In Lock Down
It's 2025 and the world had been locked down for just over 5 years, the world is at war with a virus, but is there still time for love
Day 1
"The figures handed in at head quarters this morning state that another 100,000 people have died having been tested positive for the deadly virus" it almost seemed like a recording "The authorities have announced that finally the virus seems to be plateauing and if these figures keep lowering over the next six months, we can start talking about a relax on the current Isolation situation" the newscaster, that never seemed to go home, told the world as it was today.
"Please make sure you stay in doors, let no one in or out of your home, take identification and your letter with you when leaving your home for authorised official business or if it's your time for stocking up on food" she waved the usual finger at the screen "Today we have the usual game shows for your afternoon pleasure, Tots hour at 4pm and the movie for this evening is Back to the Future, so enjoy" she smiled into the camera "Have a Good Morning, this is your 24 hour broadcaster Rachel Berry, signing out"
"More bull shit" Shane slammed himself on the couch making sure not to spill his packet of newly opened cheese puffs "Ditt are you going to the shops today?"
"Yeah I think we are, and will you please stop calling me Ditt, my names Dawn" she rolled her eyes at him
"Stop me" he laughed
"Shane" Denise tapped him for teasing her
"What. it's what I've always called her, I'm not going to stop, she need to grow" he put puffs in his mouth
"And you need to get your ass off the couch and go shop yourself" Dawn hissed at him "Dumbo"
"What?" he jumped up to go after her
"Cedes" she screamed running towards the stairs "Cedes" she squealed watching him get up
"What's going on?" Cedes emerged from the kitchen "Can you two please just stop fucking around"
"Tell him to stop calling me Ditt" Dawn screamed
"Shane, stop calling her Ditt" Cedes laughed
"Let her tell me Dott" he laughed at riling both of them now,
"You know damn well my given name is Mercedes and hers is Dornette, and we prefer Dawn and Cedes, use them, otherwise you'll become Dumbo, Dumbo"
"I dare you" he laughed
"I'll do it, you'll need me before I need you" she warned him
"Are you going to listen to her threatening me?" he asked a laughing Diane "Are you going to the shops today?" he asked Cedes accepting defeat
"There's nothing else to do is there" she laughed walking back into the kitchen
The Jones family had been caught up in the lock down from the beginning, like everyone else, but for different reasons. Alex Jones, the man of the house, was a Clinical Laboratory Technologist currently specialising in chemical warfare deterrent agents, while Mavis Jones was a top heart surgeon. Once people started presenting with massive heart attacks, of course Mavis was called in, but after dealing with more than 30 cases within a week, the investigation with other medical professionals started. On discussing the symptoms between them, Alex was perplexed and went into work with Mavis to see first hand what was happening, by the end of the second week there were more than 200 cases, and an epidemic was confirmed.
Alex was quickly on the job taking specimens for testing and reporting results, within a month he found a small foreign cell that attached itself to the main artery and blocked it so quickly it was hard to manage. People were still dying in droves, and still the powers that be didn't want to scare monger, they kept it quiet for well over two months, it wasn't until a disgruntled relative brought it to the attention of the media, that try as they might they couldn't quieten the hum that had started, they were forced to act. As news of the heart hitting virus spread, so did the news of people suffering from the same thing all over the world, within days it was a pandemic
Dornette, Dawn or Ditt as she was lovingly referred to by her big brother, was just 13 years old back then, the only thing she knew about other than school was Sunday school, she actually enjoyed it. They lived in very privileged area of California with just five houses in their rather large cul-de-sac, the middle of which used to house a relaxing small park like area with benches, swings, climbing frames and a small pond. As the children grew up, Dawn being the youngest of them all, they remodelled it onto a mini ball park with a roller rink circling it with two large benches looking back at the beautifully coloured front drives. Five years on and that space was the 18 year old's only social activity between 11:00 - 12:00 and the bi-daily trip to the mobile makeshift shop that stopped at the mouth of the cul-de-sac at 13:00 every other day to which they had a 30 minute slot.
