Until July *COMPLETED*

Chapter XX

It didn't take long for Ryan to fall asleep.

While he was asleep, Briella helped with cooking and washing whatever she thought needed to be washed - which was barely anything.

She didn't know if it was her biased, stereotypical views that played with her, but considering the fact that he was a guy, she was surprised by how clean Ryan's place was.

Dylan too was clean, but he did live with his parents. On the other hand, Ryan lived alone. He only had himself in charge of taking care of everything and keeping his apartment clean.

He seemed to be doing all of this with such ease.

It was that exact thought that caused a smile to grow on his lips, the fact that he was managing on his own.

'That's something I really admire about him...' Briella thought to herself.

She mixed the contents in the saucepan before lowering the intensity of the heat produced by the hob to allow the soup to simmer. Placing the lid onto the saucepan, she allowed the soup to bubble for a few more minutes, allowing the food soup to cook itself till it was ready.

While the contents on the hob were simmering away, Briella took this to her advantage and crafted some more food. She made a quick salad before also making a cup of tea.

Finishing the salad and tea, she turned off the hob before moving the soup elsewhere on the stove to allow it to cool a bit.

To give the soup some time to get a bit colder, she did a brief checkup on Ryan.

She walked into his room. He was still asleep.

Briella got closer to him, she was about to touch his forehead to check his temperature, but as if Ryan felt her presence, his eyes opened and his head turned towards her.

"Briella?".

"Shh," she whispered quietly. "Go back to sleep, I just wanted to check if your fever went down.". She did just that. She placed her hand on his head. He felt warmer than the last time she checked.

Just in case, she unboxed the thermometer and took a measurement of his temperature. 39.2 degrees Celcius.

"You have a high fever... how are you feeling?" Briella spoke up, placing the thermometer back into its box.

"I feel weak..." Ryan replied, his voice sounding strained and exhausted. In comparison to earlier, Ryan now didn't conceal the fact that he was feeling unwell, and to what magnitude he felt ill.

Briella looked at him, giving him a look of sympathy. "I hope you get better very soon.".

As a response, Ryan nodded to Briella's words. "Thank you.".

They both stayed quiet, silence ruling the room. They both looked at each other.

Briella was then the one who broke the prolonged silence. "Do you have any medicine for fevers?".

"Hmmm... Check in my wardrobe that's right there..." he pointed with his finger. "In a plastic bag, you should see it right below the hung coats. There, you will find medicine and whatnot...".

Following Ryan's instructions, she navigated and found the bag Ryan was talking about.

When she sat down by the table, she took out all the medicine inside and began her search. Ryan tried to help her as best as he could but didn't manage to last for long. The exhaustion from his sickness grew bit by bit stronger.

Finding the appropriate medication, she unboxed the correct dosage and placed it on the table, by Ryan.

"I'll be right back, give me a second. I'll go and get you some water.".

She stood up and walked into the kitchen. Getting a clean glass, she filled it up with water before walking back and handing it over to Ryan.

"Excuse me again, I'll go to get your food very quickly.". Before Ryan could utter another word, Briella left and walked back to his kitchen. Looking for and finding the plates she needed to serve his food on, she carried them to him. Both the soup and tea were still hot.

Placing them all on the table, her eyes moved back to Ryan. She looked at him down the last gulp of water before placing his glass on the table. From there, his eyes moved to the food. The smell of the chicken soup and the slight tingle of mint from the tea filled his room.

Taking in a deep breath, he let out a satisfying, hungry groan. "Thank you, Briella.".

"Of course! Enjoy your food.".

With that, Ryan sat up before taking the bowl of soup into his hands. He gave each tablespoon a light blow before consuming the soup.

While Ryan was eating, Briella took her time and went on her phone. She browsed through her social media, looked through all the posts.

It was when she heard the clatter of the spoon that she rose her eyes to Ryan. He finished his soup and let out a silent groan as he stretched.

Seconds later, his eyes went onto hers. They both looked at each other.

"How was the soup?" Briella inquired.

"It was really good, thank you," Ryan replied.

She responded with a nod. Then, her eyes went to the salad and the steaming cup of tea. "I have also made you a salad, as you may have noticed. It's nothing big, but I hope you'll like it," she voiced.

For the first time ever since Ryan's fever skyrocketed, he smiled. He looked down at the salad, glancing at it, before raising his eyes back to Briella. "I'm sure I'll very much like it. I am a big fan of peppers, tomatoes and whatnot, which I see you have included in the dish.".

"I am very glad to hear that. Enjoy.". Briella couldn't hide her contentment that was aroused by his words.

He took the bowl of salad into his hands, and one by one, he consumed the contents. He too would usually craft a salad, hell, he'd use almost the exact ingredients Briella utilised.

'Despite me making and eating something similar to this... the salad Briella made...'. A pause. Another small smile grew on his lips. 'It tasted sweeter...'. He then looked at the empty bowl of soup. 'And so did the soup...'.

Next, he proceeded on looking up at her. 'These may be simple to prepare... but I can taste it, each second she spent preparing the food, cooking for me, she poured her heart into it,' he thought to himself.

Ryan could see that Briella was too busy looking at her phone to notice his gaze. Not that he minded, it gave him another reason as to why he continued looking her way.

'C-could it be?...' he asked himself. His thoughts laughed at him for arousing such an idea. 'Friends... she sees me as nothing more than a friend...'. Something about that thought sent a strike of pain right to his heart. His gaze broke away from her, with his eyes landing elsewhere. 'I know I said how some things just... aren't meant to be... how Briella and I maybe aren't meant to be a thing... but...'.

'I want us to. I want us to be a thing.'.

Another short pause.

'I-I know all the things she has been through. She told me, and I don't want to be senseless. But I just want to know... could it be that Briella feels the same way I do, even if it's by a fraction of what I feel?'.