Pandora's Box

Chapter 14

Spring, 2014
The Talbott Residence, Artesian Avenue
Chicago

"You really hate spring don't you?"

Rhys gave a sad smile when Pandora sniffed, curled up in the sofa of her room. A pile of used tissues threatened to fall over next to her, and the rest of her room was in an organized mess that Rhys had to pick his way through when he had first came over. This was by no means his first time in the Talbott household, but that didn't mean he was anymore welcome then he was the first time. Pandora had introduced him to her parents about a month into their being together, but Miranda and Gerald Talbott had not been happy.

In fact, Rhys thought back as he slowly watched Pandora drift back to sleep, curled up in her white pajamas and fluffy purple blanket, he had to house Pandora in his small apartment for a few days when she blew up in an argument with her parents.

"You can't continue staying here, sweetling. You love your parents, don't you?" he had asked over dinner at the coffee table, after her third day of bunking over at his sparse apartment. He had been embarrassed, because it was the epitome of a bachelor pad with one raggedy sofa, a single television set, an empty refrigerator, and clothes strewn all over the place.

The only saving grace was the amount of sunlight his place got, but Pandora had barely paid attention, too consumed by her anger as she had stormed in and sat sulking in a corner of the sofa.

And three days later, she was still sulking. "Right now, not very much." she replied him, growling into her soup. When did his girlfriend turn into an angry cat? Rhys couldn't help but wonder, as he stirred his own bowl.

"They've been trying to contact you." he tried to cajole.

She rolled her eyes. "They know I'm alive, that's enough." she paused, and to Rhys's expectation, blew up about half a minute later. "I don't get it! I'm twenty-four, almost twenty-five now, Rhys! I can make my own decisions. They don't even know about my exes, and now they think I can't make my- Ugh! I know what I'm doing. They don't know anything about you and they are making all sorts of judgements and I cannot stand it!"

"Hush baby, hush." Recognizing the signs of Pandora going well into another angry meltdown, he quickly moved to sit next to her on the floor, pulling her into his arms. "Hush, you've got to know they are only angry because they are worried for you. They don't even know who I am. Give them a chance, shall we?"

"But it's not fair, baby," she whined. "They're passing judgements when they don't even bother getting to know you."

"Let them get to know me then. But me keeping you in my apartment is not going to make them have a good impression on me. So... Let me bring you home after dinner, okay? And we'll sit down and I'll have a talk with them."

So he had brought her back after. All of that had happened a good month ago, and Mr and Mrs. Talbott had since then warmed up, although not considerably. They had worried over Pandora's safety, especially since both of them worked for the CIASF. But they had been worried sick over their only daughter's disappearance for three days, enough to at least not entirely reject their relationship. But it didn't mean he and the Talbott's were bosom buddies.

At least, Rhys thought in amusement, he wasn't kicked out when he came to visit his sick girlfriend, who now sounded like a hairdryer as she wheezed on the couch. Watching as she slept, he tenderly brushed her stray locks of hair aside. Over the weeks, he realized he couldn't seem to bear to be away from her for too long. They stayed in the training room for periods at a time, where Pandora taught him capoeira, a skill Rhys had been meaning to pick up. In exchange, he let her take the wheel of his bike once in awhile, albeit in a very careful manner, and he was always behind her. It was a month and a half of discovery, as they learned more about each other. They argued, more because of her headstrong nature and his stubborn personality, but they were too attached to each other to let any argument blow up too big.