Chapter XIX

The next morning came around. 24th of December.

Ryan shook himself awake. Immediately, he sat up and found himself alone.

He fell asleep with Briella watching over him.

Last night, his temperature rose up to 39. That mixed with his sudden rush of exhaustion caused him to pass out.

He turned, looking around himself. He found his phone on the coffee table, along with a note on top of it.

He took the note into his hands before reading through it.

'Whenever you read this, I'll most likely be gone home. Unless this piece of paper falls somewhere under the sofa or something and doesn't see the light of day for a good few months. Either way, I charged your phone, its not fully charged but it will last you for a bit. So now you wouldn't have the excuse that your phone died and you weren't able to text me nor see my messages. Kidding. But really, all jokes aside, if you begin to feel worse or are in need of assistance, call me. Okay?... Okay. Well, I hope you begin to feel better very soon!'

"From Briella..." he whispered under his breath. A small smile, that grew continuously, took its place on his lips.

Subconsciously, he lowers the note on the bed right beside him.

Once more, he looked around himself. He couldn't help but ask himself, 'How long did she say here? Here, by my side?'.

A brief moment of silence passed before he ruptured it by muttering out, "what are you trying to do, Briella? What are you trying to do?". His words mimicked the exact ones from last night.

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Minutes passed and Ryan was up and about, wandering around his home. So far, his fever hasn't returned... yet.

So, taking this to his advantage, he proceeded to cook himself a soup. Along with that, he brewed himself some tea.

He placed some water into his kettle. Then, placing the kettle back onto its stand, he turned it on, allowing it to heat up and boil.

While he waited for the water to get ready, he poured some water into a saucepan before turning on a hob on his cooker, placing the saucepan above one of the four hobs that was turned on.

He was getting ready to rip open the sachet for his soup when his phone began ringing. An incoming call.

Dropping everything, he rushed over to his phone, which was in his bedroom. He grabbed it.

It was Briella. He answered the call.

"Hey," Ryan began.

"Hey..." Briella replied softly. "How are you feeling now? I hope you are better.".

"Yeah, I am good.". Silence followed but was broken soon after when Ryan took a deep breath. "How are you?".

"Me? I-I am good. Thank you. But I am more worried for you," Briella responded. Once again, a brief moment of silence. "You sure you are okay?".

"Yep. As I said, I am fine. Thank you for your concern.".

"Alright..." Briella voiced, he noticed slight relief in her voice. "You know that if and whenever you feel worse, just give me a ring or send me a message, okay?".

At first, as if Briella could see him through the phone, he nodded. "Yes. Thank you, really, thank you so mu-" he suddenly stopped.

Sniff.

Smoke. He also saw small strands of smoke as they lingered around him.

Widening his eyes, he turned around just to see all the smoke coming from the hob.

"Ryan? Ryan?? Is everything okay?". He couldn't comprehend Briella's voice, calling out for him.

"Crap!" he muttered under his breath. He left his phone on his kitchen table when he saw a flame spark from under the saucepan.

Immediately, he moved the saucepan off the hob, turning it off straight after that. Then, with a bit of water and the sizzling of the hot hob, he extinguished the small flame.

The residue of something burnt was seen where the fire was only moments ago. Something was on the hob, yet he didn't notice it...

It wasn't any food, but yet a liquid.

"Oil?" Ryan hypothesised to himself. Whatever it was, it didn't matter now, at least he got the situation under control.

Then...

"Briella!" he muttered under his breath. "Shit...".

He rushed over to his phone. She hung up.

Ryan tried dialling her, and while doing so, he opened the window by his kitchen to try to clear the small bit of smoke present in the air of his kitchen.

Sitting down by the table, he attempted to reach her three more times.

Ryan released a quiet sigh when Briella didn't pick up.

Next, moments later, a knock was heard before the door opened. "Ryan??? Ryan are you okay?".

Briella found Ryan standing by the kitchen table, right in front of her. She let out a huge sigh of relief, slouching herself down as her hands went on her knees. Her slouch was caused by the fact that she noted that he, in fact, was okay - but also because she was tired from her rush to Ryan's flat.

"You scared me so much! I thought something happened to you!?" she exclaimed, breathless. Then, she sniffed in once or twice. "What's that smell?".

"Wait, did you run all the way here?" Ryan inquired.

"Yes. Yes I did..." She answered. "Now you tell me, what's that smell?".

A slight haze was still present from the smoke near the cooker. She noticed this.

"Also..." Briella began. "Why is...". She stopped before looking up at Ryan. "What happened here???".

"W-well..." he started, turning back and looking at the cooker. "There was a small incident with the saucepan and the hob...".

"Did you set a fire off??..." Briella interrogated, walking closer to the 'crime scene'. She noticed a burned, carbonated stain. A brief moment of silence, then - bending down ever so slightly - the scent of the burn hit her.

Almost immediately, she stood back up, covering her nose. "How did it happen?".

Her eyes met his, only for him to shrug as a reply. "Believe me, I-I don't know. It just... happened," he responded.

Listening to his words, Briella nodded along. "Here... maybe you were tired, why don't you go to bed. You should have called me! I would have been glad to assist you.".

Ryan was about to reply when Briella spoke up again.

"Here, go to bed. You are still sick and you need rest. I'll get you whatever you need.".

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A few minutes spent between Briella and Ryan trying to convince each other about whose view was more befitting. This consisted of Ryan saying that he was more than capable to take care of whatever it was he needed. While Briella said that he almost burned his apartment down and that, regardless of what he said, she will get him whatever he needed.

In the end, Briella won this argument due to the fact that Ryan got a headache.

"I am telling you, I am a-okay," Ryan tried to convince Briella, but his fragile voice proved him otherwise.

She looked at him with a deadpan expression across her face. Without a warning, she took a step towards him before placing her hand on his forehead.

Ryan widened his eyes at her action, he didn't expect her to do such a thing.

Just like Ryan, Briella too widened her eyes but for a completely different reason. "You are burning up again.". A moment of silence. "I know I sound like a parrot at this point, but please, go to bed. You are not feeling well. If you stay up like this, you will only end up feeling worse and worse. Go and rest," she spoke softly to him.

Once more, his eyes widened in surprise. He was caught off guard by the softness in Briella's voice.

The softness... it aroused a familiar feeling to ignite within Ryan. A feeling he hasn't felt ever since the passing of his girlfriend.

The feeling, that sensation of someone truly caring for you...