Grace
It was weird to be sleeping alone. I had been sleeping alone for as long as I could remember, but then Will entered my life, and now the left side of my mattress felt empty. There was no extra warmth. The right side of the bed was cold, unused, and it was odd to not have someone laying there. My side of the bed was warm, but if I even dared to remove the comforter, I'd probably freeze.
I had spent most of the night tossing and turning, finding it difficult to fall asleep. The heater in the apartment had stopped working two hours ago, and would make this groaning noise every once and while.
Last time I had check it was three in the morning, and it reminded me of how I should be sleeping right now. But I wasn't. I just couldn't. I'd be lying if I said I loved this place, it's nice, but the lights kept flickering on and off for no reason, the fridge would go warm, and the furnace stat doesn't work.
One of the most annoying this was how the lady above us is old, but for some reason, could still party like she was some college girl. Yet she wasn't. And that completely horrified me.
After much consideration, I roll out of bed, regretting it the second I stood up. When I stood up I was hit with a strong chill, and it honestly felt like Jack Frost was giving me a hug. With goose bumps appearing all across my arms and the hair on the back of my neck sticking up, I grab my sweater that sat on the hope chest at the end of the bed.
Putting it on I make my way out of the room, heading across the hall and over to Will's bedroom. Opening the door, the hinges creak and the floor boards beneath me groan when I step on certain areas.
Tip-toeing my way over to Will's bedside, I almost knock something over that sat on the top of his dresser, but catch it and find out that it's just a bottle of hand cream. Placing it back in its original spot, I continue forward.
When I'm right beside him, I lean downward and gently shake his shoulder with one hand. He lets out a tired moan, and rolls over onto his side, facing me. I shut my eyes for a second, finding this to be a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. Instead of doing so gently, I harshly begin to shake him, and after a minute and half he wakes up.
"What?" He grumbles, his voice raspy and oh-so-attractive.
"Can I sleep here?" I ask him, and he opens his eyes and rubs the sleep out of them with his hand.
He nods. "Sure. Just try and not hog the covers, its freezing."
"Okay, first of all, I do not hog the covers. You do. And secondly, no shit, Sherlock." I mutter back, crawling onto the bed and making my way over to the left side of it.
Covering up with the sheets, and pulling the comforter up to under my chin, and sliding my arm under the pillow. Curling up into a fetal position, trying to make myself warmer, I feel Will wrap his arm around my waist. Pulling me towards him, my back hits his chest and I hear him let out a light humph.
My eyes fall shut as I listen to the sound of his even breaths. Becoming relaxed, I find myself practically melting in his arms. He grabs onto my hand, intertwining our fingers.
"Warmer?" He whispers, and I could feel his breath on the back of my neck.
"Very." I whisper back to him, dozing off quickly.
***
Will groans as he moves another box out of the way, piling it on top of another one. I still don't understand why I couldn't put any of my stuff up, but every time I went to ask for an explanation from him he'd wave me off.
I was currently making salads in jars, very happy that we had gone shopping earlier this morning. Pouring my homemade salad dressing into the bottom of the big jar, I continue to fill it up while using a funnel so everything doesn't go everywhere.
The order for this one was: tomatoes, steamed green beans, chopped-up steamed red potatoes, hard boiled eggs, half a can of chick peas, and pieces of bacon to finish it off.
Before I had we had even gone shopping this morning I had asked Will what he likes. When he had heard me say salad, he immediately thought of lettuce, but for what I was doing I wouldn't need lettuce. He wrote down a bunch of things on a piece of paper and left the rest for me to figure out.
Having thought of the idea after I figured out that he'd just get take-out. It must have been a regular thing to get take-out because when I went to put the clean dishes away that had dried over night I had found a bunch of take-home menus in a drawer, hidden under a bunch of kitchenware.
It made me annoyed for some reason when I found the menus. Seeing as I was a pretty good cook and he hadn't once complained about my food, it surprised me that he never once asked if I could make him something to take to work. As I was both his friend and 'girlfriend', I felt like I should at least do something to help around here.
He was, after all, letting me stay here for free.
