IX
A loud sound interrupts her sleep.
Eleven is jolted awake, her eyes snapping open and searching for the origin of the sound.
She hasn't even raised from the bed yet when she hears the soft rapping of knuckles against the door.
For a second, the entirety of last night rushes into focus: the destroyed lab, her siblings and papa, all dead, the escape, the house…
Henry.
Eleven clears her throat and manages to get out a weak "Come in".
When the door opens, the first thing she notices is Henry's smile.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," he greets her, and Eleven realizes that he has replaced yesterday's bloodied clothes with a light blue shirt and dark pants. "Forgive me, I thought you were already up; I could've dropped the water bottles more gently."
Eleven lowers her gaze and looks at Henry's feet, and yes, there's a crate there, full of water bottles.
And suddenly she realizes how thirsty she is.
Henry, reading her quite easily, raises a hand and a small glass levitates casually through empty air into his right hand, where it lands gently.
"You want some?" She nods in response, and he uncaps one of the bottles so he can pour her some water and then get it to her, still sitting on the bed. "Here. Try to drink slowly at first."
Her entire body screams with thirst; it's a real effort to keep herself from emptying the glass in a rush. Henry watches her in silence, apparently pleased that she is minding his advice. When she is done, he makes it levitate away from the room. The glass fades out of sight without Henry ever taking his eyes off her.
Eleven feels a bit of envy at the ease with which he handles his powers.
Henry smiles and places a hand on her head. And even though she knows she should be scared of him, Eleven relaxes immediately. She guesses she must be used to physical contact with him, since she doesn't think she would have reacted so calmly to anyone else's touch.
"Don't be impatient, Eleven. First, we must settle. Afterwards, I will teach you everything I know."
"Okay…"
"Now, are you hungry? I made you breakfast."
She nods and then silently follows him downstairs.