Shane and Mercedes were 20 years old back then, Shane had his career set in football, he was climbing hard and fast, his name was on the tip of nearly every Coach's tongue, he was looking to be the next best thing since Michael Jordan. The game was one of the first things to be closed down once word of the epidemic hit the public ears. At first Shane went to stay with his girlfriend Diane in Dallas, but after her Grandma was hit with the virus they ran, fast, that was too close to home, they didn't stop until they were back in his parents home.
Denise was a year younger than him, and had left Dallas without her parents consent, Alex and Mavis weren't fully with it at first, but when Denise called her parents one afternoon, they got the gist and adapted to life with an extra mouth to feed. She'd been feeling ill for a while throwing up sleeping a lot and down right miserable, Mercedes finally drew a lime when she stayed in bed crying for two days and brought a test, which quickly revealing she was pregnant, the first seven months had been plagued with problems, resulting in Diane having to stay in bed most the time, the baby was due in less than a month, so Mercedes had been reading like mad, their lives were going to be in her hands when the time came.
Cedes had been in her second year of nursing school, destined to follow her parents into the medical profession, Shane got the brawn but she got the brains, an A grade student since her junior years, it wasn't much of a challenge for her, so much so she was named the show off of the class. There was an excitement that rushed through the class as the news of the epidemic swept through the 8 students in their second year of the long study trail to become Anesthesiologist. When the call came for all medical hands on deck, she donned the PPE out their garage and went to assist
They went through the usual propaganda news feeds, it's fine, the virus only targets poor, black, old, ill people, social-distancing, masks, gloves, self-isolation, closing businesses, restricting movement, semi lock down, and then came the relax against all good advice. Within five months of the first whisper of a virus spread, it had consumed over 2 billion people worldwide, there was nothing else to do, suddenly everyone was taking it serious as the world went into total lock down. That saw Police in the streets with powers to arrest and even shoot those resisting quarantine, mobile shops travelling the country, by way of massive sterile lorries packed with essentials and some luxuries for those that could afford it.
At first the mobile shops were busy but as time went by, fewer people had the money and the trips became less frequent. Cedes had been on a five day break from work, after a full 14 days of 15 hour shifts when the total lock down was enforced, so when it was time for her to go back to work she found she wasn't allowed out of the cul-de-sac. Two days later their parents called to say they'd been ordered to undertake some specialist work to find a cure for the heart defect, informing them the hospitals had become breeding grounds and had to be closed, and people were being shot if they went out of their restricted areas. Their Dad demanded they stay indoors, assuring them they'd send money for anything they needed and under no circumstances should they let anybody into the house
Three years on and today, and all they were hearing about was how many people had been found dead, what they were being allowed to watch on TV that day and that they still needed to stay inside, life today was very different to the life they'd become accustomed to as children
"Ditt" Shane shouted, smiling when she came into view "Fresh air?" he asked unwrapping his legs from around Diane "It's time"
"Yeah" she smiled "Anyone else and you know they'd be dead already?" she giggled
"You know I say it because I love you?" he turned to Diane "In a bit babe" he leaned over and kissed her
"In your own sick way" she rolled her eyes at Diane and his PDA and grabbed the wipes and the ball, they went out to take their hour before the other family got their turn, it was the only time of the day Shane became active, there were hoops to shoot, and Dawn was always ready to give him a run for his money.
They returned home to Cedes doing her usual sing fest while cooking, they had a collection of CD's, music on every contraption in the house, all be it at least four years old, but their go to song, when their parents were in their heads was always the one vinyl in their parents very limited collection. Apparently one of the guys in the backing band were related to their Grandma and they never let the family forget their one claim to fame "Every time, that I'm with you girl, I can't believe you share my world but it's real, and every time that I hold you close to me, forever's all that I can see, how it feels, see I don't give a damn what my homies say, don't matter anyway, see I never felt this way before, you leave a brother wanting more..."
