Fallen From Grace

Six

Kristine was up early in the morning. She had dozed on and off after last night's events, but eventually she just got up around 4 in the morning. She busied herself around the house cleaning up stray blood and running a load of laundry. She cleaned the bathroom then moved onto the kitchen. She was just about to run the vacuum but stopped herself when she remembered how early it was.

She settled on the couch and opened a book, she couldn't really focus on. She hadn't realized she'd fallen asleep until the sound of Danielle's footsteps startled her awake.

"Oh wow" Kristine gasped taking in Danielle's face.

"Good morning to you too...did you clean?" Danielle said heading straight for coffee.

"Um yeah, a little...Your face." She stated.

"I know. I know. Don't worry about it." Danielle waved a hand dismissively. Kristine came to the kitchen for coffee as well. She reached a hand out toward Danielle's face, but the woman dodged away with a grumble. "Don't worry about it" She said again.

They sat at the island and drank coffee together. Both women ignored Danielle's bruised face and instead chatted about random things.

"I need to go to town today. I have to drop of some of my art." Danielle stated. "Would you like to come with me?"

"Would it be okay if I stayed here?" Kristine replied after a moment of thought. She really just didn't want to be around people now.

"Of course."

After breakfast, Danielle headed to her workshop. She was contracted by an art shop in town and every month she needed to deliver a certain amount of art pieces. She was a little short this month, having not done any glass blowing the last couple of days. She'd hoped Jamie, the store owner and a good friend wouldn't mind. She packed up what she did have and carried boxes out of the basement and loaded them into the car.

Danielle took her time applying foundation to cover up her bruised face. She didn't often wear much make up, but also didn't want to walk around with bruise around her eye. Shortly after she headed out after saying goodbye, ensuring that she'd be back in a few hours. She normally took Duke with her to town for short trips, but Kristine really took comfort in his presence. He really was a good guard dog.

"Where's Duke?" Jamie asked looking past Danielle and towards the car parked put front.

"Jeez, hello to you too." Danielle grunted, unpacking the boxes from the trunk. "Duke's at home."

"Aww" Jamie whined, grabbing a couple boxes. "Well I guess it's good to see you too" She laughed walking into the store, taking the boxes to the back room.

Danielle chuckled and rolled her eyes. "I'm short a few pieces, I'll have them for you next week."

"Hmm alright" Jamie said raising an eyebrow. She loved a good story, especially if it contained drama or gossip. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, just a little hectic is all." Danielle shrugged.

"That seems unfitting for you. I've known you a few years now and hectic is not a word I'd use to describe you." Jamie said.

"I have my moments" Danielle said defensively.

"Yeah. Okay." Jamie laughed. She sat at the desk nearby, pulling out a check book. She wrote put a check and held it out between her first two fingers. As Danielle reached for it, she pulled the check away with a smirk. "I want the rest of your pieces by Friday." She said holding the check out once more.

"Alright" Danielle said snatching the check and tucking it in her wallet.

"You know I'm always here for you if you want to talk" Jamie said softly, before her smile turned sly "Or need... a distraction." She puckered her lips and kissed at the space between them.

Danielle shook her head slowly, smiling. "Real subtle Jamie. I've got to go."

Jamie pouted "Oh alright. I'll see you Friday?"

"Yes. Just to drop of the rest of the glass pieces."

"Ugh you're no fun anymore" Jamie sighed dramatically and was met with an equally dramatic eye roll as Danielle started to make her way out of the store. "Bring Duke next time!" She called to Danielle's retreating figure.

Danielle waved a hand and got into her car. It would take about 45 minutes to get back home. Danielle never minded the drive, in fact she liked it. She loved how every mile become less city like and more rural forestry. Soon she was on the single road that led to her house, surrounded by greenery. The scene was peaceful.

Kristine spent her time cleaning. It was nice to put her mind into the simple task. Danielle was by no means a dirty person, but her home was disorganized and a bit cluttered in some areas. Kristine saw to it to bring a little order to the house. She thought it was a nice gesture of thanks for all Danielle had done.

She'd made her way through the hosuse moving from room to room and was now in Danielle's bedroom, gathering what she supposed was dirty laundry from off the floor. She stripped the bed linens and threw everything in the washer. She found clean sheets in the hallway linen closet and had just begun the task of dressing the bed when the front door opened.

Danielle called out and followed Kristine's voice to her bedroom. She was not pleased to see the woman invading her personal space. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Shocked by her tone, Kristine stopped. "Changing the sheets?" She softly replied

"Why? I didn't ask you to do that!" Danielle shot back, snatching the sheets from Kristine's hands. "Why would you go through my things?" She huffed.

"I-I didn't. I was just cleaning up a bit. I thought you would appreciate it." Kristine murmured.

"Well I don't!"

"I'm sorry" Kristine whimpered. She was a little frightened by the outburst and Danielle's expression softened when she saw the fear in her eyes.

"No. I'm sorry. I just..I didn't ask you to do that. I'd prefer you not go through my bedroom" She said softly. She sighed and looked around her room. It looked better without all the clothes on the ground, but that didn't mean she appreciated Kristine handling her dirty underwear.

"Okay. I'm sorry" Kristine whispered and moved to slide past Danielle to get out of her bedroom. She gasped when Danielle grabbed her arm, her heart beginning to pound.

Immediately, Danielle let go and tucked her hands in her pockets. "Sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I would never hurt you, I hope you know that." Danielle said. She'd only wanted to Kristine to pause to let her know everything was okay, that she wasn't really mad.

Kristine nodded and slipped quickly from the room. Danielle sighed and finished dressing the bed. She felt so stupid now. She switched the laundry to the dryer then went down to her workshop.

A couple hours later Kristine's voice sounded out over her music. She set her torch aside and pulled off her safety glasses. "I made dinner" Kristine said when she had Danielle's attention.

"Oh ok. Thanks" Danielle replied. She packed up her tools and followed Kristine upstairs.

Over full plates of chicken and rice, the tension between the women subsided. The easily fell back into the routine of sharing a meal together over easy conversation. All was forgiven on both sides and the evening carried on in friendly companionship.