Succulents on the Window Sill

Chapter 29

Corinne clutched the bannister of the staircase, leaning on it for support as she carefully, ever so slowly, moved her left foot down a stair. The right followed it. The stair gave a creek, and Corinne stood stock still, waiting, listening for any sign that she had been discovered. She made a mental note of which stair had made the noise, before descending down another when nothing but silence met her.

She tiptoed half-way down the staircase before pausing. Voices could be heard from the living room, and she could see that the door hadn't been fully closed shut. It was open just a crack. It hopefully wasn't enough to allow Corinne to be seen as she would finish her journey down the stairs, and rush up the hallway past it.

Zach had left her with strict instructions to stay in bed and rest. Corinne was only allowed to leave the bed for the bathroom, nothing else. It wasn't as if she was nursing a broken leg, it was a stupid order, one her rumbling stomach was defying.

The tin of soup that Zach had given her had been cold by the time he had left her to finish it. Corinne had done her best to eat it up, but so much time had passed since then, that her growing hunger couldn't abide by his rules for any longer.

She had heard Eric's car pull up outside, and his ringing of the doorbell. Eric was there to pick Zach up to collect Corinne's car. As much as she knew that it was best to wait until they left before venturing downstairs, Corinne hadn't been able to resist saying a quick hello to Eric. She also wanted to give Zach some sort of strength and encouragement should he bump into anyone from the bakery. She had been thinking of Sara, but now Michael jumped back into Corinne's mind. She prayed he met anyone but Michael.

Corinne had never thought him to be violent, but over the past few days, she had learnt a lot about Michael that hadn't been all that clear before. He had a thing for Sara, and any man was handy with his fists when it came to standing up for the girl he liked. It was understandable, but Corinne just wished her Zach hadn't had to suffer because of it. It was because of both she and Zach that Sara was hurting though, she couldn't deny that, or entirely blame Michael.

If Corinne was in that position, she knew Zach probably would have done the same. Though Zach had mentioned throwing a few punches Michael's way. Corinne was suddenly wondering why.

She made it down the stairs, bare toes sinking into the raspberry coloured carpet that really needed to go, asap. Corinne was thankful for it now though, for it muffled her footsteps as she sneaked past the living room door and up into the kitchen. Her steps created a pitter-patter on the cold tiles, something she doubted Zach could hear over his light laugh from the other room.

Corinne darted to the fridge, tugging the door open to grab a fistful of chicken strips from the packaging, plucking a cherry tomato from its tub. She was so hungry that her stomach was twisting and turning, groaning out in desperation to be filled. Corinne grabbed another tomato, eyes scanning up and down the contents of the fridge. Little of the food was the sort that she could quickly grab and scoff here and now.

The fridge door closed, and Corinne bent down to search through the cupboard she knew a packet of crisps should be hidden in. There had to be at least one packet that Zach hadn't managed to get at. Feeding Zach was like feeding a small army. She didn't mind though, not really. In an odd way, it was kind of hot. It was a reminder that he was so much taller, broader, stronger, than Corinne. She loved how he could take her in his arms with so much ease, moving her just where he wanted her. He was so strong, yet so gentle.

There was a click behind her, and Corinne spun with wide eyes to look into Zach's amused ones.

"You thief!" He pointed at the cherry tomato still in her hand, and Corinne had the decency to look guilty.