Chapter 16

 

            Sandra woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs, to which she saw Alex, bent over, deep in concentration. This would be the second time he cooked them breakfast, except this time she was planning on actually eating it. It almost seemed like they were married.

 

            Sandra got dressed and walked over to where Alex was, which was when she saw the shopping bags.

 

            “What’s all this?”

 

            Alex had been concentrating on cooking and hadn’t even heard Sandra get up. He turned and faced her, “Well, for one thing, we were out of food, which is an essential element in living,” he took the food over to the table. “And second, we’ve been wearing the same clothes for the past four days. I thought you might like a change.”

 

            Sandra stared at him for a moment before throwing her arms around him and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. She pulled back a bit, still keeping her arms around him, “Thank you so much,” she absently kissed him on the mouth. As she looked at his eyes, she knew he wasn’t trying to impress her or anything, he was just doing what he thought was needed. It just happened to be really sweet. She hugged him again, he had no idea how badly she wanted to change clothes.

 

            “You know the food’s going to get cold,” Alex wasn’t comfortable with all the thanks he was getting, it wasn’t something he was used to.

 

            They ate in silence, both stealing glances at the other. Finally, while cleaning up the dishes, Alex spoke. “We’re leaving today.”

 

            Sandra stared at him, it wasn’t that she thought that they were going to stay here forever, but she thought they would stay for a few days at least.

 

            “But it’s safe here, nobody knows we’re here.”

 

            Alex looked at her, she was being naïve of course, but he understood her want to stay here. It was something familiar, a place that reminded her of her family. He completely understood that, what he wouldn’t do to be reminded of what his family was like and not just some distant memory.

 

            “Listen,” his voice was sympathetic. “We have to keep moving until we get to Canada. Even if we’re being incredibly careful, there’s always somebody who can find us.”

 

            Sandra nodded her head and went to have a shower before they left. As the water ran over her head, she couldn’t have been farther away. A piece of her dream kept playing over and over in her head:

 

            Sandra lay awake in her bed, staring at the ceiling, counting the endless dots that ran in a chaotic pattern. She feels something pass over her arm, causing the hair on her arms to stand up. She turns her head to see Alex looking at her, he kisses her, rolling her on top of him. They rip off each others clothes, without breaking contact. Before either knows what is happening, they plunge deep into each other and…

 

            Sandra shook her head and took a deep breath, she studied her surroundings. She was still in the bathroom, in the shower.

 

            The more she thought of that dream, the stronger it got, she literally had to hold herself up or else she was afraid that her knees might collapse beneath her. She looked out at the door, secretly hoping Alex would come through and…

 

            She banged her fist against the shower wall, ‘I must have a death wish,’ she said to herself, turning the water to cold.