Wow. I want to send my gratitude to each and every one of you. I didn't expect such a welcoming, but your kind words encourage me to continue. Thank you so much! Hope this chapter is all right.

Also, my apologies for any errors. I am practicing writing in English so I am hoping it is passable.

Chapter 2

Elizabeth picked a red pencil out from in her pencil case, using it to start drawing the faint outline of a heart onto the corner of her textbook. She flexed her fingers over the pencil as she hunched over the desk, about to write in a finishing K.R into the middle of the outline when she heard it.

"Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth's teachers sharp voice brought her out of her distraction, her eyes snapping up to meet his. She sat up straighter in her chair when she noticed every single eye in the classroom was on her. Everyone was watching her because of him and her face began burning.

She cleared her throat hoarsely, before answering, "Yes, sir?"

"It is so nice of you to finally rejoin us." The teacher smiled as laughter rang out around her from her classmates.

Her mouth went dry as her eyes darted around the room again nervously, taking in all the students around her. Her History teacher always tended to do this to her; It felt often that he had a mission to make her life as much of a personal hell as possible. He had tended to single her out in every class she had with him, trying to pick her to talk in front of everyone or answer a question on the current subjects they were learning. It made her classes with him unbearable.

"Now that I seem to have your undivided attention again, shall I continue with the lesson?" the teacher went on.

Elizabeth nodded silently, peering at her fellow classmates again self-consciously. She only returned to feeling comfortable again once he had resumed with what he was talking about for the day's lesson, and to her relief, most students turned back in their chairs around to focus on him one by one.

She could have sworn her history teacher gained sordid enjoyment out of tormenting her in class. The bell rang from the ceiling signalling end of day, just in time. Hurriedly, Elizabeth rose up from her chair, gathering her belongings and tucking her chair in before she darted out of the room, squeezing past the students in the corridors, her head hung low and her dark hair covering the sides of her face.

What had happened in her last class left residual feelings of anxiety within her as Elizabeth started the walk towards home. How embarrassing it was that she had zoned out, so wrapped up in her own world, consumed by thoughts of the new visitor that would be a guest staying at the house for over a week. Usually Elizabeth did not let herself become so distracted.

Once she got into the yard to the house, she paused by the doorway, kicking off her pair of shoes. Then she bent down, holding them between two fingers as she opened the door with her other available hand, turning the knob and once opened, using her hip to push her way inside completely. She felt giddy, which was an unusual way to feel in comparison to how she felt normally once arriving home from school.

It was the new man that she knew would be in the house that was the reason for her feeling as she was. Partly, she blamed him for causing her disruptions in class.

Ever since the man first had walked through the front door last night, she hadn't been able to free him from her mind. Even sleeping last night in bed had proved difficult for her, as she had been replaying their conversations and the story he had told her while her father was not in the room through her mind. Already, thinking of him, of his face, the way his voice had sounded, it caused such strange havoc within her.

It was new. Nothing before had ever drawn such a strong reaction out of her than what she had felt for that man after meeting him last night, a stranger.

No boys at school seemed to have this effect on her. Certainly not where it had exacerbated to a point where she was thinking of them troublesomely and obsessively in the middle of class, interfering with her concentration and her ability to listen.

Her mouth still feeling dry from what had happened in class, she went into the kitchen with the intent of getting a drink of water. On the way of approaching the kitchen, she thought she smelled the acrid and lingering stench of cigarette smoke inside the house.

She sat her school bag on the ground, dropping her shoes carelessly, and laid her textbooks down on the counter, her heart dropping in dismay when she wondered where the cigarettes had come from. Her father had promised her he would kick the habit- and he had done so successfully for a full three months.

Now, however, she recognized that stale stench in the air and she felt betrayed by her own father, who had sworn on his very own daughter's life to never touch a single smoke again.

She heard footsteps descending the stairs and assumed it was her father.

"Dad, you swore on my very own life that you would-" The breath left her lungs and she stopped apprehensively mid-sentence when she raised her eyes to the man's face that had entered the kitchen.

For barely a second she was able to hold his gaze. Her dad's friend Kenneth was standing frozen in the entryway to the kitchen, a burning cigarette hanging between his lips. Her heart rate started to increase at the very man who had brutally occupied her thoughts all day. Lifting her eyes again, she observed him a moment longer, then she lost her nerve.

"Hello, Lizzy." The way he said it seemed to roll off his tongue effortlessly, which caused a wave of emotion through her. No one had bothered to call her Lizzy before. Her father liked calling her Butterball, the ridiculous nickname she had received as a little girl. Him calling her Lizzy sounded so personal, so private and special, because no one had ever called her that before.

His piercing green eyes were heavy-lidded, as if he had only just woken from a long nap. His light brown hair was all over the place, his clothes crumpled. It was strange seeing as it was already just past three thirty in the afternoon- or so it had been when she had last recently looked. He was wearing light grey trousers with a long-sleeved, white button-up dress shirt that was neatly tucked into them; the first few buttons and the collar loosened enough around his neck that when she looked, she could see wiry hairs on his warm, tan chest. She immediately averted her eyes from the personal sight.

