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You could hear Yi Xi’s violent sneeze over the sound of the running sink. It was followed by coughing and the nasty sound of inhaling too much mucus, and you tried not to gag as you finished drying your hands. You exited the bathroom and walked past your sick girlfriend to grab her some medicine.
You went into the kitchen and poured a small glass of water before grabbing NyQuil from the cabinet dedicated to pill bottles. You poured out some of the green capsules into your palm and plucked out the extras until there were only two left. Putting the bottle back in the cabinet, you took the water and made your way back to the bedroom.
Yi Xi looked exhausted and unusually vulnerable. Her posture was hunched and she had dark circles under her eyes, though she did her best to give you a smile. You ignored the guilt that began stirring in your gut.
“Meds?” Yi Xi asked, taking the water.
“Yep.” You reply, cupping your free hand under the one holding the pills. Your girlfriend swung her legs to sit on the edge of the bed, taking a small sip of the water. She reached to take the pills from you, but you closed your fingers over them.
“Did you brush your teeth yet?”
“No.” She groaned, and then let out a long yawn. You rolled your eyes.
“Well, go do it! I’ll keep these for you.”
Yi Xi groaned again, though she stood up and stumbled into the bathroom. You sat against the headboard on your side of the bed, listening to the sounds of running water and a toothbrush being scrubbed harshly against sharp teeth. Despite the occasional coughs and sniffs that would interrupt the ambience, you were able to zone out and dwell on your simple but impulsive escape plan.
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When you started thinking about running away, you did two things.
You filled an old backpack with essentials and a few sentimental items, careful to not choose things that were too specific like pictures or tech that could be tracked. You hid this backpack under the bed, which Yi Xi thankfully treated like a junk drawer. She only seemed to care about noticing details when it came to her cannibalistic habits.
The next thing you did was log into an old e-mail account that you hadn’t used in many years. You sent a message to one of your old college roommates, a kind woman that you remembered having a crush on you. While you didn’t return those feelings, you were hoping that her affection for you would make her willing to help you. Without giving too many details or naming names, you implied that you were currently in a bad relationship and wanted to have a place to stay temporarily as you figured out what you needed to do to ensure your partner couldn’t find you again.
Your old roommate agreed to help you out, and you could tell that her crush hadn’t gone away despite not seeing or even talking to you for many years. You quickly clarified that you needed some more time, though you picked a location that you wanted her to pick you up at when the time was right. It was asking a lot of her given that it would take two days of driving to get you and then back to her apartment, but you told yourself it was the smarter option to having her pick you up directly from the house.
You immediately decided that you would bike most of the way to the pickup location, even though it would be a longer ride than what you were used to. There was a river that you planned to ditch your bike at, throwing it in to be swept away with the flowing water alongside your phone and laptop. You’d walk the rest of the way, trusting that you wouldn’t have to wait too long for your ride if she didn’t happen to be there already.
When Yi Xi got sick within the last few days, you had sent the message to your roommate confirming that you were ready to go through with leaving your girlfriend. She told you that it would have to be an early morning pickup based on the distance, though you told her you could do it without being caught. Using NyQuil to knock out Yi Xi and buy time to escape during the night came to you immediately, and it was lucky for you that her sickness was stubborn and gave you the time you needed to get everything else set up to finally do it.
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You smiled at Yi Xi when she came back out, looking as normal as you could despite your internal spiraling. You gestured to the pills.
“Ready?”
Yi Xi nodded, sitting down near you and letting you drop the capsules into her palm. She closed her hand over them, crawling over to her side of the bed to grab the water she left on the bedside table. She downed the pills and the water, returning the empty glass to a coaster.
“I’m ready to sleep if you are.” You tell her. “Could you please turn off the lamp?”
She did so, and then slid down to sprawl all over her side of the bed. You pulled back the covers and turned on your side to face away from her.
“Love ya.” You heard her say, feeling the bed shake a bit as she coughed.
“I love you too.” You reply. You felt her briefly touch your back, sliding her hand down tiredly and away from you as the effects of the NyQuil started to kick in. You hadn’t kissed Yi Xi at all since she got sick, and she had complained about the lack of love you were giving her. You came off as teasing when you reminded her that your distance was practical so you wouldn’t get sick, though it also helped you suppress the actual feelings of attachment and guilt you had about suddenly leaving. The hand she had on your back almost tempted you to close your eyes and abandon the plan, but you were already past the point of no return and would have more trouble deal with if you gave up from one gesture.
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It didn’t take long for Yi Xi to start snoring loudly, something she only started doing due to the congestion she was struggling with. You decided to give yourself a full hour to reassure yourself that she was really knocked out, and you finally slipped out from under the covers.
You pulled the backpack out and carefully walked out of the bedroom, making sure not to accidentally bump into any furniture on your way. You made it to the front door and pulled out the clothes you had hidden earlier that day, pulling them over your tank top and shorts before putting on your shoes. You locked the door as you stepped out, starting your escape officially as the door closed and kept you from getting back in.
Pulling up your hood, you pulled your bike out from behind its hiding bush. You sat still for a second, looking around you and back at the home you were abandoning. You let out a deep breath, embracing the emptiness of the night for a minute before you final pushed yourself away to ride into the uncertainty of your escape.
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A few hours after you were long gone, Yi Xi had woken herself up with a loud snore and a sneezing fit. She rolled across the bed to use the bathroom and grab the last tissue box. She was too tired to really comprehend what she was doing besides getting back into bed with the tissue box roughly opened and torn tissues sticking out of it.
If she were more awake, she might’ve realized that you weren’t laying there to block her way to the bathroom before drifting back to sleep.