Chapter 2
"It's fine. Jeffrey's always swamped. He comes home and crashes. I'll hide you in the guest room, and you can sleep in peace," I said.
I shook her arm, hoping she'd say yes.
"But..." Elisa hesitated.
She was still wavering, and seeing her like that made me anxious.
"No more excuses. You said it yourself. We're two peas in a pod. And didn't you promise you'd stick with me for life?" I pressed her.
Seeing me like that, Elisa finally agreed.
I cheered, bouncing with excitement.
"This is awesome, Elisa. We can go shopping together, pick out clothes, and watch TV. Finally, I have someone to hang out with," I exclaimed.
Seeing how happy I was, Elisa couldn't help but smile, too.
Her smile was so beautiful, and I'd get to see it every single day.
I smuggled Elisa into the house and tucked her away in the guest room.
Elisa was the cutest. She kept me company every day, whipped up delicious meals for me, and even brought home all kinds of yummy treats.
"Elisa, you're amazing. Your cooking is seriously top-notch," I said, impressed.
"This? Please, that's the tip of the iceberg. Wait till you see what else I can do," Elisa replied with a cool grin.
I found myself getting more and more obsessed with her smile.
One day, Jeffrey came home early. I quickly hid Elisa away.
"Claire, this dinner is incredible. You're leveling up," Jeffrey said, tearing into a chicken leg.
He couldn't stop praising the food as he devoured it.
It was Elisa who made tonight's meal, too.
I gave Jeffrey a nervous smile, and while I was doing that, I noticed Elisa poking her head out from the side.
She was fixing Jeffrey with a fierce look, like a beast about to defend its food.
It was cute.
I found myself staring at Elisa, mesmerized.
"Claire, what are you spacing out for?" Jeffrey's voice cut through my thoughts.
He suddenly interrupted me, snapping me out of it.
"N-nothing," I stammered.
"Claire, I finally have some free time tonight. Maybe we could..." Jeffrey started, leaving his sentence hanging.
Jeffrey waited for my answer.
I instantly acted clueless.
"Huh? What?" I replied, feigning innocence.
"Stop pretending. I'm heading for a shower. Wait for me in bed," Jeffrey said, cutting straight to the chase.
Jeffrey didn't bother to argue. He went straight to the bathroom, leaving me alone, staring blankly.
I wondered what I was supposed to do.
Elisa was still here. There was no way I could let her witness something so awkward.
No, absolutely not. Elisa was so pure. I couldn't let her be exposed to anything like this.
Thinking fast, I told Elisa to hurry and hide in the room, then secretly dropped some sleeping pills into the milk.
When Jeffrey finished his shower, I passed him the milk. He drank it down without suspecting a thing.
After he was done, he set the glass aside and picked me up, carrying me straight into the bedroom.
He smelled so fresh and clean.
Seeing how eager he was, I scrambled out of his arms in a hurry.
"Wait, let me take a quick shower first," I said.
"You don't need to shower. You haven't left the house. You're clean," Jeffrey said, holding me tight.
He wouldn't let go, clinging to me stubbornly.
I struggled, trying to push him off.
"Give me two minutes," I pleaded.
Seeing how insistent I was, Jeffrey had no choice but to let me go.
I hurried into the bathroom and closed the door behind me.
I checked the time. Jeffrey must be fast asleep by now.
I tiptoed as I got dressed, pressed myself against the door, and peeked out through the crack.
Jeffrey was lying spread-eagle on the bed, snoring like a log.
Seeing Jeffrey knocked out like that, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. It looked like I survived tonight without any disasters.
Once I was sure Jeffrey was out cold, I hurried over and opened Elisa's door.
"Elisa, he's out like a light. Come on out. I saved you some food," I called out.
As soon as Elisa heard me, she dashed out of the room and made a beeline for the food in my hands.
"I'm so hungry. He's not gonna start coming home early every day, right? Does that mean I'll have to hide all the time? He won't catch me, will he?" Elisa asked, eating.
Her barrage of questions had my head spinning. I had no clue if Jeffrey was going to start coming home early all the time.
Normally, he got off work around this hour, but lately, he'd been stuck at the office late because things were crazy at work.
Maybe he'd gradually stop coming home so late.
Seeing me go quiet, Elisa started getting nervous.
"Claire, he's not going to start coming home this early every day, is he? What am I going to do?" she blurted out, worried.
I rushed to comfort Elisa.
"Relax. There's no way I'm letting you be homeless. I'll make sure you have your own place to stay," I promised her.
"No, I can't do that. I feel bad enough about staying at your place. I can't keep burdening you. Seriously, I can keep living on the streets," Elisa insisted.
"No way." I refused her suggestion without hesitation.
"I'm not sending you back out to those dirty streets. I'll tell Jeffrey I'm renting you this room. We have a bunch of unused rooms in the house, anyway," I said, trying to reassure her.
"Will that work?" Elisa asked, sounding worried.
She shot me a nervous look, clearly worried.
I reassured her right away.
"Trust me, it'll work. It's like sharing an apartment with someone. Let me handle it," I said confidently.