She turned laughing at Dawn and Shane joining in singing as they danced together behind her "I hate to see you go even though I know when your coming back, it's hard to breathe without you girl and baby that's a fact, I know sometimes you have to leave but I wish that you could stay, every time you go away ..." "You can't beat the old originals" she laughed 'Every Time You Go Away' by Brian McKnight
"Grandpa and Nanny used to enjoy that tune" Shane agreed
"I recall Mom and Dad having a good time on it too" Cedes laughed
"I don't miss that noise for sure" Shane laughed covering his ears
"You can talk" Dawn laughed "I've heard that tune coming from your room on occasion"
"Now that's too much information" Cedes laughed "I know they call when they can, but I still miss everything about them" she told them
"Shit I forgot to remind you to top up on Ditt's Ventolin, and Di's mint balls"
"It's a good job I'm the brains of this outfit" she laughed "They're on my list, go check on your girl"
So the weekly shop happened with a few extra snacks, it wasn't frozen food week, Cedes and Dawn get the groceries home and packed within half and hour and sat eating their lunch with Shane and Diane
"What do you think it's really like out there these days?" Dawn asked them
"Quiet, I'm guessing down town is wiped out, those guys down there don't even believe in the curfew" Shane told her
"People dying of starvation maybe, all the local shops are closed down" Cedes added
"The world could have literally disappeared and we wouldn't know" Dawn added
"Well we know Mom and Dad are still out there" Shane told her for comfort
"I guess" she put fries in her mouth and sat watching the hot sun
The day went as slow as it always did, it was mid-June, they sat on the patio looking at the drained pool, there was no reflection of the evening sky in it, no lighting glistening off the rippling water, just the night closing in and the moon closing down another day everyone knew had taken more lives, meaning families were grieving, burying their dead or waiting to die. Of course they watched the film, there was nothing else to do, later evening they put music on and sat listening remembering days when the world was a social place and they took for granted sitting in a café, meeting up with friends or even walking into a shop.
"I'm off to bed" Cedes got up fed up of selecting songs
"Yeah" Dawn got up to follow her "It's getting really hard to find a meaning for life"
"To see me of course, and mini me is on the way" Shane called after them, rubbing Diane's baby bump "Goodnight Dott, Ditt" he laughed at Cedes sticking her middle finger up to him
"Goodnight Di" Cedes waved
"Goodnight each" Diane called back, they weren't far behind them, they were locked down, TV had finished, bun was already in the oven
"You ready for bed?" He asked locking the TV off
"Finally" Dianne huffed taking the slow walked to their bedroom, making sure she was ready for bed and tucked in before he went to sort himself out, she lay smiling when he finally fell on the bed and hugged her
"First and last person" he snuggled into her and closed his eyes to find sleep "What the hell" he jumped out of his sleep and grabbed his baseball bat, running to the girls room to check them "Everything alright in here?" has asked at Cedes head popping up
"What's happened?" she asked startled out of sleep
"Something's going on outside, take Ditt and go into my room with Di" he ordered "And block the door"
Cedes didn't ask questions she did as Shane asked, it wasn't very often he got into battle mode "Dawn" she shook her sister to wake up "Come on, somethings going on, we need to go to Shane's room" she dragged her half asleep sister with her "Shane" she stopped him "Be careful"
"Always" he waved for them to move before setting off downstairs, as he got closer to the front door he was aware there was shouting going on, likened to rioting, which wasn't usual for that side of town "Something's gone wrong" he moved the blinds to look out, the whole house in usual darkness. There were people marching past the cul-de-sac shouting for the bans to be lifted, food to be delivered, jobs to be provided, after five years the people had finally had enough. He smiled thinking he wasn't actually living their struggle, they still had food and stuff but this isolation was a bitch, he could join them, march for freedom, he laughed out loud at his Grandfather's stories coming to life before his very eyes. A tap on the patio doors making his spin round and hold the bat tighter "Who's there?" he walked towards it ready to defend "Who's there?" he asked again when he was less than a foot away from the locked bullet proof double doors.
"Shane it's me Dude" a familiar face came to the window
"Dude" he laughed "What the fuck are you doing here?"
"Dude let me in" his old team mate tapped the window begging
"Are you bringing trouble?" Shane asked him "Are you infected?"
