The water shut off immediately and there was a scuffling before the door opened, a towel wrapped around herself. "Right. Sorry."
She blinked down at it, her gaze intense despite the casualness of the situation. She sighed and took it, answering with a nod of thanks. "Hey, Dad."
She paused and her brows furrowed as she leaned back. "What? No, Dad, just wait. You just gotta hold out a little longer, okay? Just wait for me. I'm... I'm working on it, but things are getting really bad over here. I'm working on it. Please. Please just wait."
Her voice cracked and she leaned against the wall. "Dad, please. Please don't do that. Look, I can do it, okay? I'll do more research. I'll... I'll work harder, okay? Just... please. Give me a week. Okay? I'll get it done."
"Please don't hang up," she said quickly. "Please don't hang up. Dad? Please don't-" There was a silence for a minute before she took a deep breath and exited the bathroom, heading into the bedroom to change. He would see a glimpse of her face and her eyes were welling up with tears. She closed the door behind her.
She came out about five minutes later, wearing a plain t-shirt and a pair of jeans. She looked up in surprise at him when she saw him. "Oh. Hi."
She hesitated, running her fingers through her wet hair before shaking her head slowly. “Well... no. Sorry, I just got distracted.”
She hesitated, her face quickly closing itself off to him. “Everything’s great. Thanks, though. Are you done with the pancakes?”
