Neighbors (S. R.)

July

Sunday, July 4

Day 111

The fireworks show was breathtaking. The whole thing had left you entranced, so much so that you realized that Spencer hadn't spoken in awhile. You looked up at him standing beside you only to realize that he was already staring down at you.

You knew what he was thinking. You had been thinking it, too. From game nights to weekly dinners to texting daily to sharing blankets, you had realized just how well the two of you fit together. There had been many nights where you had stayed up late just talking about life, work, trauma, everything. It had been therapeutic but the comfort had blossomed into something so much more.

You had been hoping for this. It was cliché, sure, but it's all that you could think about in your spare time in the days leading up to this one. Sure enough, Spencer opened his mouth to speak.

"May I kiss you?"

You grinned up at him.

"Yes!"

He leaned down, cupping one of your cheeks in his hand. But you were impatient, and you got on your tiptoes to meet him halfway. You had misgauged the distance and kissed him a little too hard, your forehead hitting his painfully. You reeled away from him, your eyes wide as you covered your mouth with your hand.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"

"I don't think anyone's ever been that excited to kiss me," he laughed, rubbing his forehead with his hand. Your face was heating up so quickly that you were almost sweating, your stomach already in knots. What had you done?

"I'm so sorry, Spencer! Are you okay?"

You reached out to touch his forehead, and he playfully swatted your hand away.

"I'm fine!" he reassured you. "Don't worry about it!"

Seeing the disappointed look on your face had him laughing again. He reached out to pull you into his arms.

"Let's try that again, yeah?"

-

Tuesday, July 13

Day 120

You were fucking miserable. Every time your leg fell asleep, you had to move it to stop the pain. But every time that you moved, you threw up. It was absolute torture.

It had to be worse for Spencer, though. He had been so gracious as to give you the toilet to throw up in. He was on his knees in front of the bathtub, his cheek resting on the cool ceramic.

"I'm so sorry," he said, his voice weak.

"You didn't know," you replied. You opted to stare at the floor rather than at him. Any sort of motion made your head spin and your stomach roil. You could barely get the words out without feeling like something more would come back up.

There was something humbling about sitting on the bathroom floor, feverish and shaking. A reminder that no matter how strong you were mentally, there was only so much you could do when your body revolted against you. Food poisoning was a bitch.

"I'm going to have to call in," Spencer groaned. "I don't even know if I can make it to my phone."

You wished you could talk as much as him. All you could muster up were small sounds of affirmation, sometimes a "hmmm" if you weren't feeling too bad.

"I'm going to try for it," he said.

You watched as he used the tub to help himself stand on wobbly legs. You could barely look up at him, but by the look on his face he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. He got back down onto his knees, immediately dry-heaving into the bathtub. It sent off a chain reaction, and soon you were gagging, too. It was going to be a rough day.

-

Monday, July 19

Day 126

You bounded to the front door, swinging it open to find Spencer standing on your doorstep. Except today, he didn't have a grin or shy smile on his face. He looked exhausted. You knew that whatever case he had been out of town for was particularly draining, but you hadn't seen him as upset as this since his drinking incident a few months ago.

"Hey," you said, opening the front door wider so that he could come in. "Are you okay?"

Spencer nodded, making his way inside. He dropped his satchel in the same place at the kitchen table as he always did before plopping down onto the couch with a sigh. You made your way over to him, sitting on the cushion beside him hesitantly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" you asked. He shook his head.

"No," he replied softly. "Come here."

He opened his arms to you, and you moved closer so that he could wrap you up in his embrace. The faint smell of peppermint overtook you as he held you against his chest, kissing the top of your head lightly.

"I missed you," he sighed.

-

Thursday, July 22

Day 129

Screams of joy turned your attention to the little girl across the street. It had recently rained, and her and her father were taking turns jumping in the puddles of water that littered the sidewalk. You turned to see that Spencer was looking at them too, a wistful look on his face.

"Would you ever want kids?" you asked. His eyes met yours, his expression becoming a little more serious.

"I... don't know," he admitted. "I have quite a few reasons not to. I don't think I'm very good with children. But..."

His gaze flitted back over to the father and daughter.

"Yeah," you replied. "I know what you mean."

-

Monday, July 26

Day 133

"You're fucking kidding me."

"I'm not!" Spencer exclaimed with a grin, throwing his hands up in surrender. "What reason would I have to lie?"

"You're a Scorpio? I refuse to believe that."

"My birthday is October 28th! Not much I can do to change that."

"A fucking Scorpio, though?"

-

Wednesday, July 28

Day 135

Spencer shouldered his duffle bag, and you felt a pang of sadness in your stomach. This was always your least favorite part.

"I'll be back soon," he said gently, pulling you in so that he could kiss the top of your head.

"I know," you sighed.

You couldn't stop yourself from showing how disappointed you were when he left, but you did your best to hide your worry from him. He took every situation in stride, but you weren't used to this yet. He put himself into danger constantly, though it seemed like you were the only one actually concerned about it. He wasn't great at texting back, so sometimes when he didn't get back to you for awhile you were almost sure that he had somehow gotten hurt.

If he got hurt, would his team tell you? Did they even know about you? What would you do if he died? What would his mother do if he died? You couldn't take care of her. You didn't have the money for that. Considering how Spencer spoke of his team though, it was clear that they loved each other. They would take care of her for him.

Still.

You weren't sure if this fear would ever go away.