It hadn't really sunk in by the time she woke up the next morning. She'd spent almost two hours after having written those final words on facebook chat with Wren, editing and editing and editing until both sisters were completely, 100% content.
Editing would have been much easier in person, of course, or but the last thing Cath had wanted to do was disturb Levi; he'd been working late shifts like a maniac for a week straight, and she knew that he was exhausting himself. His eyes had become less bright, and there was a tiredness showing underneath, making his eyelids look bluish and almost bruised. She wouldn't forgive herself for robbing him of sleep and rest, and besides – she liked him when he slept. He looked years younger, more vulnerable, and from time to time he'd smile. Not his typical I-am-a-ball-of-happiness-I-am-the-sun-personified smile, but a small one, one where the left side of his mouth was raised higher than the right, creating a dimple in his left cheek. To Cath, this smile was just as much a Levi smile as the massive grin she'd fallen for.
Wren had pushed her to use Skype or even just call her. It'd be soooo much quicker? She had typed, and besides, Levi sleeps through EVERYTHING.
This was true, to some extent at least. Cath had slept at Levi's a few nights a week for just over a month now, and not once had Levi woken up during one of Cath's many midnight bathroom breaks (it was her writing curse: to write, she needed tea, and when she had tea, she needed to write. Nightly toilet visits had always been inevitable). He'd even managed to sleep through a tremendous thunderstorm two nights ago, a storm so powerful that the power had gone out throughout the whole city and that Cath had not been able to drown out with all of the music in the world. Still, Cath wanted to play it on the safe side, and so she had emailed Wren the final three chapters of Carry On, Simon and they back-and-forthed on facebook, tweaking ends and tying knots, weaving the final threads of Baz, Simon and Cath's epic journey.
Wren had wanted Cath to upload the ending there and then, but Cath had refused. She wanted to read it to Levi before she set it free into the world.
Levi still wasn't awake though by the time she'd got up, had taken what was probably the longest, most cleansing shower she'd had in days, and had dressed herself. She'd expected to see some form of life coming from his side of the bed as she'd walked out of his en-suite, but aside from some incredible snoring (did big mouths contribute to snoring problems?) Levi was still as good as dead to the world.
Cath decided to make her way downstairs to the kitchen Levi shared with five other dudes. She was absolutely ravenous. It was as if the weight of ending Carry On, Simon had suppressed her appetite, and now that it had returned, it had come back with a vengeance. She felt like she could eat a horse, no, two horses, and about seven three-course meals on the side. Levi always brought up food to her before he went to work or class, but she always ended up grazing and nibbling at bits of chicken or carrots. Food had been so off of her mind for lately, she wouldn't have been able to tell you if Levi was a good cook or not. It may have even been take-out, for all she knew.
There were already two people lounging on bar stools when Cath entered the kitchen. One of them was Levi's housemate, whom she had met already a few times before.
"Well, well – look who we have here!" the guy exclaimed. "You're alive! I was so sure that Levi had locked you in his lair and was using you as a sex slave."
"I think you're getting me mixed up with the plot of Fifty Shades of Grey, Bennie," Cath replied, opening the refrigerator to examine its contents. Bennie's to-the-point humour had shocked Cath at first, especially as most of it was of a vaguely sexual nature. She'd gotten used to it though, thank God. Not that it made Bennie any easier to talk to, but it was a start, at least.
The guy called Bennie turned to the person next to him. "Ced, this is Levi's girlfriend and part-time hermit, Cather."
"Cath, it's just Cath," Cath automatically corrected, even though she'd actually got used to people calling her Cather now. Levi was one hell of an influential guy.
"Hi," Ced said to her, taking a sip of what was presumably coffee – it was all anybody ever drank in this house, it seemed – and raising his mug to her in an acquainting gesture.
Before Cath had time to open her mouth and say something back, Bennie had moved on with his introductions. "Cather, this is Cedric, a mechanical engineering student and a special friend."
"Special friend?" Cath repeated, the air quotations obvious in her voice. She didn't really want to engage in conversation with Bennie and his 'special friend', but she couldn't help it – she was curious.
"Friend with benefits," Ced elaborated, his face dead-pan. He kept sipping his coffee. Bennie was in the process of buttering a slice of wholemeal toast. Cath had no idea how to respond. Was he serious? Knowing Bennie, he probably was, but what if he wasn't? Bennie joked about this kind of stuff continuously. Would it not be weird if she didn't laugh, or at least comment on it?
She then realised that, during this internal dilemma, she had stood frozen in front of the open fridge, a carton of eggs in her hand. Bennie turned to look at her and chuckled. "God, Cather, calm down dear. No need to go red in the face now!" He leant towards Ced and mock-whispered, "Cather is an...innocent little flower, Ced, it's not for us to besmirch her integrity here." Ced smirked into and drowned the dregs in his cup.
"Besmirch? I am not...I know what it means, I-" Cath felt even more blood rising to her face.
Bennie all but leapt up and put a hand on Cath's shoulder. "It's okay, Cather, I'm just playing with you." He then proceeded to swivel on one foot, reminding her of a very chunky, buff ballerina. "Come, Ced, we have things to see! People to do!" he exclaimed, grabbing Ced's hand and dragging him out into the hallway. Ced only just had time to whacked his mug down onto the counter and give Cath a quick wink, before being carted off outside by Bennie.
Cath shook her head and exhaled. She felt her face, and she knew by the warmth coming off of it that it resembled a tomato. "Damn you, Bennie..." she murmured, closing the fridge door and placing her eggs down on the polished marble counter. She picked up Ced's empty mug and examined it. There was a hairline crack running right from the top of the cup to the bottom. It was then she realised the mug was one of Levi's. "Damn you, Bennie!" She repeated.
After throwing the mug into the trashcan under the sink, Cath finally started on her eggs. She figured she might as well make enough for Levi as well – what guy doesn't want to be woken up to the sight and smell of perfectly scrambled eggs? Well, probably somebody who doesn't like eggs. Or has an egg phobia. Are egg phobias even a legit thing? Cath didn't know.
She ended up making two rounds of scrambled eggs and bacon on toast, coffee for Levi, and a mug of peppermint tea for herself. Just before she made her way upstairs, Cath checked the time. The digital radio alarm perched on the shelf above the stove read 11:05. Much earlier than she'd thought, really. Not early enough to let Levi be for any longer though, alas; the anticipation of getting the rest of her story online was eating at her at an equally ferocious rate as the hunger in her belly was. She wiped down the counter top, drenched Levi's plate in maple syrup (the notion of maple syrup on eggs disgusted her, but she'd learned very quickly in their relationship that Levi loved the notion of maple syrup on anything) and made her way back up several flights of stairs to Levi's top-floor bedroom, plates and mugs balancing precariously in her arms.
Levi still hadn't woken up yet, and Cath swore she'd been downstairs for at least half an hour. Setting her own plate and mug down as carefully as she possibly could, Cath shuffled over to Levi's side of the bed, put his coffee on the table beside him, and sat next to him. Holding the steaming plate of eggs and bacon underneath his nose, she gently shook him until she heard a blurry "Muhhuhmm- Cathurrr?"
She leaned in and kissed his forehead. It felt odd, like she was invading his space, but not completely unnatural. Levi's eyes shifted into focus, and he smiled his big, lovable smile straight up at her. "What's this?" he said, pointing to the plate she was holding.
"Breakfast, idiot," she replied, smiling at him. "I thought you had might as well eat whilst I read to you."