A light pattering of rain on the window followed a distant rumble of thunder from a few minutes before. It was late, likely well past midnight. He should've been asleep by now, but just the thought of the pain he knew she was going through kept him from finding any kind of rest. They'd only had a few spare moments alone after she'd received the telegram earlier that night before Mrs. Parrish had come snooping around.
Without warning his door squeaked on its hinges. Kenneth turned his head towards the sound and sat up in bed, unsure of whom to expect at that hour. But the figure who stepped into his room made his heart quicken; the same reaction it had every time he saw her. Kenneth sat up in bed in pure shock at the image of Mabel Watson standing in his room dressed in a long creamy nightgown and duster, her dark curls in a single plait down her shoulder.
He said nothing as she softly shut the door, then turned around to face him. She hugged her arms around herself and found his gaze. The rain fell harder outside as she took a few tentative steps towards him, then stopped. When he realized she seemed to still be facing an internal dilemma, Kenneth slowly brushed aside the covers and closed the short distance between them. He found himself at a loss as for what to do next, simply standing what he hoped was a respectful distance in front of her, suddenly unsure of what to say and what to with his hands. Lightning flashed outside the window, illuminating her face. It was then that he saw the unmistakable tear tracks on her cheeks, and all of the uncertainty that filled him just moments before vanished.
He took a step forward and rested his hands on her arms.
"I-I need-," she started to whisper, cutting herself off when she pressed her lips together to hold back the tears glistening in her eyes.
Kenneth didn't think; he simply wrapped an arm around her back and guided her to his bed and helped her in. He pulled the sheets up to her shoulders before walking over to the wardrobe in the corner of the room and reaching to the top for a blanket. When he sat back on the bed he did so on top of the sheets, gingerly lying down beside Mabel, then covering himself with the newly acquired blanket.
Uncertainty returned for the first moments he found himself lying so close to Mabel in his own bed. She surely felt it too, but surprised Kenneth by scooting closer him, if that were even possible, on the tiny single bed. He stuffed one hand under the pillow and wrapped his other arm around her, rubbing his fingers in little strokes across her back.
"I wish you could've met him," Mabel whispered into the tiny space between their faces. Her voice cracked and she covered her face with her hands. As her body racked with quiet sobs Kenneth brough his other arm under her shoulder and pulled her as close to him as physically possible.
"I'm sorry, my darling. I'm so sorry."