𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐘, k.jacobs²

XVIII

I bit my nails in distress as I watched the door, waiting for Karl and Dream to come back. I had convinced Karl to take the test after 24 hours of still being sick and Dream had offered to drive him. Very kind of him.

"You'll start to bleed if you continue like that," Sapnap smiles but I can see in his eyes that he is anxious too. It isn't that he thinks Karl is going to die, it's more that if he has corona he'll have to be quarantined in his room for a week or longer, depending on when he recovers. That means he would miss out on the whole meetup and that one of the crew boys would be left out. And I wouldn't be able to spend time with my boyfriend.

As if Sapnap had foretold the future, I can taste blood on my tongue. It's a salty, rusty, and, well, blood-like taste. I absolutely hate it, but right now I couldn't care less.

"Are they back yet?" Alex asks as he walks up behind me, grabbing the couch just behind my shoulders.

I throw a quick glance at him before continuously staring at the front door. "No," My voice is strained. I might be overreacting, but I'm worried.

"Oh," Alex exhales and I continue biting on my fingernails. Sapnap groans and leaves the room, leaving me and Alex by ourselves. He stays behind me for a bit before sighing and rounding the couch, sitting down beside me as he swiftly puts his arms around my shoulders, allowing me to rest my head on him.

It somehow calms me down a bit and I stop biting my nails. Instead, I suck in the blood before clogging the open wounds with my other hand to stop them from bleeding.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. They'll probably tell him he doesn't have it and then we can just continue to have fun," Alex tries to cheer me up, but I don't feel cheerful. I still feel worried, although less worried than before.

I nod against the fabric of his hoodie and take a deep breath. Why am I so worried? I'm acting like a little bitch. Worst case scenario I'll just have to see Karl some other time when he isn't ill. Or has corona.

Now, I will be honest, I might have fallen asleep there for a minute because suddenly I was abruptly, and rudely, woken up when the sound of a car slowing down reached the front door meaning that they were finally back. I removed myself from Alex, who I realized had been awake the whole time, making it all very embarrassing for me. 

He, however, said nothing about it and only smiled softly at me as I looked over at his face. I attempted to smile back before standing up from the couch, walking away. He rose behind me and followed me to the front door where I waited for Karl and Dream.

The door opened without a sound, except for the sound of the handle being turned. Dream pulled the door open and behind him stood Karl with a melancholy smile. I knew what he was going to say before he even said it.

"The test was positive. I'm sorry guys," He looked between Alex and me and I could hear Alex sigh in disappointment behind me.

"Are they back?!" Sapnap yelled from the upstairs and heavy footsteps followed his words as he hurried down the steps of the stairwell. We waited for him to get to the front door and when he saw our faces I saw in his eyes that he knew. "Fuck me, man," My brother groaned.

"Language!" Bad yelled. We had picked him and Skeppy up from the airport a day ago. How had he heard Sapnap from across the house? It was as if he had special hearing just for curse words.

"Sorry!" Sapnap yelled back on reflex. Then he frowned. "You know what Bad? No! No, I'm not sorry. Actually, FUCK," He added.

"Hey! Language!" Bad shrieked. I blocked out the sound of him, Skeppy, and my brother to instead focus on the three other people standing around me by the door. 

"Do you me to book a taxi that can drive you home?" Dream asked Karl and he nodded.

"Yeah, I'll just pack my stuff first," He said. 

"Of course," Dream smiled and I tightened the cardigan over my chest, crossing my arms as I went. Karl nodded again, then he looked at me and nodded his head towards the stairs, wanting me to follow him.

So of course, I did. I followed him to his room and quietly watched him take stuff out of drawers and put them in his bags. It was a depressing sight, seeing him leave knowing I'd be here for another week. Karl, on the other hand, wasn't quiet. At all. He was talking the entire time, trying to brighten the mood.

"Do you think Skeppy and Bad will ever have a day when they don't bicker?" That was one of the things he said. I normally would have laughed or at least smiled, but I couldn't find it in me to seem happy right then. 

When he was done packing, he took a deep breath and stopped moving. He stared at me and I stared back at him. Then he took four steps forward and enfolded me in a hug, resting his face in the crane of my neck. His breath warmed my skin and I snaked my arms around his torso.

"I'm sure we'll see each other soon," Karl's mumbled and the words were muffled by my skin. 

I sighed. 

"Me too. But I'll miss you," I muttered and he chuckled at this. I didn't know what about it that he was finding amusing. 

"I don't doubt it," He said and took a step back so I could see the grin on his face.

I boxed his shoulder. "Jackass," I said.

"Aw, I love you too," He replied and I blushed. He was such an idiot. Karl saw my tinted face and smiled before leaning forward to kiss my forehead. Then he put on his mask, grabbed his bags and left. Once again, I followed him through the house, but this time I knew it was the last.

Everyone else was already waiting for us downstairs. Nobody in this house wanted to miss saying goodbye to Karl. I clenched my jaw as I leaned on the doorframe between the hall and the living room. 

"Ready to go?" Dream asked as Karl grabbed his jacket.

"Yes," He answered and Bad whined.

"Awh, it's so sad that you have to leave. It won't be as fun without you," He pouted.

Skeppy's jaw dropped at this. 

"Are you saying that I'm not fun to be with Bad? That's really mean, no that's so mean of you," He said and crossed his arms in a childish manner.

"No, Skeppy," Bad dragged out his words. "You're very funny, but so is Karl, I didn't want to be mean."

"Bad I'm joking."

"It wasn't a funny joke."

"Okay, I won't listen to these idiots anymore, bye Karl," George said, waved at Karl with a big smile, and then left. We all just kind of stared at his disappearing figure for a few seconds, processing what just happened.

"Uh, okay," Sapnap blinked. "Anyway, goodbye bro," He said without making an effort to move. Karl, on the other hand, stepped up to my brother and wrapped his arms around him in a hug. Sapnap awkwardly hugged him back while patting his scapula. 

"Bye Sapnap," Karl said, and judging by the way his eyes looked above the mask, he was smiling. 

"Bye Karl!" Skeppy and Bad said in unison as Dream opened the front door. I bit my lower lip as I watched him get in the uber. Then the car was backed out of the driveway and he was gone. Despite that, I stood leaned in the doorway for several more minutes, watching the road outside. He was gone.