Tension
2169 Words
The mysterious doctor leapt into the car with an eerie sense of calm, slamming the door behind him without a word. Cara’s heartbeat was accelerating with every desperate shout she heard. She clutched the door handle with white knuckles, holding on for dear life. But somehow the doctor remained strangely calm as he put the key in the ignition.
Chug, chug, chug. The engine groaned like an old man getting out of bed. It gave one last cough before sputtering to a stop.
“Not now,” he mumbled under his breath. The worry finally began to etch its way across his brow.
Mechanics were hard to find since the virus had taken hold. The ones who continued to work would charge ridiculous fees and often do shoddy work.
So here they were, stuck.
Bradley turned the key again, wishing he had simply gotten the car fixed when he had the chance. The mob was tumbling closer with every passing second, accelerating like an avalanche of sickness.
He turned the key a third time, and the engine let out a groan of relief as it coughed to a start. He slammed on the accelerator, throwing Cara’s head backward with a violent force.
The an ear-piercing squeal came from the tires as they sped away. The noise of burning rubber finally drowned out the hateful screams that followed them, and Cara watched in the mirror as the rage-filled faces faded into the distance.
She finally exhaled.
“So you have a state-of-the-art lab, but your car doesn't run?” She quipped.
“I do not believe in frivolous excess, Miss James.” He grumbled in response. “Not in a world such as this. Why would I waste money on a vehicle when I have nowhere to go?”
She rolled her eyes at him and crossed her arms over her chest, turning to gaze out her window.
This is by far the stupidest thing I’ve ever done, she thought to herself.
“You may remove your mask if you’d like,” he said as he removed his own, still frowning. “The shield between us should offer enough protection should one of us be erm... compromised.”
She looked out of the corner of her eye, secretly watching as he took down his mask. Her curiosity had trumped her annoyance.
When she fully saw his face for the first time her mouth dropped open. Thank God she was still wearing her own mask so he wouldn’t notice her stupefied expression... hopefully. His jaw was certainly chiseled and strong, but his lips were enticingly soft. With his perfectly designed features and bright green eyes he looked more like a model than a doctor.
Cara caught herself staring at him and blinked quickly, awkwardly managing to tear her gaze away. She steered her eyes back to the window and started to take off her own mask.
As much as this stranger annoyed her, he was hot. She’d grant him that much. So when she took off her own mask she couldn’t help but wonder... did he think the same about her? She dared to glance back over her shoulder, and sure enough his eyes were looking her way.
Crap biscuits, she thought. The awkwardness of making eye contact made them both turn back toward the road as quickly as possible. Bradley cleared his throat again... of course.
Cara chewed her lip in annoyance. “How much longer?” She whined.
He clenched his jaw. She had to admit, the way the muscles of his chin were flexing was delicious.
Enough to make her want to piss him off even more.
“We will be there soon, Miss James,” he said curtly.
“Will you stop calling me that?” She snapped. “Just call me Cara.”
“Fine,” he said, chancing a quick look at her. The sun was beginning to set and the amber light made her skin look even more radiant. But he wouldn’t allow himself to think like that. There was too much at stake.
They sat in uncomfortable silence for a while, alternating between staring blankly at the road and stealing glances at each other.
She rubbed her eyes. The tension of this situation was giving her a throbbing headache, so she closed her eyes and laid her head back on the head rest. The thumping of the highway below and the uneven hum of the engine lulled her into a few minutes of blessed sleep.
Until he cleared his throat again. Loudly. She opened her eyes, rubbing the bleariness away.
“You were snoring.” He said flatly.
She shot him an angry glare. “You can really be a jerk sometimes, you know that?”
“I do not waste time or energy on politeness simply to bolster people’s fragile egos,” he retorted. “Anyway, we are here.”
He turned onto a gravel road lined with giant oak trees on either side. The sun was just falling below the horizon, casting an eerie dull glow over the winding pathway.
When they pulled up to the house, Cara was once again left speechless. At the end of a round driveway climbed an old Victorian manor, so large that it rambled into the shadows of the dusk. The eaves were decorated with lace-like wooden trim, like an overgrown gingerbread house.
Cara had never seen a house that was simultaneously so charming and so intimidating. Much like its owner, she had mixed feelings about it.
After Bradley pulled the car up to the manor, he replaced his mask and quickly exited the car. He walked around to open Cara’s door, waiting impatiently as she put her mask on again.
She rolled her eyes at him for the hundredth time, then climbed out of the car, being careful not to get too close to him.
Then she looked up. Absorbing the majesty of the house up close was a totally different experience. She could see the weathering, the decay. It reminded her of how the rest of the world seemed at the moment; just barely holding it together.
A loud metallic creak rang through the twilight air once again as the doctor pulled her bag from the trunk. They walked toward the house in silence, the only sound being the crunching of moist gravel beneath their feet.