"No" he smiled "I wouldn't be bringing any of that kind of shit to your door, you know me" he told him, Shane stood considering for a while, smiling at the comment being true, then he opened the door and let him in
"What's happened?" he looked at him limping in "You're bleeding"
"I think I got that" he looked up at him "Got anything I can wrap around it?" he held his thigh, Shane quickly grabbed a tea towel out the kitchen and threw it at his friend
"So what happened to you?"
"My parents" he huffed "Fucked up big time, I think my Dad had something to do with the outbreak, he tried to tell me I think, before they came for him, he was involved in some top secret stuff, agents came to our house, threatening him" he flinched at the towel squeezing his injury "He wouldn't tell them anything, they gave him like two chances to talk and then killed my fucking parents, I watched them die" he held his head "Then I grabbed my little bro and ran, hiked, hitched and ran my way out of Vegas down to here, I had those pictures you sent me of your house, and I took a chance"
"So are these people looking for you now?"
"I don't think they know we exist, we went to live with them when I was about 10 remember, and we still have my own name, I don't know if they know us"
"If you've gotten this far I think we can assume they don't" Shane laughed
"We just about got out of there in time, they burnt the place to the ground"
"That sounds serious" Shane shook his head
"What sounds serious?" Cedes came down the stairs with her heated up straighteners in her hand "Who's this?" she asked seeing the stranger
"This is..." Shane got out before she was talking again
"More to the fucking point what the hell is he doing in our house Shane, don't you know there's a damn virus out there?"
"Sorry, Dott is it?" his friend sat up asking, Shane quickly signaled it wasn't the right time, and he sat further back in the couch
"I know" Shane answered "He wouldn't have come in if he had the virus, he's clean"
"And you can guarantee that?" she snapped, her hands hitting her waist with disappointment
"Look" Shane huffed "His family's just been killed in front of his eyes, his house has been burnt to the ground, all he has is what he's sitting here in oh, and he's injured" he pointed to his calf
"Is that my tea towel?" she gasped at the blood filled cloth "And now he's ruined my favourite tea towel" she huffed walking away, pulling Dawn with her
"Did you see him" Dawn gasped as they burst through the garage door
"Of course I saw him, he's in the living room" Cedes looked at her, grabbing supplies from the draws in the garage
"He's super cute"
"That's because he's the first guy you've ever seen, he's average" Cedes laughed "Plus he's much too old for you"
"Age ain't nothing but a number, right?
"Only when Aaliyah sings it" she laughed as they put on their PPE "Come on let's get him stitched up so he can be on his way" she nodded at what they'd got and headed back to the lounge "Who the.." she hissed at seeing another guy standing there "Shane this is too much" she frowned looking at the two guys "We're bringing trouble, how are we going to get them out of here?"
"To where?" he asked looking at his friend "Where do you suggest they go?"
"Anywhere but here" She shouted at him "I'm sorry Shane but, as the oldest I'm pulling rank here.."
"You're always pulling rank, Sam's my friend and he and his little brother need a place to stay, they're both well and I say they stay here"
"When was the last time you did your tests?" she asked the older brother she now knew was Sam
"Three days ago" he told her
"And when did you get the injury?"
"Yesterday" Sam replied
"I'll need to test you again, both of you" she looked from one to the other "Before I can clean that up" she pointed at his leg
"That's fine" Sam told her "This is Stevie by the way" he turned to look at his brother "And they're Dott and Ditt" he pointed at them as he called their names
"I can't believe you" Dawn hissed at her brother
"Our actual names are Cedes and Dawn" Cedes told them, laughing as she handed them the tests, giving her brother one too, Dawn and Cedes stood watching as they popped the swabs in the containers and watched the liquid turn green "Okay" she smiled "You guys want something to eat?"
"We can wait till the morning if its too much trouble" Sam told her
"Yes please" Stevie shouted over him "Sorry it's been two days" he looked at his brothers cross face
"No trouble" Dawn smiled like she was actually doing the work "We're all up now" she smiled at Cedes face asking what the fuck
"Come on" Cedes told her walking off to prepare something for them to eat
"You can not tell me you didn't think any of those guys were cute" Dawn whispered excitedly to her sister
"They're dirty, I'll give them that"
"Come on sis, you got eyes they come from a freaking cute pool"
"So do we" Cedes looked at her laughing "And if you start drooling after them, what they gonna think?"
