An accidental meeting has their hearts running.
Shailene is stuck at a hospital. Her father was supposed to pick her, but it's dark now, and he hasn't arrived yet.
Ryan has come at the hospital for his regular treatment. He finds about her problem...
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A month later...
They were deflated tires-that had been to a long, tiresome journey-when they returned from the campus. The prickly sun shone overhead, roasting them like beans. A horde of languid students dragged their feet towards their harbours, sweating profusely.
Above the tiredness, Ryan said agitated, "Damn, I forgot to carry my room's key when I left. Now I will have to wait for my roomie and he arrives late."
"Don't sweat it. You can stay in my room till he arrives, and my roommate is not going to show up until the closing hours."
"Ah, every cloud has a silver lining." He winked.
"You are right. You can help me with my assignments," she said joking around.
"I take my words back." He raised his hands in mock surrender.
She cracked up.
"Have you texted your roommate?" She asked while unlocking the door.
"Yeah, I am texting him right now."
The room had plain white walls like in every other dorm room. It was split into two parts. Both sides were mirror images of each other having a bed, a study table and a closet.
"The one with the blue sheet is mine," she said signalling towards her bed. "Don't touch anything that's not mine."
He nodded. "Will you be working on your assignments now?"
"Yep."
"I have to take my medicines now and I need to doze after that, so can I lie down on your bed?"
"Yeah."
"Thanks and I have set an alarm but if I don't get up, just wake me then. Will you?"
"Sure."
She placed her bag beside her study table, opened the window and set off to work. He took the pills from his bag and gulped them down with a swig of water. His eyes started to get heavy and at length, they shut down.
The whooshing of the air insinuated closure to the day. Its torturous touch was like whips of a leather lash. Shailene got up from the table and went to close the window. Just then the alarm went off.
After closing the window, she headed towards her bed and turned the alarm off. There were no notifications on his phone, so she let him sleep and got back to work after coiling herself in a thick shawl.
Half an hour later, the ringing of Ryan's phone disturbed her. She looked back and found him sleeping soundly. After getting up from the chair, she stretched her body to release the tension and went towards the bed. She picked up the phone and shook him awake.
"Your phone," Shailene said handing him his phone.
"It's my roommate," hoarseness enveloped his voice as he spoke while massaging his left eye, "He has arrived."
"Oh, okay. My roomie will also be here soon."
"Yeah. So... Bye."
"Yeah."
He sat up on the bed and wore his shoes. After getting up, he kissed her goodbye, picked up his bag and left. She stood there watching the dent on the mattress until the click of the door, now closed, struck her eardrums.
The next day, Shailene arrived at the entrance of the dormitory before Ryan. Her mind rode on the back of, perhaps, an absurd thought.
He is always here waiting for me. Never late. What's taking him so long?
A few minutes ticked by before she saw him came running towards her. For about a minute he stood with his waist bent over his knees while his hands stayed rooted to his kneecaps as he huffed.
"What took you so long?" She inquired.
"I forgot my assignment in my room," he replied, still panting though lightly.
"Oh, okay. Now c'mon. Shake a leg. We are going to be late!"
After attending lectures, they met at the canteen as usual. They were fretting over the busy schedule when Ryan received a notification on his mobile phone. A glance at the glowing screen rendered him a face contorted with worry.
"What is it?" Shailene asked.
"It's...my doc."
"But you met him this Saturday." Her eyebrows knitted together as the words came rippling from her brain to her tongue.
"No, it's...Dr. Longman. I have to go back to our hometown to meet him. Since these are the last two weeks of my treatment, he himself wants to make sure that I'm alright. I was going to tell you but I-
"-forgot," she finished his sentence, "You are forgetting a lot lately. Don't forget to call me when you will be there. When are you leaving, by the way?"
"Today. Right now. I have already booked a flight. I have to leave tonight." He whispered the last part looking at the sticky table between them.
"What?!" Her voice was as devastated as her insides. "You sure everything is alright?"
"Yeah...don't worry. Just afew tests and I'll be back." He reassured her taking her soft, petal-like hands into his hard, masculine ones. His tone belied his words.
"...Alright. Don't forget to call me. Get that?"
"Copy that!" He feigned a smile that was twenty light years away from his eyes.
"Just a matter of days and everything will be alright," she comforted putting her hand on top of his.
"Yes, everything will be fine."
"Let's go now. We have a lot of packing to do. And the sooner you leave, the sooner you will be back." She gave him the perfect smile and his tension thawed.
After helping him pack, she accompanied him to the airport. When it was time for him to leave, she hugged him and they kissed passionately, both unaware that this would be their last.
