Rollercoaster

Chapter 5

Cristina awaked to the sight of Christian pacing by her bed.

"Good, you're awake," he said.

"What time is it?" Cristina asked, rubbing her eyes. She glanced at the clock. "Christian, it's freaking 2:00 AM! Why were you standing here watching me sleep?"

"Don't make it sound creepy," he said. "I just couldn't sleep, and I was waiting for you to wake up because I'm bored."

"I'm not making it SOUND creepy. It IS creepy," Cristina clarified.

"Come on," he argued. "It's not that creepy. It's sweet."

"Listen, there is a thin line between sweet and creepy, and this crosses it," Cristina persisted.

"Sorry," Christian half-apologized. "But now that you're up, let's do something."

"Dude," Cristina complained as he pulled on her arm, trying to get her out of bed. "I'm up," she insisted. "You don't have to tug on me. I'm up." She stood beside the bed. "So, what did you want to do that had to be done at 2:00 AM and couldn't wait until some less ungodly hour?" she groused.

"Let's go to a convenience store and buy some food. We're all out," he suggested.

"Do you understand what 'quarantine' means?" she asked in annoyance. "We can't be around other people."

"Oh, yeah," he conceded. "I guess we'll have to order food. What do you want to get?" he asked as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"Well, no one will be delivering at this hour," Cristina reminded him. He continued to prance in place.

"Dude, if you need to pee, just go already," she instructed like an irritated babysitter.

"How did you know I have to pee?" he questioned. "That's just some creepy, paranormal shit right there."

Cristina laughed. "It doesn't require a foray into the clairvoyant to recognize the pee-pee dance. I've babysat. I'm not a mind-reader."

"Thank God," he replied, "because all that stuff freaks me out. I can't watch horror movies or anything like that because paranormal stuff scares me to death."

"Look at you all scared of stuff," Cristina teased. "You know, with the tattoos and the motorcycle riding, I never would have guessed how much of a scaredy-cat you are."

"Yeah, people think I'm a bad boy, but I'm totally not. Like I grew up super Christian and I still believe in that stuff. So, in the reverse, I believe that evil stuff exists too."

"Well, that's something we have in common then," Cristina replied. "When I was growing up, my mom wouldn't let me read Harry Potter books because she thought they were from the Devil."

"Exactly!" Christian affirmed.

"So, you're telling me you've never seen horror movies?" she asked.

"I've seen two, but I don't want to talk about them. Just bringing it up gives me the creeps," he explained.

"So, you don't want me to tell you about the girl in the little blue dress that lives at my grandpa's house?" Cristina asked slyly.

"No, for Heaven's sake, no!" he protested, covering his ears with his hands.

"You don't want to hear about how I came downstairs one night and found her sitting on the stove?" Cristina persisted.