Pandemic

Chapter 12 : Cold

Chapter 12

Later...

Rocky POV

Riker hadn't come back. And everyone went to bed. But I stayed downstairs on the couch because we lock the doors at night so nobody can break in. But if Riker comes back, he's going to be locked out. So I decided I was going to sleep on the couch in case he comes back.

It had started snowing really hard, and that just made me even more worried.

I was drifting in and out of sleep because every noise would wake me up. My ears were listening for Riker while I was sleeping.

All of a sudden I heard footsteps and I shot up. The lights went on outside and I saw blonde hair!

I jumped up and ran to the front door, being as quiet as I could so I didn't wake anyone up. I opened the door and saw Riker, who looked super pale.

"Thank god you're ok," I said quietly, pulling him into a hug.

"C-cold," he said, shivering.

"Yeah, well duh. What were you thinking?"

I pulled him inside and locked the door. His hair was soaked from the snow, and so was his hoodie and the bottoms of his jeans.

"Come sit by the fire and warm up," I said, leading him over.

He sat down by the fire. I put another piece of wood on the fire to help him get warmer faster.

"Where were you?" I asked.

"I d-don't know. J-just in the w-woods."

"Riker, your clothes are soaked. You need to change into some dry clothes."

I pulled off his hoodie for him. He was shaking so hard.

"I'll get you a change of clothes, but we need to get these off."

I took off his socks and shoes, which were soaked from the snow. And then I pulled off his skinny jeans. I put a blanket around his shoulders and then snuck upstairs to get him some pjs.

"Dad tested negative for the virus, by the way. You ran away for nothing."

"Oh..."

I helped Riker get dressed in his pjs, and then we just sat together on the couch. Riker curled up into my side with the blanket, still shivering. His body was literally trembling against mine and wouldn't stop.

"You're lucky I stayed down here, otherwise you would've been locked out," I said, quietly.

"T-thanks for w-waiting for m-me."

"You're welcome."

"I-I'm falling a-asleep."

"Ok. Just wake me up if you need something. Are you feeling any warmer yet?"

"A l-little."

"Ok. Good."

Riker curled into me even more and pulled the blanket up higher. 

"Night, Riker."

"N-night."

Morning...

Riker POV

"Thank god you're ok!"

My eyes shot open and I saw mom.

"If you ever run away like that ever again, you're going to wish you never came back! You could've died!"

Mom hugged me tight. I realized I was still half laying on Rocky from last night.

"When did you come back?" Mom asked.

"He came back at like 2:00 in the morning," Rocky said, sounding sleepy.

"Where were you?" Mom asked.

"Just in the woods."

"Seriously, if you ever do that again, you'll be in so much trouble, Riker Anthony."

"Ok... I'm sorry. I just got scared. I didn't want to catch the virus and die."

"Well you almost died last night," mom said.

"I know. I'm sorry."

I curled into Rocky again, feeling really guilty. 

"Are you warm again?" Rocky asked.

"Yeah. Thanks for staying with me last night."

"Of course. I'm just glad you're ok."

"Me too. And I'm glad dad doesn't have the virus."

"Yeah, he just has a cold."

"Ok, but how did he get a cold? Where did he catch it from if he was wearing a mask, and using hand sanitizer, and staying 6 feet away from everyone? If he caught a cold, he could've caught the virus!"

"That's a good point... I'm not sure how he caught it..."

"Well we need to be extra careful. He could've caught the virus. He's lucky he only caught a cold."

"He's going to the grocery store today, just so you know-"

"What!?"

"Calm down. He's going to order the groceries ahead of time so that all he has to do is pick them up. He won't have to go into the store and shop. They bring them out to the car when you get there."

"Oh... Ok. And then he's going to sanitize them, right?"

"Yeah. So relax. You're safe."

I sighed. Being anxious all the time is exhausting.

"Seriously, Riker. I know you're worried. But just try to chill," Rocky said, putting his arm around me.