Maybe I should let her know just what kind of man you are.”

The temperature behind Levi’s back seemed to drop by several degrees. A sense of danger crawled up his spine. He quickly stepped between Mrs. Bernard and Eloise to block their view of each other. 

“Sophie and I aren’t together anymore. I can let anyone I feel like spend the night.”

“Is that so? That’s too bad. That sweet Sophie was the best thing that ever happened to you. Talk about a downgrade from her to a ghostly twig-girl covered in scars.” 

“Goodbye, Mrs. Bernard.”

That severed the last of Levi’s patience to deal with this woman. He slammed the door closed right in her nose without a hint of politeness. She cursed on the other side something about her foot getting stubbed, but he ignored her.

Levi turned his attention back to Eloise and sighed. She had reverted from her cheerful mood back into the expressionless hollow state he found her in yesterday. All the progress that was made had gone up in smoke. 

Throughout the whole encounter, Eloise didn’t say a word. Even then she still just stared ahead blankly at the door, her head hanging low with her hair covering her face. He knew he had to do something to rescue her mental state after hearing comments like that.

Levi came close to her. He hesitated for a moment wondering if this was a good idea, but ultimately decided to commit. His hand touched Eloise’s cheek and he turned her chin up so she faced him. With a gentle smile, he brushed her hair back behind her ears so it was out of her eyes.

“You don’t need to pay any attention to what she said. You’re very cute. That dumb hag was just jealous of you and wanted to put you down to make herself feel better.” 

Eloise blessed him with a bashful smile, her cheeks turning rosy. His words seemed to have an effect, so he continued on further.

“Honestly, people like her are the worst scum of humanity. The world would be better off without them.”

Eloise’s eyes sparkled with enlightenment. She gave him a slow nod to show that she understood exactly what he meant. She took his words very seriously and engrained them into her heart. 

Levi was a little surprised. He thought it would take a lot more coaxing, but he underestimated how much a few kind words from a schoolgirl’s crush could do. Maybe he shouldn’t be feeding the flames like this, but it seemed better than letting Mrs. Bernard’s words sink in. 

Well, what’s the worst that could happen? 

The two returned back to the table to finish breakfast. This time Eloise didn’t sit in his lap, but she still insisted on being so close that she was pressed up to his side. Levi had to scoot her chair away several times. Her elbows rested on the table and she covered her face with her hands, watching him quietly with a happy smile. Her pupils were so dilated that her eyes seemed almost entirely black, like a doll’s. 

Every moment, she seemed to be slipping deeper and deeper into her fantasies. Levi couldn’t do anything except sigh as he noticed this. It wouldn’t be easy to let this girl down gently. A relationship between them was impossible. First of all, she was like 7 or 8 years younger than him. Secondly, Levi just got out of a serious relationship and wasn’t ready to start another so soon after being betrayed. But most importantly of all, there was no way it was healthy for her to fall for the first person to show her a little kindness when she was in a bad spot. He didn’t even know what kind of trauma she had.

Eloise was very sweet and Levi didn’t want to lead her on, teasing her with something that would never work out. This breakfast was a cute moment, but once it was over the two of them would go their separate ways and probably never meet again. It was just a chance encounter in the rain anyway. Even though it would never be anything more, he was glad he got to meet this quiet girl.