Alex looked at me when we heard the door bell.
"Are we expecting someone?" She asked.
She knows her parents wouldn't ring the doorbell as they have their own key of the place.
"Somebody, I invited some people, I hope that's okay?" I looked at her with my pleading eyes.
"Who?"
"Umm... Friends?"
She tilted her head and I take that as an Okay from her.
Annie already opened the door when I went down the stairs.
"Hey, you're the first." I greeted Peter as he kissed me on the cheek.
"Yeah, I canceled my meeting this afternoon, she upstairs?" He didn't wait for me to answer him and went up with me following him.
"Hey, Sis!" He greeted Alex happily.
Alex smiled at him and held out her arms for Peter.
"Pete!" I could hear from Alex's voice the excitement when she knows it's her brother. She probably didn't expect that he was invited.
I let them catch up and went downstairs.
Not long when the doorbell ring again, I opened it and was glad it was Claire.
I was just about to hug her when she spoke.
"Ohh, hello, the bags under Cara's eyes! Are you not sleeping?"
"It was nice to see you too, Claire!" I scoffed at her which she just chuckled.
"Seriously, are you not sleeping?" Claire put down the boxes of food in the counter and joined me in the couch.
"I am... I am sleeping, it's just that, sometimes, you know... Alex would wake up and I had to wait for her to fall back to sleep." I reasoned.
"Why?"
I looked at Claire's furrowed brows.
"Cara, I'm not saying you stop caring for her, just don't forget about yourself. She has her personal nurse living with you here, don't take everything yourself. You're not wonder woman, you may look like her, but you're not her."
How can she divert a very personal matter into a funny conversation, really?
I smiled at her shaking my head.
Brian came just 10 minutes after.
Since Alex cannot come down, we all gathered in the bedroom.
We set up the couch and tables, we had our dinner while chatting.
"Thank you." Alex whispered in my ear.
I was sitting next to her, holding her hand under the blanket.
"I needed this." She continued.
"You're welcome." I smiled at her and kissed her on her cheek.
After our dinner, the guys decided to have a couple of beers while we set up a movie that nobody was watching.
Peter hasn't stop talking about his childhood with Alex and Brian, which Alex was so embarrassed to hear about.
"She would never, never let me and Brian to have girlfriends, like seriously!" Brian laughed remembering it.
"Yeah, yeah! Whenever she would hear in the school that we're dating someone, she would intercept and in front of our girlfriends, would kiss us on the cheek and call us baby! Like what the F, right?" He continued and everybody laughed.
I looked at Alex who was covering her face while she laughs.
"Why would you do that?" I asked her laughing.
"Because..."
"Because???" All of us imitated her tone.
"Because those girls are no good for you both. Do you remember Amber? That girl slept with half of the population at the school!" Alex said cringing.
"Yeah, and I missed my chance." Peter mumbled under his breath before gulping his beer.
Alex heard it and even with a blurry vision, she squinted her eyes at her brother. We all laughed at it.
"And Brian, well, he was so naive before then, the girls he dated in high school were all gold diggers! Uhh-uhh, don't even try to deny it, Peter, you know that!"
Peter sympathetically looked at Brian.
"Sorry, Bro, but I agree with Alex on this."
Claire and I couldn't believe it but we both laughed at him.
He was flush that even his ears turned red.
"Yeah, yeah, I didn't know any better, then." He said as he gave me a quick glance.
We continued for more child hood stories and the four corners of the room echoed with our laughter.
Nine in the evening, I had to throw them out as I didn't want them to tire Alex so much but we agreed to continue on the weekends.
Before everybody left, they helped me put the furniture back to the way it is and throw the paperware we used.
"Babe?" Alex called on me.
I peeked my head out of her closet room, I was picking our clothes to sleep in.
"I want to bathe in the tub."
"Alex..."
"I know, but I'm not gonna stay long. You can join me and make sure I take only 10 minutes, pleaseeeee!"
I stared at her puppy eyes and could see that she really want to do this.
With her illness, her immunity gone too low and she cannot be in the water for too long.
"Fine, let me draw the bath first and make sure the temperature is right."
She smiled at me widely and utter her thanks.
I turned off the AC in the room before I went in the bathroom and draw the bath.
Once done, I helped her get up, held her elbow while my other arm hugging her waist and guided her to walk.
As we stepped into the bathroom to help Alex undress, my heart sank at the sight of her frail form. Her once vibrant spirit seemed overshadowed by the weight of her illness. Gently, I reached out, offering support as she struggled lifting her shirt up.
As I helped her remove her clothes, I couldn't help but notice how much she had changed. The clothes hung loosely on her diminished frame, a stark reminder of the toll the illness had taken on her body. It was painful to see her like this, a shadow of her former self.
Emotions swirled within me, a mixture of sadness, empathy, and admiration for her resilience in the face of such adversity.
I could only imagine the myriad of emotions coursing through Alex as well. The vulnerability of being exposed in her weakened state, her avoiding eyes giving it in.
I took both her hands and helped her get on the tub. As soon as she sat, she laid her back and felt the water in her body.
"Hmmm, I almost forgot how this feels like. It's sooo relaxing." She said while her eyes closed. "Come, join me." Inviting me as she opens her eyes.
I didn't hesitate or think twice, I stripped and positioned myself behind her.
The hot water really feels nice.
I hugged her fragile body, kissed her shoulder and rested my face there while she leaned all her weight on me.
"I haven't thank you enough, Cara, for doing this." She spoke after a while.
"What? This bath? You did already." I joked.
I felt her smile.
She took my hand and kissed it repeatedly.
Even though I want us to stay longer in the water, especially I know it relaxes Alex, we just couldn't. I can't risk her having colds and cough because of it.
I covered her with 2 towels while I wore the bathrobe and took the clothes I prepared for her.
Same as earlier, I helped her put on her clothes and as soon as dressed, I guided her to the bed.
I went in the closet and got dress myself.
I came out of the room, Alex was leaning her back on the headboard obviously waiting for me.
I grab her medicines from the bedside table and handed them to her along with the glass of water.
"Here."
"Thank you."
She handed me back the glass and helped her lay her back on the bed.
As I lay beside her, my arm wrapped around her.
"I love you, Alex."
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