Strawberry Kisses

Home Alone

Gio found the flashlight and batteries among the groceries they bought. Sandy stayed glued to his side the entire time he was putting the battery on. As much as he finds the situation funny, he couldn’t bring himself to make a laugh out. Not when she’s low key shivering, trying her best to fight her fear. He may be a jerk but he is not heartless to revel with the knowledge. He has fears of his own too.

“Come on.” This time he took her hand. There was no mistaking the stiffness in her fingers from the cold. “Damn! You’re freezing faster than I thought.”

“I-I’ll b-be o-okay o-once I-I h-hit the shower,” Sandy mumbled in between clenched teeth.

“Right. Lead the way, I don’t know where your room is.”

After a flight of stairs and one turn to the right, Sandy opened the door to her room. Gio was having second thoughts, but she didn’t let go of him. She only dropped his hand when she pulled her closet door open to find fresh clothes to change into. He averted his eyes when she pulled one particular drawer open. It didn’t take rocket science to understand what it contains.

“Uh… thanks.” She dropped his hand like a hot potato, clothes clutched against her chest.

“You’re welcome. Will you be all right now?”

Her eyes darted around the expanse of her room, taking in the shadows. “I think so. But would you mind if I’ll take the flashlight with me in the bathroom?”

“No. Here.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. I’ll be waiting downstairs,” he said as he turned 0n his heels to leave.

“No!” Her hand shot up to grab his arm. He gave her a quizzical eye. “I-I…”

For the life of him, he couldn’t explain why his chest constricted upon seeing that scared reaction on her face. Has her vulnerability triggered something in him? Gio shook his head, berating himself in his mind for over thinking.

“It’s okay, go ahead. I’ll be right outside the bathroom door.”

Gio sat on her bed. He appeared awkward standing near the door, listening to the water spraying from the shower head. The sound triggered unwanted thoughts popping in his head like popcorn.

Her room was full of knickknacks here and there. Score of picture frames adorned one side of her wall. It displayed Sandy of varying age. He observed her smiles in every image the camera captured. At the foot of her bed, books of various genres piled on top of each other, none of them askew.

Her bag was on the bed, looking like a human’s gut slashed open. A brown bound notebook caught Gio’s attention. Is it a diary? He grew conscious of his surroundings that made him gaze around. Something triggered his curiosity he itched to get his hand on that notebook.He wasn’t a nosy guy by nature; he minds his own business, but the thing kept on seducing his attention like a woman promising of carnal delights.

Before he changed his mind, his hand came to life and grabbed the notebook on its own. Gio’s chest pounded as he flipped the pages in random. The handwriting looked pleasing to the eyes. They were elegant and screaming feminine. He wondered if it belongs to Sandy.

The next page silenced his doubts. It looked like a bucket list. He counted ten boxes ticked with red. The rest remained blank, waiting for completion.

Gio flipped the pages to get to the first page. And there it was, the owner’s name. Martha Park. So it’s not Sandy’s. He went back to the page where the list was and saw a different handwriting at the bottom.

Goal: To complete Nana’s bucket list before I die.—Sandy Park

That woman-child is a little morbid, Gio thought. He lost interest, so he stuffed back the notebook in Sandy’s bag. She’s a little scatter-brained with all the stuff going on so he’s hoping she wouldn’t suspect anything.

Gio sauntered towards a wind chime hanging by her window, silent behind a yellow lace curtain. The muffled sound of the rain beating through the glass provided a steady staccato in the room’s stillness. Fascinated, he eyed the raindrops break and run down the glass. He kept at it until her soft voice broke through the blankness of his thoughts.

“Hey.”

Gio’s head whipped towards the voice source. Her face, devoid of make-up, was peeking through her grey hoodie. The hoodie is two times larger her size, hiding her hands in the sleeves. Black jeans encased her long legs and pink bunny slippers swallowed her delicate feet.