I do my best to try and not get any food on his laptop that sat on the island in front of me. It was turned off, or sleeping, but I just couldn't find it in myself to move it as I was both too busy making sure I was finished with his lunch before he had to go to work.
It took all but one mere spillage for me to get more then irritated at the damn thing that's hogging the counter space. Wiping my hands with a rag, I quickly close off the jar with a lid and then grab the laptop and take it with me as I walk into the living room.
I found him sitting there, on the couch, watching the sports channel. Annoyed, I gently place the laptop on the coffee table, but sure I'm blocking his view of the TV as I did so. When I spot a bunch of blankets on the floor that had fallen off the chair, I make it myself duty to pick them up and make sure that he had no way of getting a clear vision of the television.
This goes on for about two minutes before he's had enough, and the TV goes black as he turns it off. I could feel him staring at me from across the room, but I made no-such move to look at him as I folded the blankets.
"This because of the take-out menus?" He asks curiously.
I let out a low chuckle, shaking my head. "As you can see, all I'm doing is folding these blankets. What would make you think I was doing anything but such?"
"Oh, well, I don't know. Maybe it's because this entire time since you entered the room, all I've gotten a clear look at was your ass." He tells me, and I could feel a heat spreading to my cheeks.
"Really? I had no idea." I say innocently, because that's what I was. I had no clue that's all he could see, but now that it was, I didn't feel that bad about blocking the TV.
"Now, why don't I believe you?" He questions as I see him walk up to me from the corner of my eye. I choose to ignore him as I go to grab another blanket, but find out that was the wrong decision as I'm suddenly lifted off the ground.
Letting out a loud squeal, the strong pair of arms that were wrapped around my waist tighten, the grip that he had on me being strong. Spinning my around I hear Will's laughter emit into the room, echoing off the walls. It was bright, excited, and a happy; his laughter. And it seemed like only on occasion was it that I got to hear it.
I don't even bother to ask him to put me down as he does it himself as he stumbles backwards with me still in his arms. It obvious he was dizzy, but that doesn't stop him for gently digging the tips of his fingers into the pressure points in my sides, sending an electric shock up my spin. His fingers begin to move in all different directions, tickling me.
A shriek escapes past my lips and when I try to look back and over my shoulder, I catch glimpse of wide grin on Will's face. I try to escape from his grasp, but he pulls me back by hocking his hands onto the belt loops of my jeans, sending me backwards.
My back hits his chest hard and lets out a grunt, and I mutter a quick apology in between a fit of giggles as he goes back to tickling me. I throw my head back, my laughter just as loud as his. From above us, there's loud booming sound. Will stops tickling me, but doesn't let go of my hips. Simultaneously, our heads shoot upward, and were both staring up at the ceiling.
"Keep it down will ya!" Shouts a loud a voice that comes through the vent on the floor near the window. "Some of us are trying to sleep!"
"It's the middle of the afternoon, you old crank!" I yell back towards the floor, and behind me Will let's out a chuckle.
"Really, and old crank? Where did that come from?" He asks and I shrug, unknowingly.
"Oh, thank God, they shut up! Finally, some peace and fucking quiet!" Cries the lady from the apartment above of ours.
"This coming from the lady that likes to make the most loudest, most strangest noises at three in the damn morning!" Will retorts, directing his words to the roof.
"You don't know shit, Reed!" Replies the lady from upstairs, and I stare at the ceiling in disbelief. Was this really happening? Were really having arguments about who's louder?
"Oh, you shut you it you wrinkly hag!" Will groans, and I close my eyes, raising my hand and pinching the bridge of my nose.
"This is so stupid," I tell myself, but find it rather difficult to hold back a snicker as the mysterious woman from above starts to shout a round of curse words.
It seemed like an hour has passed until the two are down complaining about whose worse, but really it's only been ten to fifteen minutes. Will had let go of me, which left me to sit on the arm of the couch as I watch him bicker back at the older woman. We were most likely going to get a noise complainment from the rest of building, but it was definitely worth it as I see the look of satisfaction that spreads across his face when the lady upstairs doesn't respond.
