She sat on the edge of the bed, the smallest sound enough to propel her to her feet--ready to run from the room. There was no sound, not even the clock ticking one thinks is ever present. She once again glanced at the doorknob, ready to leave yet not moving. The woman began to hear nonexistent noises, as if she were staring in the Tell Tale Heart, though no crime had yet been commited.
When the real sound came, it took her a moment to register as such. The soft knock came again. She rose slowly, her heart beating so hard it nearly stopped her breathing. With a trembling hand, she opened the door ever so slowly, pausing a moment before looking up the meet the gaze of the one she'd been waiting for.
He was tall, as she had expected, dressed in black as she had expected also. It was his gaze that was unexpected. His eyes of gray rested gently on her. Even in rest, they were intense. She realized that as much as he was able to see into her when they had only typed words to share, he was much more able to see into her soul with those eyes.
A moment passed silently before he held out to her his offering of hope and friendship. She took it with an unrehearsed smile, holding the single red rose close, greatful for this gesture of his.
"Are you going to let me in, fair lady, or leave me out here on the doorstep?"
She smiled suddenly, greatful again, this time for his humour and kind tone. She stepped back, allowing him entry.
His boots were nearly silent on the carpet, but not quite. She closed the door behind him., the bolt sliding home with a clink of metal meeting metal.
He shrugged his heavy leather coat off, laying it over a chair. She watched him with wet eyes. The man, with his long dark hair tinted red, held a hand out to her. She looked at it a moment before extending her hand to meet it.