Intertwined

Two

It was the third day that she sat at the table, hands folded in front of her face, staring off into nothing in particular. She hadn't been allowed to see him. Not even his own parents were, though they were now quarantined and being monitored for signs of possible contraction. The entire lane, for that matter, was being watched closely, and weren't going to be allowed to go anywhere for another two days.

Selene, of course, had been extremely irked when Theia called in to tell her this, but in the end, the desire not to potentially contract a viciously deadly disease won out over forcing her branch of Luxe staff into being workaholics.

And besides, as Theia had reminded Selene, she could work from home and manage everything just fine. The orders would still get shipped, the papers Selene needed would end up in the right hands, and everything would still get executed before it was even thought about being needed.

She wished she had work to distract her, though. Anything was better than just sitting in this house, thinking about the best friend who hadn't even crossed her mind when she witnessed the chaos unfolding in their street that night. She hadn't even stopped to consider the fact that he had called in sick from work that morning, that he told her it was the worst he had ever been. All she could think about was her mother and father, her own household, instead of the one person that had quite literally always been by her side.

The brown bag of broth from Melia's sat at the other side of the table, rumpled and torn in a couple places, as paper bags tend to do. Its stare bore into her, twisting that knot of guilt around in her stomach until she felt like she was going to be sick. And yet, she couldn't take her eyes from it. It was the closest thing she had to Alez right now, and she was clinging to it as if keeping it around would save him.

It was foolish; she knew that.

Her mother came up behind her, stroking her daughter's flaxen locks and setting a bowl of cereal in front of her. "Theia," she coaxed gently, resting her hand on Theia's shoulder. "Come on. Eat." She took the chair beside Theia's, a sigh filling her lungs as she gazed upon her only child.

Theia picked up the spoon, but could only push the cereal pieces around, looking at them with blank eyes.

"He's a fighter, you know that," her mother murmured, reaching over and taking her daughter's hand. Theia's gaze finally moved, resting on her mother. Tear tracks were apparent on her cheeks, and her face showed no hint of the sweet young woman who usually was there.

"I just...I just forgot he existed in that moment," Theia whispered, voice trembling. "I-I saw everything happening and he didn't even cross my mind." She buried her face in her hands, hiccuping for a moment. "After anything happens, he always immediately thinks of me, comes to me, is there for me, and I-I-I didn't do the same."

"Oh, sweetheart, come here," her mother said, pulling Theia into her lap despite her being twenty years old. "You did nothing wrong," she whispered into Theia's hair, wrapping her arms tightly around her and rocking her back and forth. "I know that, Alez knows that, everyone knows that. When you did find out, you immediately wanted to be there for him, it's not like you completely ignored the situation. You just didn't know. Your love and concern still exist, and it's that which matters more than anything."