But it takes all but five minutes for worry to settle in, and my stomach twists as I think the most horrible thing ever. And it seemed like Will was thinking the same thing as he stares up at the ceiling in terror.
***
"I just need to ask you one more question, Mr. Reed. Can you explain exactly what it is you were doing when you realized that Ms. Carson wasn't do breathing?" Questions the paramedic as he holds a notepad in his hands as he stares up at Will.
I stand a couple of feet away, glancing back between both them and the other two men in the same uniforms as they wheel Ms. Carson into the elevator as she lay on a gurney. A pang of guilt hits me heart and I wince as I watch the old woman clutch as the oxygen mask, her eyes just barely staying open as the other paramedics that are with her ask her questions in low mummers.
"Well, it's a bite complicated, but we were having a ... conversation ... and when she didn't respond my girlfriend got worried and said we should see if something was wrong." Will explains, fibbing to the man that couldn't have been only a year older than me.
"You don't sound so sure," points out the paramedic.
I look back over at the two when the elevator doors close, and see that Will was in a bit of a pickle. Stepping forward and away from the wall, I grab at his hand, using the other to rub his back reassuringly.
"He's probably still in shock." I assessed, trying to get us both out of here as quickly as possible.
I knew I was right and didn't need much information to know that it was true that Will was and still is in shock. It's not exactly a warming thought to see your neighbour having a heart attack; especially if you weren't used to seeing death at every corner. From past experience and thanks to my grandfather who was known for being a stress magnet and worried about everything was very prone to having heart attacks.
Luckily, Ms. Carson had cayenne pepper in her spice rack. Now, it's widely known that cayenne pepper is good in scrambled eggs, but is also good to keep around to both help slow or stop heart attacks from happening. My grandmother, when she was still alive, kept plenty around just in case when it came to my grandfather's health.
The paramedic nods understandingly. "That's very common, Mr. Reed. But your girlfriend seems to have no trouble with it. Can I ask why, if that's alright with you ..."
"Grace; my name is Grace. And yes, it's perfectly okay. I get why you'd ask, and the answer is simple. I've seen a lot of death, dealt with it, and have simply got over the shock when it's announced or when something like this is happening. I learned to be calm, cool, and collected in these types of situations." I explain to him, hoping that he gets it.
"I see that you used cayenne pepper. Not many people know that trick unless they have family who have medical conditions that deal with the heart." He tells me, a proud glint in his eyes.
But there was still the silent question that was lingering the air. One that the many did not want to ask.
"My grandfather died from heart failure years ago. His wife, my grandmother, kept bags of the stuff around the house or even in her purse. She told me you could never too careful," I tell him, feeling my eyes begin to sting with tears, but I hold them back. I give him a small smile as Will talks to the paramedic, suggesting that he should leave.
When the paramedics is gone, and were both back in the apartment, I head over to the island in the kitchen and puts the salads away in the fridge. But when I open the fridge I find it to be warm instead of cold and I let out a groan of frustration as I kick the side of it.
"Will, we need a new fridge." I say, as I turn around, but find that he's not standing behind me anymore.
With a sigh I close the door to the fridge and walk over and into the living room where I find him sitting on the couch, leaned over and staring at the computer. This didn't surprise me, but what I thought was just a thing for work was actually a real-estate website.
It didn't seem like he heard me walking into the living room as he scrolls down the page, his eyebrows scrunched together in thought. When he clicks on one of the options for a studio apartment I bite my lip, wondering if I should speak up or not.
"So, were you going to tell me we were moving, or were you just going to up and go in the middle of the night?" I ask, my words coming out as curious and invasive.
The sudden sound of my voice causes him to jerk to the side in shock, but he quickly recovers as he looks up at me, mouth opened and wide-eyed.
"I can explain."
Oh, cliff hanger! I'm not very good at these, so bare with me. Also, currently, my life is an absolute mess. But I'm getting through it, and it'll all be okay. I feel like I should leave you all hanging with this update, but ... I might just change my mind.
Thank you for reading and don't forget to leave a vote or comment if you enjoyed it :) xx