I wish we hadn't ended.

Chapter 7: Whereabouts?

ARIA BEVERLEIGH
I woke up the next morning, feeling the onset of a sore throat – oh no, not a good sign..

I took a sip of my water, but no— it didn't help, and I had a headache that worsened every time I stood up. It was evident – I had caught a cold, and with my parents away, self-care was the order of the day.

I texted Aneira, notifying her of my sick day, and didn't think of messaging Zaid, despite spending the rest of the previous day lost in thoughts about him, about us—and admiring our selfies.

Heading downstairs, I struggled to make tea, my weak legs demanding frequent breaks every 5 minutes.The concoction of tea, lemon, honey, and ginger, recommended by my dad, was my attempt to combat the cold.

Glancing at the calendar, I realized it was the 2nd of December, and the thought of maybe getting Zaid's sweater tomorrow lingered in my mind. But I was sick, so my priority was a swift recovery.

I hurried to the living room to grab my dad's laptop from the table for remedies. I powered it up and promptly searched for "How to get rid of a cold quickly." The results were quite straightforward—stay hydrated, take a hot shower, eat honey— was it really that easy?

I turned the laptop off  and headed to the kitchen to finish my tea.

Executing these tips, I boiled water for tea, ate honey, and drank 4 cups of water. However, nausea kicked in, an unwelcome side effect.

Yeah, maybe you shouldn't really drink 4 cups of water and a lot of honey before breakfast.

Tea in hand, I settled down to watch a new K-drama.

I love watching K-dramas, they're the best, aren't they? My favorites are: True beauty, Business Proposal and My Demon.

Anyway, after finishing my tea, I returned upstairs to my room, organized my items for post-shower, and made my way to the bathroom for a hot shower. After taking a hor shower, I felt doubly exhausted, genuinely unwell, with even weaker legs.
Thought this was supposed to make me feel better?

Unlike my usual routine, I hastily dressed and nestled into bed, succumbing to sleep.

ZAID EASTON
This morning, I woke up earlier, ensuring I wouldn't keep Aria waiting outside for too long.
I styled my hair and put in effort to get ready, opting for one of my black polo shirts that worked like a compression shirt, emphasizing my abs. Though I usually didn't care for it, today, I wanted to catch Aria's attention. I paired it with darkish blue jeans, not too baggy but not too skinny. Despite the cold and snow, I wore clean sneakers and topped it all off with my black puffy jacket.

While checking my hair in the mirror, my younger brother, Aiden, appeared behind me.

"Yo, yo— who you gettin' ready for? This is a moment in history, woah..." he babbled, annoying me.

"Shut the fuck up and mind your own business, just trying to look put together unlike you," I replied, rolling my eyes.

"Nah, bro— at least I ain't a simp!"

"Get lost," I said, walking towards the door.

"Whatever," I heard him mutter.

Aiden, my 15-year-old brother, is still very immature and cringe, but he's family, and I love him. Despite our differences, we share some similarities in our personalities.
For example, he got hazel eyes, I got dark-brown eyes— or his hair is light brown while mine's dark brown— but our personalities? Yeah, copy & paste.

As I was about to leave, my mom also approached, handing me a hat and scarf. "Uhm— where are you going without those?" she asked, handing them to me.

"Mom, I'm not putting these on— I just styled my hair, just no," I said, giving her the hat and scarf back.