Behind Closed Doors

Chapter 4

When he didn't respond right away, Sabrina panicked a little.

What had she done? Why had she even played along? She asked herself.

Suddenly feeling like if time was rewindable; she would rewind it and do things differently.

But the sudden beeping of her phone again, managed to put her out of her misery.

'I don't care what kind of dream it was, I just need to know if you need any help making it a reality?' his message read.

Refusing to let the conversation thrive on the lie that she had spoken just to get a reaction from him, she retraced her steps.

Because she believed the truth was way better off than playing pretend.

'Okay. Hold your horses right there, Mister. I take it all back.

As per your prediction, I was just reading the notes.' She sent.

'I'm a little saddened that you just put an end to what could've been an interesting conversation, but I'll live.

As for the notes...I knew it!'

Sabrina chuckled when she saw the text.

'That's what I don't get, how did you?' she tried to find out.

'I was doing the same thing not so long ago. So I figured that if I was driven toward the notes tonight, then there were very high chances that you would be too.

It was a wild guess, I'll give you that. But I was almost a hundred percent sure of it.' Edward explained.

Without once giving her the run around for that response, and she couldn't help but appreciate that.

All the men that she once gotten involved in, had done so a lot.

To a point where she ended up wondering if wanting to know more about something, and further asking about it was wrong.

And slowly; bit by bit, she programmed herself to stop asking questions altogether. Especially when engaging with men.

'Well, you were spot on. I should probably take you with me the next time I go gambling at the casino.

With your sharp prediction skills by my side, I'd be guaranteed to win myself a small fortune.' She joked.

'I'd be more than happy to tag along, and I'm sure you already know this.' Edward responded.

'I find it very weird that we're texting one another, when we're just a hallway from each other.' She sent, wondering what he would make of her musings.

'Would you prefer we do the talking live?' A wink sat at the end of the text, making it easy for Sabrina to assume that he had just turned on his flirty mode again.

'I didn't say that,' she sighed as she typed.

'But you implied it.'

From reading his text, she felt like she was hearing his voice uttering the words to her ears.

'That's not true and I'm sleeping now.'

And as if expecting him to check if she was being truthful or not, she slid under the covers with her phone in hand.

'If you say so,' she received a response with another wink. Deciding not to reply to avoid engaging in a never ending text conversation with him, she put the phone away.

And allowed her body to relax into a deep slumber.

When morning came; she quickly jumped out of bed, neatly made it, took a quick shower and at the speed of lightning headed to the living room.

Where she switched on the TV and found that the hourly updates on the pandemic were beginning.

She was just in time, she thought.

Then curled up on the couch as she took in each piece of information, and digested it.

"Scientists haven't been able to pinpoint what the virus is exactly, as it is something that the world had never experienced before.

But it has been identified as something similar to the streptococcus tonsillitis. Which is basically an infection of the oral pharynx and tonsils." The presenter informed.

"It is said to have flue or sore throat like symptoms.

And viewers at home are advised to continue staying indoors, as this is a highly airborne enemy.

If one really has to leave the house, please take the safety precautions that will be stated in the programme that will follow shortly."

In the promised programme, they were informed to wear surgical gloves and face masks when leaving the house.

And to sanitize as soon as they returned, to avoid giving the virus a chance to spread on their home surfaces.

Sabrina didn't hear Edward coming in.

When he sat next to her and opened his arms; probably because he had seen her sad face, she quickly fell into them.

"I don't think this will be over anytime soon," she muttered into his arms as her tears fell.

"I know," he held her tightly.

As if he thought that the more tight the hug was, the bigger the chances of her feeling comforted.

After sobbing unconsolably in his arms, she composed herself.

And immediately shifted away from him.

"I'm so sorry for that," she sniffed and rubbed at her now red eyes.

She felt embarrassed for breaking down in front of him like that.

"It's nothing to be sorry about," he assured her.

Sabrina studied him from head to toe; his hair was a perfect brownish black color, complimenting his warm brown colored eyes.

He had a perfect oval shaped face, and a smile to die for.

He was wearing a hoodie and lounge pants, and by the looks of things- he had been up for a while too.

"What time did you wake up?" She asked when her crying fit finally ended.

"Around 3 a.m.," he stated. "My body usually fails to ease into a perfect and restful night sleep. Because I have irregular sleep patterns. And the different time zones that I get to experience all the time, adds to the whole frustrating sleep pattern package."

"You must be confused all the time," she teased with a small smile.

"You have no idea," he let out a small chuckle.

"So, what have you been up to all this time?" She relaxed her back against the couch.

"Catching up on my reading," he smiled broadly. "I barely get the time to do so."

"Nerd," she teased and lightly elbowed him.

"I've been called that my whole life," he grinned.

"Are you an introvert too?" She wondered out loud.

As she tried to match what she already knew of his personality, with what he was telling her right now.

