A Wall Between

Chapter 12

A few hours later Sasha had put the two loads of laundry Cooper had brought with him through the washer and dryer and Cooper was still asleep. Sasha was mostly fine with that, but he was starting to worry that Cooper might sleep through something else he was supposed to be doing.

It was fine at first because Sasha had known that if Cooper hadn't been here, asleep in Sasha's bed while Sasha did his laundry, he would have been at the laundromat. Now, though, they'd passed the point where he probably would have been done so they were entering into uncertain territory.

But did Sasha really want to wake him? He looked so peaceful, and if he hadn't stirred this whole time even as Sasha dealt with the laundry he must have been really tired.

Sasha heard next door's door open and shut and then voices from inside. Ellie and Abra. Their door opened again, and a few seconds later there was a knock on Sasha's door.

Sasha froze, his breathing suddenly becoming constricted. It didn't make sense to feel this much fear. They were Cooper's friends, his roommates. They were probably just wondering where he was. Those were the rational thoughts Sasha tried to fill his head with, but it didn't stop him feeling like he was about to get yelled at.

He had no choice but to wake Cooper now. He gently shook his shoulder. "Cooper."

"Mm?" Cooper said as he slowly came awake. He rubbed at his eyes as he blinked them against the afternoon light.

"I think your roommates are here looking for you," Sasha told him. "Someone just knocked on the door."

"Oh," Cooper said as he sat up. He yawned, stretched his arms out, and climbed off the bed. "Sorry for falling asleep. I didn't mean to. Was I asleep long? I feel like I might have been..."

Sasha shrugged, because how long was long, but also because four hours definitely was a long time and he didn't want to make Cooper feel bad.

As Cooper went to answer the door, Sasha positioned himself sort of behind him. Not quite close enough to be answering the door with him but not quite far enough away to be completely uninvolved. Both options had felt awkward, so instead he'd chosen a weird mid-point that only served to achieve maximum awkwardness.

There were two people at the door, and Sasha could only assume they were Abra and Ellie. Abra had long, dark brown hair tied back neatly in a ponytail and big, dark eyes. He gave the impression of someone who had never in their life experienced social anxiety, which Sasha found instinctively intimidating.

Ellie stood next to him, one arm resting on his shoulder.. Her hair was shaved short on the sides and left long on top — a mohawk — and was such a dark brown it was almost black, except for the tips of the mohawk which had been dyed a subtle orange that blended into her natural hair colour. Her dark brown, almond shaped eyes were surrounded by heavy eyeliner.

"Ah, you are here," Abra said. Sasha was sure it was Abra now because he recognised his voice. "We tried calling you but your phone didn't ring."

Cooper pulled his phone out of his pocket and pressed a button on the side, but the screen stayed black. "Ah. It died."

"Well, no problem," Abra said. "Did you get the laundry done?"

"See, about that. I was going to go to the laundromat, but then I ran into Sasha and he said I could use his washer and dryer which was very nice of him, so I put the first load on and we were laying on his bed talking and then I fucking fell asleep, so..."

Sasha twisted his fingers in the hem of his shirt. "Um, I finished doing it. It's all done."

The look Cooper gave him held such disproportionate gratitude that Sasha had to look away. "You're so... good. Oh, um! Sasha, these are my roommates, Abra and Ellie. Abra, Ellie, this is Sasha. As you can see, he's a living boy."