𝐂𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐙

VIII.

Jovena remembered to do everything Mrs. Kang told her to do; make his meals, keep him company, even bathe him, which was quite difficult. Nevertheless, she did her job as his caretaker.

Night came and Jovena just finished helping Kino change into more comfortable clothes to sleep in.

"Thank you for taking care of me, Jovena." Kino stared at her as she pulled the covers over him. Her heart still skipped a beat whenever he said her full name.

"You're welcome. I figured it's a good excuse to see you every minute or so." Jovena replied.

"Have a goodnight." He briefly waved, smiling.

"Goodnight. Sweet dreams." Jovena spoke softly before leaving a crack between the door and frame. She let out a deep breath and walked to the guest bedroom, leaving her door open.

She changed into a pair of sweats and a plain shirt and slipped under the cold yet comfortable covers. Her eyes felt droopy and swollen from crying earlier. It was an emotional roller coaster the whole day.

Jovena sighed in delight, smiling as she cuddled into the blanket. Only a couple of minutes flew by that she found out she needed to use the bathroom. She crawled out of bed and opened the door to go to the bathroom that was right next door.

She exited the bathroom. Her feet paused in its tracks. She fought the urge to jump back into her bed and trudged forward to Kino's room.

She turned the knob and looked inside. Kino, still on his side, hugged one of the unoccupied pillows. His head laid on top of the pillow. Such a cutie, she thought. Jovena smiled and quietly walked to the guest room. Her head hit the pillow and she slid one of her hands under it, leaving one to lay around freely.

Jovena had her fair share of restless nights. This was one of those nights unfortunately. The girl tried to switch to her other side and even on her stomach but that wasn't helping. She flipped over on her back and stared up at the ceiling. She looked at the entrance, regretting the decision to leave the door open, but bad scenarios crossed her mind, thinking what would happen if she closed the door.

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Jovena lifted her head up from the pillow after realizing she had woken up. She looked at the clock that hung on the wall. It showed, 5:43. She only slept for almost 5 hours, that wasn't enough.

The teen rolled over and attempted to go back sleep. The house was quiet. The only thing that made itself known was the clock. Eerily, it was quiet. Not to mention that she was in another house.

Jovena wasn't used to quietness; she would always leave the radio playing overnight. She couldn't stand being in complete silence. The unusual feeling in her ears felt like she was being drowned.

Jovena huffed, folding her arms over the blanket. The guest room didn't have a radio nor a TV. She rose from the bed and walked out of the room.

"Should I?" She whispered to herself. Her feet itched to move and before she knew it, Jovena was making her way to Kino's.

She could hear the television softly blaring. There was no reason for him to be awake at almost 6 in the morning. She had to check. Her hand pushed the door away from the doorframe.

The boy was still sleeping. This time, he was on his back. Jovena realized after a smile appeared on her face that she'd been showing off a grin lately, ever since she 'reunited' with Kino. Undoubtedly, Kino was the reason behind all her smiles. She would smile whenever he'd bring up a childhood story, beam at her, talk about the things he loves, from the smallest to biggest things.

Jovena crept in and turned off the box. She then made her way outside and glanced at Kino before closing his door the same amount of distance from the doorway like before. She decided she should start making food for Kino. She wasn't sleepy and didn't feel like crawling back in bed.

The kitchen was slightly bigger and more nicer than Jovena's. Everything was organized; the dishes were coordinated by sizes, the tupperwares had their own shelf, the utensils were separated by forks, spoons and knives. Jovena had an easy way to get around. Her kitchen was quite small for her house.

She threw the already made grilled cheese sandwhich onto the frying pan. The pan sizzled as soon as the bread hit the iron. Jovena placed her hands on her hips and wandered around the kitchen. Whenever Jovena was downstairs, she'd feel lonely and didn't want to admit it, but scared too.

She reminisced to the day before when Mrs. Kang sternly told her the things to do and not do.

"Oh, under any circumstances, don't take him downstairs. There's a wheelchair in the hallway closet, put him in there if he doesn't want to stay in bed all day. He's only allowed on the top floor."

Mrs. Kang's voice was almost in a whisper and she leaned very close to Jovena. At that moment, Jovena was suspicious of her neighbor. Why wouldn't she want Kino to come downstairs? I mean, Kino was isolated in this very house, wasn't him being locked inside his room enough? Their section, everyone was kind and had much respect for each other. Their neighbors were the last people to tease others and be mean. So why would she keep Kino from staying downstairs?

Jovena desperately wanted to ask Mrs. Kang why during that time. Curiosity was about to kill the cat. She wanted to take Kino downstairs to see for herself. Her hand twitched at the thought of risking it. She didn't want to do it. But then, Mrs. Kang wouldn't know anything about it. Kino deserved to live a normal teenager life by soaking up the sun and having a social life.

Jovena held her hands against the counter. Her mind racing with theories as she turned her head behind and watched the pan.

I'm gonna do it, she thought, just not now.