"I... I'm sorry. I thought you were my Dad." Nerves were gloriously taking hold, her legs beginning to shake. "It's just that my dad-"

"- He's not home. He had a doctor's appointment." His voice drifted over her pleasantly; a mild and soft undertone. She met his gaze, finding him staring at her with his head tilted as he lifted a hand, catching the streaming cigarette between his forefinger and middle finger. When he brought it out from between his parted lips, Elizabeth had to avert his eyes once again as she observed the corner of his upper lip twitching. "Hadn't Sam told you where he would be?"

"No, he... he hadn't told me that actually." She felt so silly, the way she was being. She couldn't even look the man directly in the eyes without feeling a sense of self-consciousness. "Why would he feel the need to go to the doctors?"

She heard the faint hiss of an inhalation from him as he drew in another hit of his cigarette. "I'm not so sure of the answer to that question myself."

She strove for something to say; something that would make her appear as less than a foolish and unintelligent, infatuated girl. "So you and my father were close buddies in high school?"

"Yes, that's right. Exactly as Sam told the story." On this matter he did not seem particularly verbose, which disappointed her. She would have liked to learn more about him other than what her father had explained to her last night. "How old have you reached now? I don't believe Sam mentioned how old you were?"

Elizabeth breathed out slowly in relief, pleased he had taken initiative to start asking her questions. She had began to feel helplessly lost with what to say next. She had never been good with small talk. "Oh, I... I'm going to be eighteen very soon in April."

"Eighteen. Eighteen's a wonderful age."

"Yeah..." She glanced away again, striving desperately for something else to say to keep the conversation flowing naturally. "So Kenneth, what is it exactly that you do for a living? I don't think my father said anything about that?"

"Finances," he replied after a short pause. "I'm in... accounting." Needless to say, he could not tell her the full story.

"God, poor you," Elizabeth laughed out loud before she could stop herself. "I hate Math. Anything to do with Math." She felt her cheeks inflame with embarrassment at her no doubt seemingly nonsensical rambling. "I'd hate to work in finances."

She just wanted most of all to demonstrate that she was perfectly capable of maintaining an adult conversation, especially with him.

To both her relief and disappointment, she heard the sound of the front door opening and shutting. Sam had arrived back home, no longer leaving her alone in this man's presence. Feeling the dire need to leave, she turned away with effort, gathering her textbooks again into her arms as she brushed past him to exit the kitchen, wanting to hide herself out of sight.

Red watched her go curiously, taking in another drag of his cigarette.

Her behavior did not seem to cease fascinating him. She acted so shy around him, so uncertain. She couldn't even so much as look him in the eye, like she was a terrified rabbit and him a hound-dog on the scent. It was so terribly endearing of her. He heard her speak to her father in the hallway- in much confident, braver tones than the ones she had used for him- then as Sam entered the kitchen, he brought his gaze to him, removing his cigarette from his mouth.

Sam pressed a finger to his lips, gesturing out into the hallway, anxious about Elizabeth overhearing. He did not start speaking until they were a mere ten inches away from one another.

"How did it go, Sam? With your appointment?"

With both their backs turned from the entryway into the kitchen, Red felt the steady weight of a stare on his back. There was only one other person left in the house which left Lizzy. He turned to look behind his shoulder. From the angle he was positioned in diagonally from the entryway, he could see her standing quietly with her textbooks tucked in deep to her chest as she attempted to eavesdrop on them, her shoulder pressed into the wall as she hid. The instant his eyes landed on hers, she lowered her blue eyes, glancing down at the floor hastily.

"They ran all the tests they could as usual, but... nothing can be told as yet."

He had to suppress the urge to smile when he nodded at Sam once in understanding before swiveling his eyes back to where Lizzy stood. Just as before, she avoided his gaze. This time she looked in the opposite direction, hiding her face from sight. He wondered if she was playing a coy and subtle game of flirting where she looked at him, then as he looked at her, she deliberately looked away although the notion of the young woman ever being interested in him seemed far fetched.

She was beautiful, and he found it difficult not to separate her from that same little needy girl he had rescued from the house fire. Any feelings or appreciative observations he felt about her appearance was dirty of him and highly inappropriate. He was more than half her age; Thirty-eight years old, to be exact. No doubt, in her eyes, she already thought and considered him an old, useless man.

"I suppose I won't know anything until they call me in for the results next week. For Butterball's sake, I hope it turns out okay."

Yes. Red hoped that, for Lizzy's sake, it would turn out okay also.

Please do be kind on me. The story may be slow at first but it will pick up soon. Again, thank you. It is much appreciated and your words offer me inspiration to keep writing with this. I am also thankful that some of you agree with the portrayal of Elizabeth so far. I see her as very guarded and reserved until she knows someone properly- so she'll open up more once they spend more time in each other's company. My apologies for any mistakes again.