"Stereotypes," he muttered with a chuckle before shaking his head. "Not really, or rather, I'm not your typical kind of nerd. Not really introverted or even antisocial. I am just selectively social, I guess."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Is that a new synonym for picky?"

Edward laughed deeply at this.

"I'm not picky, trust me." He said. "I just don't interact with everyone I come across, at least not on the same level."

"What do you mean?" Sabrina frowned.

"Well, some interactions are more profound than others. There are some people that I feel okay talking to, because they are able to interact at a deeper level." He passionately explained. "And then there are those..."

"That are only good for a quick hi and bye," she finished the sentence for him with a guess.

"Exactly," he said.

Making her feel a bit smug for getting it right.

"Picky," she repeated in a low tone.

"I call it protecting my energy," he grinned.

"I take it you're going to call it a vibrational thing too?" She raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"Frequency is everything," he shrugged.

"Oh my goodness," Sabrina chuckled and teased him. "I didn't think you were one of the captains of the awoke generation, but I guess I should've paid more attention to the signs."

"Now that you know, would you like an autograph?" He played along with the kind of laughter that made the whole room feel like a happy and safe space for her.

And in that moment, she felt really glad to be around him. Because she realized that an empty house during something horrible as what they were experiencing right now, would have been a horrible nightmare.

"Go away," she swatted his hand that had began signing something invisible on her bare arm- with an invisible pen.

That playful and easygoing moment of theirs was interrupted by a knock on the door, which made them both freeze in place.

"Are you expecting someone?" Edward looked at her.

Between the two of them; it could only be her who had guests coming over, because he had never really been home long enough to invite over or even entertain people.

"No," she slowly shook her head. "I mean, how can I? We're all expected to stay indoors."

"Who could it be, then?" He asked with a worried expression on his face.

"I have no idea," she shrugged.

"I'll go and check," he said and headed to the door.

"No!" She unexpectedly grabbed his arm, but upon realizing how strange her behavior was- she quickly released it.

"It's not safe," she pleaded in a small voice.

"Let me at least find out who it is," he took a few more steps towards the door.

Then asked, "who is it?"

When they were greeted by total silence on the other side of the door, he looked through the peep hole.

"I don't see anyone," he said to her.

"Don't-" she warned when he grabbed the door handle to open.

"If there's no one then it's safe," he assured her.

Then he slightly opened the door, to find a bulky package wrapped up in plastic on the floor.

"Oh!" He exclaimed as he dragged it in.

"What is it?" Sabrina started moving towards the door, uprooting herself from the spot that she had been frozen in.

"A safety gear delivery," he said freeing the contents of the package.

"It says it's from our landlord. For use when we run our errands."

He informed her after reading the typed note that sat on top of it.

"That's very thoughtful of him," she muttered.

"Yeah," he nodded and began unpacking.

"There's a box of masks, four boiler suits, a box of surgical gloves and these two sanitizer containers." He tapped on them.

"He must think there's four of us in here," she frowned. Worrying about whether the danger was that big out there, or the man just wanted to add to their already sky high levels of paranoia.

"Or he just wants to avoid the frequent deliveries," he noted. "Especially if things escalate."

"This is scary," she slowly sat on the couch.

And like a lightning bolt, he was next to her.

"I know," he held her hand comfortingly and tried to assure her. "But we'll be fine."

"You don't know that," she whispered.

"True," he nodded. "What I do know, however, is that we need to go shopping."

Edward reminded her of the one thing that had been going through her mind, pretty much all morning.

"That's the one thing that I was hoping we wouldn't have to deal with," she sighed due to the frustration of doing something that not only was now scary but had become a daunting task as well.

Their lives had practically changed overnight.

The simplest of things that they had considered safe and harmless their whole lives, were now the very same things that were a risk and threat to them.

"The sooner we do it, the sooner we can put it behind us." He said matter of factly, not because he liked what they were about to do.

But he realized that it was necessary and had to be done. Whether they liked it or not.

"I guess," she said in a small voice.

"First, we're going to need a list." He stated.

"I'm on it."

She stood and retrieved the notepad that she always used for similar things, from the cupboard.

"You better," Edward joked. "Especially if you don't want us to spend hours at the shops, trying to figure out what it was exactly that I was trying to write."

Sabrina let out a brief chuckle, despite her overall sombre mood.

When she rejoined him on the couch, they began writing the list.

Which was basically a reflection of bulk buying food, and all the essentials that they believed they would need while staying indoors.

"I think that will be all," she said after they had filled two pages of the notepad.

"Yeah," he agreed. "So how will we do this?"

She teared the pages out and handed one to him. "Divide and conquer," she said.

Which made him laugh a bit. "I guess we should gear up then?"

"No need to tell me twice," she said and disappeared down the hallway in order to change and get ready for their mission.