Elizabeth Harrison's Hope For A Better Tomorrow

59: The Cold Night.

Leo woke up and inhaled with his eyes closed – he smelled lavender. He tried to open his eyes but the intense headache made him close them again – tightly. He groaned and covered his eyes with his hand and rolled over on the bed only to fall on the floor. He opened his eyes and looked around to see that he was not sleeping on the bed – but on the couch. He rubbed his eyes and looked around – trying to figure out what happened. He recalled drinking at a bar and then coming back to the hotel to find Elizabeth waiting for him. His eyes shot open – Elizabeth. She was here. He stood on his feet and looked around to find her but she wasn't there – only her sweet scent of perfume was present in the room which meant that she didn't leave long ago. "What the hell happened last night?" Leo mumbled to himself. He remembered kissing her but that is all – he doesn't remember what happened next.

He looked down at his shirt – the top three buttons of his shirt were opened but other than that he was fully dressed. He cursed under his breath and rubbed his face – he hopes he didn't embarrass himself last night. He had a little too much to drink and usually when he drinks that much – he loses control a little bit. He hoped and prayed that he had simply passed out. He thought about calling Elizabeth to make sure that she was alright but first he needed to take a painkiller – the ache in his head wanted to make him hit his head to the wall. He took a bottle of water from the mini-refrigerator and took a pill from his small bag in which he brought his belongings to stay in New York for two days. He gulped down the pill into his system with the water when his own voice rang into his head, "Please don't go, Lizzy – I want you in my life. Please – stay. I am never letting you go. Never – ever – come with me to Chicago – we can start anew. Please." He recalled saying to Elizabeth while hugging her from the back. His eyes widened, "Fuck," he whispered as he felt as if all the blood drained from his face.

Elizabeth didn't sleep all night and now she was drinking cup after cup of coffee – her head was throbbing due to lack of sleep – she was already grumpy because of the lack of sleep and in addition to that Maria was breathing down her neck – looking at Elizabeth with a smirk on her face. Elizabeth sighed and looked at her, "What is it?" She asked Maria – who chuckled in return. Maria smirked again before she took her empty plate in her hand and stood with her crutches by her sides, "Don't be so grumpy to me – I wasn't the one that didn't let you sleep all night," She teased her to which Elizabeth jerked her head towards Maria – who walked to the kitchen. She gasped, "Hey, nothing happened!" She tried to defend herself. Maria stopped and turned around with a grin on her face, "When did I say that something happened?" She shrugged. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes before she rolled them, "Yeah – whatever," she mumbled and looked down at her coffee mug. She didn't expect her to behave in such a manner when she was sober. Her cheeks warmed up when she thought about the wicked thoughts she had in her head last night for Leo and how it all turned out – so different. Last night was an eye-opener for Elizabeth. She realized that Leo knew her more than she thought anyone could know her. It scared her to know that he could read her as he did.

Leo went to get the breakfast – his hotel had a breakfast buffet so after he showered and felt a little better he went down to eat something. He grabbed a plate and was about to head towards the buffet when he saw Jennifer – sitting alone – eating her breakfast. Leo sighed – he felt guilty. She was here with him and she has never been to New York before – he shouldn't have left her alone especially after what happened yesterday – he should have talked to her. So, after he placed scrambled eggs, a toast, and a few fruits on his plate and got a cup of hot black coffee – he headed towards her. Jennifer was slowly chewing the morsel when she felt as she was being approached by someone – she lifted her head to look who it was and stopped chewing. Her eyes were on Leo as he pulled a chair in front of her and put his own plate full of breakfast and coffee on her table before he sat right in front of her.