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Calm down, Kira…he’s being nice.I can’t help it that my temper comes out when I’m too cold.
“Get out of those wet clothes and into something dry, huh? I’ll make you some tea.”
“I don’t want any tea.”
Orlie sighs. “Fine.”
I grab what I need out of my suitcase and retreat to my room, putting on some dry clothes. I still feel chilled to the bone,unable to get warm, especially now that the towel has lost most of its heat.
I go into my bathroom and turn on the hot water. As I wait for the bath to fill up, the lights flicker and the power goes off, leaving me in total darkness.
“Shit.”
No power means no furnace. Which means no hot water. Which means –
“FUCK.”
“Well,I couldn’t find the generator,” Orlie announces as he climbs up from the basement and back into the living room.
I am bundled in every blanket I could get my hands on, staring into the room. It might be the middle of the day, but this storm makes it seem like it’s the dead of night. We have a few candles lit around the room and a lantern with a hand crank Orlie found in the closet.
“You still don’t have any signal, right?”
“Right,” I say without looking at my phone. The only way we’ve been able to get in touch with anyone while up here has been on the wi-fi. Which is, of course, down, due to there being no power.
Orlie goes to one of the easy chairs and sighs. “Well. This sucks.”
“Tell me about it.”
He raises his eyes to me. “Yeah, sorry you’re stuck here with me.”
“Watch your tone.”
“No tone. A genuine apology considering how eager you were to get out of here this morning. Wouldn’t want to make you feel crazy for staying.”
I close my eyes and lean back on the couch. Yes, I was sort of nasty, wasn’t I? “I’m sorry I said that.”
“Whatever.”
Hard to believe that only twenty-four hours ago, we were still locked in our infatuation for one another. Now, disdain is at an all-time high. “Let’s just pretend this isn’t happening, alright?” I say.
“Couldn’t have said it better myself.”
I fall asleep notlong after that. The warmth of my nest of blankets finally brings my temperature back up and I’m able to feel cozy and safe.
I’m awoken by a large blast of thunder that shakes the windowpanes and a growling in my belly. “What time is it?” I ask through my nest.
“Ah, you’re up.” Orlie is still in his chair, book in hand. “Mid-afternoon.”
I slough off some blankets and go toward the kitchen.
“I made some sandwiches if you’re interested. All the meat is going to go bad if the power doesn’t kick back on so –”
“Great, thanks,” I grumble. I try not to marvel at the beautiful roast beef sandwiches Orlie has somehow created. And I try even harder not to audibly groan at the first bite. Don’t want to give him the satisfaction that I actually might enjoy him or anything he does ever again.
I return to the living room with a plate of chips and the sandwich and enjoy it in silence.
Well, almost silence. Sure, there’s the rainstorm outside.