When they reached the oversized arched door, Bradley opened it then stepped aside to give Cara plenty of space to pass by.
How long had it been, he wondered, since he stood close to a stranger? It was like trying to visualize your own personal bubble, and living in constant fear of someone popping it.
But this was the normal now. Keeping your distance from everyone, treating every person as if they were infected.
She entered the foyer and let out an audible gasp. The ornate woodwork that surrounded her climbed to a vaulted ceiling, punctuated by an antique brass chandelier.
“Your home is beautiful,” she whispered, still gazing at the room in awe.
“Thank you,” Bradley said with a slight nod of his head as he set down Cara’s bag, “But it isn’t mine. It belongs to my grandfather. I left the city when the virus began to spread, and he offered me a secluded place to set up a lab. There is obviously more space here than he could ever use.”
She nodded, but didn’t answer. She was too busy gorging herself on the feast of architecture before her eyes.
“I’ll take you to your room,” he offered. “You may get settled, but we need to get to work as quickly as possible.”
She sighed. “Fine,” she answered, “What time?”
“Twenty minutes,” he said stoically.
Cara burst into laughter, her giggles echoing through the empty room.
Then she saw his expressionless face. She stopped laughing. “You’re serious?” She asked. This man never failed to shock her.
“Of course,” he said grimly, “People are dying,”
She held back a little groan, then picked up her bag from the floor.
“Unless your followers are too hungry for an update...” He continued, “heaven forbid I get in the way of your social media obligations.”
She couldn’t hold back the groan any longer. She turned on her heel, ready to spit back an insult when she realized that they weren’t alone.
An elderly man with white hair stood in the doorway behind Bradley. He had the same green eyes, but his were lit up with a mischievous twinkle. “Shame on you, Brady,” he said, “This beautiful young lady is your guest. At least let her eat something before you force her into servitude.”
The old man winked at Cara. Even though he was wearing a mask she could tell he was smiling by the way his eyes were lit up and wrinkled at the corners.
“Hello, my dear,” he said, “You must be Cara James, I’ve heard a lot about you from my grandson over here.” He nodded in Bradley’s direction.
Cara’s eyes darted over to the handsome doctor, and she his cheeks were immediately beginning to flush.
“I’m Gus,” the old man continued, “And I apologize in advance for Brady. He might seem like an ass, but he can’t help it.”
Cara raised a curious eyebrow.
“Aspberger’s,” he explained. “The boy is a genius, but has the empathy of a cow pie.”
Cara stifled a laugh, and by this poin Bradley’s face looked like a sunburned tomato.
But Cara composed herself and smiled back at the old man. “Well, that would have been nice to know earlier,” she said.
“When?” Bradley burst out, unable to hold in his frustration any longer. “When should I have told you? When we were being chased by an angry mob?”
She shrugged. “Mental health and developmental differences are nothing to be embarrassed about. It just helps me understand why you behave like such a jerk wad.”
Gus exploded into laughter, and Cara smiled again. It was so nice being around people. It had been so long. Maybe this job wouldn’t be so bad.
Gus gasped for air between laughs and finally calmed himself enough to speak again. “I like this girl,” he said. “Now, show her to her room like a gentleman,” he ordered, “I’ll go make some chili.”
Bradley was still fuming, but gestured for Cara to follow him up the wooden staircase. The detailed handrails were breathtaking, but everything in sight looked slightly worn and faded.
“So...Brady?” She asked teasingly. She couldn’t help but push his buttons. Admittedly, she was picturing the way his jaw muscles were straining under that mask.
“Enough,” he shot back. “He is the only person allowed to call me that.”
“Fine,” she said, throwing her hand up in the air in surrender.
They climbed stair after stair, each one creaking louder than the last.
“So is it just you two here?” She asked.
“Yes,” he answered shortly.
“The virus took your parents too?” She questioned quietly.
He nodded somberly. “Yours too?”
“Yeah,” she said.
He reached the top of the staircase and paused, turning to look back at her. “I’m sorry,” he said with sad understanding in his voice.
She just shrugged her shoulders and looked at the ground. “Thanks,” she murmured. The silence between them spoke louder than words could ever do. Two people that couldn’t stand each other, bonding over immeasurable grief that so many people in the world shared.
The hallway ahead was long and dark, lit only by a few brass sconces on the wall. The floorboards creaked loudly under Cara’s feet as she followed several paces behind the mysterious doctor.
He stopped in front of a heavy wooden door with a glass doorknob. “Here you are,” he gestured curtly. “The bathroom is down the hall to your right, and the dining room is through the foyer to the left. Please join us quickly.”
“Thanks,” she said. He left her, continuing down the dim hallway to his own room. She turned the knob, but before opening the door she paused to steal a glance back at Bradley. Just in time to see him doing the same.
- Writer