“Hi,” Gio almost croaked. He couldn’t explain why he was acting up.

“Uhmm… thanks. Why don’t we go down to start dinner preparations?” Sandy dropped her towel on the laundry basket by the bathroom door. Her damp hair hang like limp noodles. She combed her blue tresses with a wide-tooth comb she picked from her dresser.

“Aren’t you going to dry your hair first?”

“Nah, I don’t like hair dryers unless there’s a dire need to use one,” she quipped.

“I see. After you.”

Gio followed Sandy in silence, aware of the smell of strawberries wafting from her. Loose floorboards creaked under their weight as they walk. The house is silent, saved for the howling wind outside. They were at the landing when Sandy stopped and turned.

“Let’s turn on the back-up generator first,” she said.

“Do you know how?”

She answered him with a raised eyebrow. “That beast is new, I replaced our old unit just two years ago, and I have read the manual. So yeah.”

“All right.”

Moments later, all the lights in the house came back to life. Gio found it easier to breathe now he’s assured they won’t freeze to death. He followed Sandy as she padded to the kitchen to work on their dinner.

“What are you doing?” Sandy tossed him a glance when he sat himself on a stool as she grab an apron from the peg. She looked like a small general preparing to command her army of pots and pans, knives and chopping board.

“Keeping you company? Who knows, there might be another power interruption. I take it you’re not comfortable with the dark.”

“If you want to make yourself useful, shut your trap.”

“Yes, Maam.”

She worked fast. Gio marveled at how nimble those delicate hands and fingers of hers. He followed her small hands as she diced and chopped, brows furrowed in concentration. She seemed lost in her own world, unaware of Gio’s eyes following her every move. Sandy exudes such efficiency he didn’t expect.

“Ouch!” The knife clattered as it hit the floor. Sandy was clutching her hand, wincing as red bloomed in her finger.

In the blink of an eye, Gio was beside her. “What happened?”

“I sliced my finger open,” Sandy answered, loosening her grip on her finger. Red rivulets trailed down her fingers, spreading to her hands and travelling down her wrist.

“s**t,” Gio mumbled under his breath. Without second thoughts, he brought her injured finger to his lips.

Sandy’s eyes widened, snatching her hand in reflex. But Gio held on to her wrist tight, refusing to let go. He couldn’t speak, her finger on his lips and all. He let his eyes did the talking. Sandy flinched when he sucked on her finger. Their eyes locked; his grey ones never wavering.

His intention was to stop the bleeding, no more no less. But as their eyes locked, Gio sensed the stirrings of something like curiosity as he held Sandy’s gaze. He watched in fascination how her cheeks flushed under the lights in the kitchen. He let his tongue slip between his lips and let the tip grazed her skin while maintaining eye contact.

Shocked, goose bumps dotted her arms. A sliver of satisfaction washed down Gio’s back. His eyelids drooped, noting the salty tang of her blood on his tongue.

“M-Mr. Kwon…”

“Call me Gio.” He straightened, releasing her hand.

“G-Gio.”

“Yes?”

“Get out or you will sleep with an empty stomach!”

The change in her almost made him laugh. She looked adorable standing there with embarrassment still visible on her cheeks but was trying too hard to get a hold of herself. He’d like to stay and teas3 her mad. Instead, he put up both hands, palm facing her and took a step back.

“All right.”

Sandy waited until he’s out of sight before dropping on the floor. She looked at her trembling hands but can’t seem to focus. The diamond tiles on the floor looked like a deck of cards shuffling.

She grabbed the edge of the counter to help her stand. Half-upright, she swayed to the side; her grasp on the counter edge slipping. Her hands flailed, desperate to grab on to something to prevent her fall.

She must have knocked down an empty pot somewhere because she heard something drop before she sensed a blooming pain on her left shoulder. Someone’s running, she can hear the sound vibrate on the floor. Darkness threatened her. Sandy found that she had no strength left to fight it.

(Next update is in three days)