Quenching The Thirst

His brows crease in apparent concern as they caught the glimmer of tears swimming within my stare. I wasn't resilient enough to suppress the heartache of the past seven days. It took over me tenfold in his presence.

He inches forward. "Hazel, wh-"

Suddenly all of the lights switch on, impeding him mid-sentence. The entirety of the kitchen and connected lounge is illuminated.

"What's going on here?" I recognize none other than Rachael's miffed voice.

She stands in her sleeping robes on the stairwell of the kitchen lounge. Confounded, her eyes flit between Vladimir and me.

But she's not the only other presence besides the two of us here. My alarmed eyes catch sight of Katie and Bev. The lights had exposed them hiding behind one of the couches in the lounge. Guilt-ridden, they were smiling sheepishly at me.

Within those awkward seconds, it dawns on me that this setup was construed by the two of them. With Rachael and I being unaware, they knew all along when Vladimir would be returning h