"That I like them" Dawn replied wondering what the question meant
"If you like a guy, the first thing you do is ignore him" Cedes told her sister
"So you like them too?"
"I didn't say that" she laughed "Come on lets get something prepared" she started looking through the cupboards
Shane was busy introducing them to Diane before wondering off to find some clothes for the two of them, Sam was around his height and could maybe fit into some of his old clothes but he was struggling for Stevie "I got some shorts maybe?" he looked at Stevie holding them up
"Too big" the slim framed, slightly shorter guy smiled up at him
"I got an idea" he went down to the basement and came up with a case full of clothes "Check in here" he opened up the case to reveal clothing from his teenage years "You might find something" watching Stevie snatch the first two things that caught his eye before throwing them towels and pointing them to the direction of the bathroom "Everything you need should be in there" he told them watching them walk into the guest bathroom
"Where are they?" Cedes came out with a tray of Taco's filled with chicken, salad, peppers, pots of sources on the side, Dawn following with plates, forks and a bottle of wine under her arm
"Having a shower" Shane told her
"Oh" she looked around for somewhere to put the tray "Grab the glasses" she looked at Shane
"Why are we having the wine?" he asked, opening the cabinet to get the glasses
"Because not everyone's alright with sparkling water, it's called choice" Ceded snapped at him, Dawn moving around them putting the plate and forks out ready "Ah ah" she waved her finger at Shane ready to dive into the food "Visitors"
"You just finished a.." Dawn got out before Stevie came around the corner back into the lounge, forcing her jaw to drop
"That's better" he ruffled his hands through his wet hair, flashing water all over his top, he wasn't as skinny as she thought he was, his chest was high and budging, his stomach flat as a floor, she closed her eyes for a second and took in the vision of Stevie "Sam said to say he found some shaving stuff, he'll be a minute"
"Sure" Dawn purred, Shane wasn't impressed, he clapped his hands at her
"Fix up" he barked, making her jump at his command, it wasn't often he used tone with her, Cedes giggled, she saw it too, the guy was past cute "I don't want to have this conversation again" he told her, turning to look at Stevie stood wondering what was going down
"Is it the clothes?" he asked looking at all three
"No" Shane laughed "The clothes are fine"
"That looks good" his eyes zoned in on the food
"Sorry dude we got to wait for your bro, ladies have spoken" Shane laughed, pointing at his sisters
They sat talking about Stevie and Sam's journey from Vegas across to them, it was frightening to know what they'd seen and how they'd had to travel to get to them "Lucky for us Sam said he'd got pictures of your house from Shane and he'd got an email invite once and remembered the address"
"Gosh that feels better" Sam came into the room rubbing his chin "Forgot what I looked like" he laughed, running his hand through his hair, stood dressed in Shane's old jog suit.
"I'll dress that cut now" Cedes got up to collect her first aid box "Sit down" she instructed him
"I forget Shane said you were a nurse" he looked at her stood dressed appropriately, sitting in silence as she cleaned and dressed his calf "Perfect" he smiled up at her
"Tell me if you get any pain" he tapped the bandage lightly before grabbing the waste and walking off
Finally they sat on the ten seat couch surrounding the large coffee table eating Taco's and listening to Shane and Sam talking about their days playing ball, it sounded like great fun, a time Stevie and Dawn found it hard to imagine
"You guys can have Dawn's room, she sleeps in mine anyway" Cedes told them, before making their excuses and going off to bed. It was a while before their eyes got to close, Dawn was hung up on Stevie, and Cedes wasn't about to stop her talking about her very first crush, she was excited for her
Day 2
The next day Cedes and Dawn were up early, they had guests to cater for, eggs, bacon, toast, freshly squeezed juice and just as a treat they added some pancakes and syrup to impress "Did they say they were leaving today?" Dawn asked as they plated up
"I don't know" she flicked her pony off her shoulder suddenly hoping they weren't, before moving the cooked food over to the breakfast bar just as Shane and Diane entered the kitchen
"Ditt, Dott" he smiled
"Dumb" Cedes laughed
"I'm glad you said it" Dawn laughed
"Morning ladies" Diane smiled "We all good?"
