The Red String Theory

Happy Holidays

Getting through the  holidays felt like a near-impossible task. Between being overworked and  prepping for the upcoming festivities, Luna fell ill with a seemingly  never-ending cold. She suffered silently (or as silently as she could  between sniffles and sneezes) and kept up her routine for the entirety  of December as best as she could. It was unfortunate that the worst of  it fell on Christmas, but there wasn't much that she could do.

"Are you sure that you can't come with me to my parent's house?" Sam asked, standing half-in, half-out the living room doorway.

"Yes,  I'm sure, Sam," Luna huffed out from beneath her pile of blankets. She  shivered slightly, huddling further under the layers of fabric she had  dragged onto the couch, and buried herself further in her pillows. What  Luna really wanted to do was shove herself further under her blankets to  cover her head to block the overhead light that was on. Even though it  was the morning and the sun was trying to peek its way through the  clouds, Sam still insisted on the light being on. It wasn't doing Luna  any favors. "Do you really think I'm okay to go like this?"

"I mean, you could just sit there. It would be fine."

"Sam,  I have a head-splitting headache, and I get dizzy if I'm sitting up for  too long. And knowing you, you'll want to take one car –"

"Well, it would be stupid to take two –"

"And  that's the point I've been trying to make all morning! I don't feel  well, and I don't want to make myself miserable the entire time and then  ruin everyone's day. I want to be able to leave if it gets bad."

"Well, you don't need to have an attitude about it."

"I  don't –" Luna let out a sigh between her sudden coughing fit. She  supposed that she had been a bit snippy with Sam all morning, but they  had been having the same conversation all day. She was tired, and she  didn't understand why Sam wasn't getting what she was trying to say.  Luna took in a deep, steadying breath and lowered her voice. "I just  don't feel good, Sam. I'd rather stay home."

Sam  heaved a heavy sigh, looking around the living room, his eyes not  focusing on one thing. The way his gaze shifted made Luna feel as though  he was trying to look for some sort of excuse for her to join him. His  eyes darted around the room, completely bypassing her and the dogs on  the couch. He glanced out the window, over at the television, the  fireplace, back to the window again, and then he sighed once more with a  shrug.

"All right," he said dejectedly. "I'll just go, then. I'll see you later. Feel better."

Luna  frowned as Sam immediately turned around and started to leave without  even a kiss goodbye. She sat up slightly amongst her pillows, brow  furrowing when Sam made no movement to return. When Sam still wasn't  returning, Luna sat up even further, feeling somewhat bad about  disturbing the dogs that had made themselves comfy underneath the  blankets with her.

"Hey,  Sam?" Luna called out, off-put by their entire interaction. Her frown  deepened when she heard Sam's exasperated sigh from somewhere near the  front of the house. It was loud and echoed within the quiet walls, but  he eventually arrived back in the doorway moments later. He stared at  her, an eyebrow arching in annoyance as he waited for her what she would  say next.

"Uhm,"  Luna glanced over at her laptop sitting on the desk near the doorway.  "Could you maybe bring me my laptop so that I don't have to get up?"

Sam's  exasperation with her was slightly more evident as his nostrils flared  with his deep inhale and long exhale. He stared at her for a few moments  longer, the look in his eyes unreadable and almost cold. Luna sunk back  into her pillows, silently willing for him to do something other than  just staring at her. Very slowly, Sam reached over to grab her laptop  off the desk. He took a few steps forward into the room and tossed it so  that it barely landed on the edge of the couch. Luna had to slam her  hand down on its lid to keep it from falling. Sam flicked the nearby  switch to turn off the lights with a mumbled "Love you," and Luna was  left alone with a slam of the front door.