Room With No Windows

When Elsa got in contact with her sister the next day, she informed her where she was staying by referring to me as an "old friend." I pretended that I was offended, joking and saying that I wasn't that old.
I slept on the couch again that same night, instantly regretting it in the morning; I couldn't fully turn my head without it hurting like a bitch. Elsa notices when I walk into the kitchen, rubbing the back of my neck. "Mornin'," I tell her in a rough voice.
"Morning...you look like you're in pain," she mutters, raising an eyebrow and smirking slightly in amusement. "Are you alright?"
I try to nod, though my pained neck won't allow me. "Yeah, just a little stiff. I'm not used to sleeping on the couch."
She frowns. "You can have your bed back if it's bothering you. I can sleep on the floor-"
"No, no," I say. "I should've known it was a bad idea. I'll take the floor."
"But-"
"You're my guest," I remind her, grinning as I take the eggs out of the fridge. "I have to provide the highest luxury service."
"First class catering," she chuckles. "By the way, is it cool if I borrow your laptop again? I want to see if there's any assignments I need to catch up on."
"Assignments?" I say, but then remember she was still in college. "Oh right. Yeah, go ahead. How old are you anyway?"
"20," she replies, and my eyebrows shoot up. She was a lot younger than I had assumed. I thought she was at least over 22. Then again, she looks too young to be 22 so that seemed about right.
"You look disappointed," she teases. I shake my head, momentarily forgetting about my neck, and groan. "Fuck."
Elsa winces. She rises from her seat and grabs the carton of eggs from my hand. "Let me. It wouldn't be right to make you do everything."
I respect her request and let her take care of breakfast. I sit down, sighing as I rub the back of my neck. "Thanks, Els."
"Don't call me that."
"Why not?"
In a soft voice, she answers, "He called me that."
Not wanting to go against her wishes, I bite my lip. "Can I call you Ellie, then?"
"Ellie?"
I shrug. "Y'know, like El? Ellie?"
The corners of her mouth quirk up. "I'm okay with Ellie."

We talked as we ate at the coffee table, mostly about other things we liked to eat. Apparently, her favorite food was Mushroom soup and Chinese dumplings. She had very random taste.
"And potato salad with sour cream and onion chips," she tells me with enthusiasm. I scrunch up my nose. "That sounds disgusting."
She scoffs. "It's not! It makes a good combo."
"What else makes a good combo? Fried shrimp and Nutella?"
I notice the curiosity in her eyes and I laugh. "You're thinking about it, aren't you?"
"I am, honestly," she admits, chuckling.
"You're getting me hungry while we're ALREADY eating."
Elsa giggles, putting her fork down. "You mean while you're eating. I'm done."
I roll my eyes. "Congratulations."
She laughs and crosses her arms. "By the way, you lied to me."
I raise an eyebrow. What did I lie about?
Elsa elaborates by pointing to my arm. "There is more to you. You have tattoos."
"Oh," I say, shrugging. I genuinely forgot to mention them. They were so a part of me that I didn't even think of them as something seperate. My tattos were me.
"How many do you have?" she asks.
"I think fourteen or fifteen," I chuckle. "I stopped keeping track after, like, nine."
Her eyes widen. "Get out! Where?!"
I shoot her a dead serious look. "You don't want to know."
She stares at me even more aghast and I throw my head back laughing. "God, you're so gullible."
She chuckles. "Jerk. Can I get your laptop?"
I nod and make my way over to my bed to dig out my computer. I place it in front of her, and she gets right to work. I watch as she types with impressive speed, logging into her email and focusing on the screen. My staring continues while I finished my food. She notices and raises an eyebrow at me. "What?"
"Nothing," I chuckle. "You just look so concentrated."
She gives a shy smile before returning her attention to the laptop. A comfortable silence falls over us. She suddenly mutters, "Will you tell me about them one day?"
My fork freezes halfway to my mouth. "My tattoos?"
She nods. I feel a smile tug at the corner of my lips. She seemed so genuine and warmhearted.
"Sure," I whisper. "One day."
I leave her to work in peace, picking up the plates and carrying them back to the sink in the kitchen to wash them. I couldn't help but think how different it felt to have someone in the house. She made good company, and it helped occupy my thoughts. Ever since Elsa arrived, I hadn't spent any time alone with my loneliness, hadn't spent any time thinking of her. It was such a relief not to feel that churning black hole in the pit of my stomach, to not feel the guilt and constant nostalgia I lived in day to day. With Elsa, I hardly remembered I missed her.
"John!" Elsa shouts and my head shoots up, sending a sharp pain to my neck. I groan and drop whatever was in my hands, racing back to my room. I find her still sitting with the laptop on the table. "What happened?" I huff.
She juts out her lips in a pout. "You left."
I sigh, running a hand through my hair. I nearly snapped my neck.
But I couldn't possibly stay mad with that pout.

A few days passed, and I'd made the smart decision to move to the floor to sleep. Now, it was no longer my neck that hurt, but my shoulder. Even with the pillows that I laid out on the ground.
Elsa climbs into my bed, looking comfy in her shorts and my sweatshirt. She crosses her legs and sighs. "I don't really feel like sleeping."
I chuckle, folding my arms behind my head. She looked wide awake.
"Wanna watch a movie?" I ask.
Her face breaks into a smile. "Whaddya got?"
We settle for a scary movie, the both of us sitting on my bed. It was some exorcism film that kept making her jump. She even let out a small scream in one scene and I laugh.
"Shut up," she whines at the end. "I'm not gonna be able to sleep now."
I start to stand to make my way down to my bed. "Don't be such a wimp."
She catches my arm and pulls me back down. "The floor's too hard."
"You want me to sleep with you?" I tease, but she blushes and bites her lip. I smirk. "I promise you no demons are going to get you. Goodnight, Ellie."
She tightens her grip on my arm, looking at me pleadingly. "Please?"
I look at her for a moment and, swayed by her charms, sink back down. "Fine. I surrender."
We lay down facing each other and she smiles innocently. "I owe you one, John."
"Nah," I chuckle, scooting in closer to her. I wink. "Being in the same bed as you's enough."
Instead of blushing again, she gives me a wicked grin before grabbing my arm and resting it around her waist. With that simple action, I turn into a heart-racing-palm-sweating mess.
She turns her back to me. "Too bad. I was gonna take off these shorts."
The floor wasn't the only thing that was hard.