Chapter Six
O Come All Ye Faithful
'Come let us behold him,'
The bright morning light woke Nikki, it was aggravatingly cheerful so she grabbed a jumper from the floor and stumbled her way to the dark kitchen. She flicked the switch on the kettle but not the lights; preferring the gloom and recalled her curious dream. She wasn't entirely sure where the dream started parts of it were so vivid. She could remember every detail of Leo sleeping in her doorway, how he had looked so at home, so peaceful. She couldn't remember much of what they'd talked about though. She went to rinse one of the dirty mugs in the sink knowing there were no clean ones left, when she realised that the pile of mugs in the sink had disappeared.
She started opening and shutting cupboards, noting that all the crockery was clean and back on the shelves and all the bottles that she had squirreled in various cupboards and drawers had all disappeared and with shaking hands poured coffee into the mug adding only milk for the first time in a while.
Ghosts did not clean kitchens.
Hallucinations did not clean kitchens.
Angels she reasoned probably could clean kitchens, and she heard again the sound of the carols from the church she had passed the night before. She had walked with someone. Someone real; of that she was sure.
It couldn't have been Leo.
Someone that stayed up long into the night to clean her kitchen and hide or bin all her alcohol.
Her head began to throb. She'd need some more aspirin. As she took down the box and popped the pill through the foil she remembered being given them the previous night. How had she not thought that odd at the time? Leo wouldn't have known where she kept the painkillers.
Why now?
Why had he come back now?
"Harry?" she half called half whispered, not trusting her voice.
Did she want to believe it was Harry? It would raise more questions than it answered and let loose all the anger she had stored up in her heart since she had last spoken to him, but one look around her kitchen was enough to convince her that someone had been there.
Who else could it possibly be?
It wasn't Harry; she scoffed at the foolish hope that had bubbled up unintentionally in her heart despite the pain of his betrayal. The man had been too old, too grey, too out of shape; he couldn't even walk up the street without losing his breath. It wasn't Harry who had done this. It couldn't have been Harry. But who had? Who had she invited in to her house?
Leaving the mug of coffee she cautiously made her way back up the stairs and peered into the spare room. It was dark like the kitchen, the sun rising on her bedroom's side of the house.
There was definitely someone in the bed.
But who?
O come all ye faithful: John Wade
There's a fanfic joke in the title of this carol but for once I'll not be accused of being the one making it. Lots of carol services going on today Sunday 22nd Dec… if you've been enjoying the carols maybe you could try one. Last part coming next...