Loving a Little Lawyer

Number Nine

I had felt so much jealousy as I watched Kathrine laugh with the young handsome man sharing the table with her.

I took my time in the bathroom and hoped they'd have left by the time I came back. I felt like a complete i***t. I knew she was on a date tonight, I had suspected she'd haunt the same place. But some how in my mind, she would get stood up again and we could get a little tipsy together to cheer her up. She'd fall for me and we'd go from there.

Instead I walked out the bathroom to see her looking wild eyed, her chair tipped on the floor and her date bent over, grabbing her wrist as she tried to pull away.

I didn't know whether to hit him or vomit with disgust.

In truth, I wasn't the sort to do either, and I went about distracting the snivelling swine she'd gone on a date with. Once she left I told a colleague, and ex-copper, what had happened. He dealt with him outside.

I went back to the table and saw Kathrines bag spilled on the floor. I picked it up and left. I first phoned her father and told him I had promised to drop papers round to her house. He gave me her address and we chatted as I walked. I did my best to seem relaxed. When I got half way, I needed to use my phone as a map and hung up.

I called Kathrine's phone almost constantly the rest of the way but no one answered. I began to worry, she wasn't at her parents and she wasn't answering. She'd had several drinks too. I started to jog a little.

I got to her building and she was nowhere around but I could see the light to her apartment was on. I calmed down a little as I realised she was probably inside. The buzzer was clearly labelled and I tore the sticker off before ringing it several times. Still, no answer.

I opened her purse and dug around inside. Opening the door with the fob I found in her bag, I made my way up to her flat, Number 9. I didn't bother to knock and prayed she hadn't put the chain on.

All the air left my lungs as I opened her door and saw the clothes strewn by the door, along with her phone.

"Kathrine!" I called, "It's just me, Mick, you've left your bag and I brought it back!" I shouted by the door.

Silence.

I took a step forwards. "Kathrine!" I paused, still nothing.

I didn't care how invasive it was, I scooped up her phone and her clothes and wandered through her apartment. I was suprised to find it almost bare, devoid of any pictures or signifiers Kathrine lived there.

Eventually, as I made my way down the hall, I heard running water. With a sigh I opened the door in the direction it was coming from and was greeted with a bedroom completely decked out in pink, lilac and sky blue furnishings. The headboard seemed to be a weird morbid collection of stuffed animals stapled to it somehow. Their glassy eyes stared back at me and I began to wonder what the hell I was doing here.

I was about to turn and go when I heard retching coming from the open door on the opposite side of the room. I entered gingerly and was horrified to see Kathrine's small nude body curled on the floor of the shower room. The shower was scalding hot and the steam billowed.

She was shaking violently and I could see a ring of redness had formed round her wrist.

Slowly I moved forwards to see if she'd respond but she just continued to shake. I went down to her and brushed he hair from her face. I scooped her torso up and tried to lift her but gave up, not willing to risk slipping on the tiled floor.

Instead I grabbed the soap and a wash cloth and sat on the floor with her, fully clothed and drenched. He body was propped between my legs and she sat like a rag doll against my chest. I slowly lifted the arm with the bruise. A wave of nausea rolled through me again.

I began to use the cloth and soap on her arm, then the other. I washed her above her breasts, trying desperately not to look at their full peaks. I moved up to her neck and washed the smudged mascara from her face. When I was done I moved to her back, putting an arm round her waist and leaning her forwards. She still didn't say anything and as I moved again to wash her hair I saw her eyes close and her lips part.

When I was done, I took her tiny hand in mine. I lifted it and gently kissed the bruise that had begun to form.

"Kathrine, sweet girl, we need to get you out of here." I said softly. "Could you help do you think? I don't want us to slip and fall."

After a moment she nodded. I managed to pick her up onto her feet after a few trys.

We walked her through to her garish child like bedroom and as I sat her down on her ridiculous bed, I just let out a small chuckle. She was tiny compared to this massive weird bed. I couldn't fathom why she needed it to be so big.

After a few moments of rifling through drawers, I found several sets of pyjamas. I picked out a small tank top with a kitten on the front and the only pair of long bottoms I could find. I handed them to her and to my relief, she picked them up off her lap and began to put them on.

I turned around feeling oddly invasive given I had just washed her nude body.

A few moments later I heard a flop onto the bed and turned back around. I realised suddenly that I was dripping all over her baby blue carpet. I moved back over to her and petted her hair.

"I'm going to find you a hairdryer and then leave you to sleep sweet girl. I'll get you some water and I've put my number in your phone. If you need anything, you can call me." and I moved to leave.

Just as I turned, she let out a small wimper and grabbed at my soaked pants.

"Please, stay." She croaked out. I felt so torn, I wanted to stay badly, but I didn't know what I would say to Sam, and I was soaked with no fresh clothes.

"Do you have any mens clothes here?" I almost didn't want the answer. She shook her head.

"Drier in the kitchen." She said weakly, still clinging to me.

"OK, OK. I will stay but you need to let me go a minute so I can take these off.

I wandered back through her apartment to the kitchen. I stripped off my soaked clothes down to my boxers. I had to open nearly every door before I found the drier and put my clothes inside. Once it was on, I found glasses and got us both some water. I was suprised to find her fridge and freezer almost completely empty save for some cheese and very expensive wine as well as three different flavours of ice cream in her freezer.

I shook my head, this girl is nuts. Nuts and gorgeous on second thoughts.

I returned to her pink nightmare room feeling very exposed. She didn't seem to care though and had curled into a tight ball on one side of her bed with, what looked like, a stuffed rat in one hand.

I shook my head again. Mad!

Lying on the opposite side of the bed which was really pretty far away from Kathrine's curled up form, I reached up and switched off the light.

I didn't sleep for several hours until eventually I could hear soft little snores coming from the opposite side of the room.