"We Good" Cedes and Dawn replied
"What time are your friends waking up?" Dawn asked him watching him tuck into breakfast
"Give them a break, they ain't slept in a bed for how long"
"We're up, Morning" Stevie came into the kitchen flinging his mellow yellow blond hair off his face "I got the bathroom first" he smiled at Dawn
"Morning" Dawn smiled back "Dive in" she pointed at the food on the table, Stevie didn't hesitate
"Morning" Sam walked in five minutes later "Sorry, that showers beautiful" she smiled flinging his slightly darker shade of blond hair back off his face, just like Stevie had earlier
"Morning" everyone answered with half full mouths
"I'll just.." Cedes got up to get his pancakes done and his plate of hot breakfast out the oven
"I can do that" he rushed over to help
"It's fine your a guest today, tomorrow it's every man for himself" she laughed, grabbing the kitchen towel "Sit down I'll bring it over" she turned to tell him, he did as told, smiling as she set his breakfast in front of him
"This looks good" he smiled up at her "Thanks" he picked his fork up ready to dive in
As she'd expected more pancakes were needed, Shane usually ate about five when he snacked but he'd ate five after breakfast today and Sam and Stevie were keeping up "I'll make some more" Cedes jumped up and went off to the kitchen
"I'll help" Sam left mid-conversation and followed her "So Cedes" he smiled grabbing the flour "I didn't think they were letting the nurses out of the hospitals anymore"
"They're not, I don't think there are hospitals anymore" she smiled "But they're not letting them in either, haven't been for a while, I just happened to be on shift break when the lock down happened, they won't let me out"
"Is that a good or bad thing for you?"
"Bad" she laughed "I love my work, but turned out good" she giggled taking the time to look up at him "Dawn and Shane would have surely died by now if I wasn't here to feed them, and I'm excited for delivering my little niece or nephew soon, truth be told I'm a bit of an organiser" she admitted
"I just happen to be the most un-organised person you'd ever want to meet" he laughed passing her the eggs
"So what do you guys find to do all day?"
"Oh we have a very full day around here" she looked over her shoulder at him "Eat breakfast every morning, followed by, or sometimes alongside, the news, Shane and Dawn generally go spend their fun hour shooting hoops on the overgrown park out front around 11 am, while I check Diane, sort dinner and do the washing, we eat lunch at around 12.15 pm and then I get to go on my bi-daily shopping trip at 1 p.m. usually with Dawn for half an hour, after which we get some free time, lazy afternoon, baking maybe, play a few games, which we're all sick of, then we have dinner at 5 pm while we watch the news and a movie of their choice in the evening" she laughed
"Full day" he laughed "Sounds familiar" watching her prepare the pancake mix
She'd forgotten he was there when the song jumped in her mind and sprung out of her lips before she could think "You can be my inside friend..." she sang throwing the first pancake in the pan
"Oh that's my jam" Sam laughed joining in tapping the counter with his fingers to bring the tune, starting it up and again "You can be my inside friend.." and happy when she joined in with him
Slide through when you want, you know I want to put you on, it's evil out there, let's keep it at home
So come on, I wanna see you slide across the kitchen floor, can't give you more but
You can be my inside friend, you can be my inside friend, my inside friend, won't you be my inside friend?
"You got skills" Cedes laughed, getting back to cooking after the awkward stare they'd left hanging in the room
"We could be" he looked at her
"Could be what?"
"Inside friends" he smiled "I know I'm your brothers friend, but we could get on too"
"I don't have nothing against you" she laughed "What made you think I did?"
"Oh I guess I thought that 'more to the fucking point, what the hell is he doing in our house Shane' comment sort of said you wanted me out"
"It literally meant I wanted to know what you were doing in our house" she laughed "You'll get used to me"
"Maybe we can put some socks on later and..." he looked around shyly "Slide around" he giggled
"You got jokes too" she rolled her eyes and put the second pancake on the plate "You can stay as long as you need to"
"Thanks, that might be until this things over"
"And then what are you two going to do?"
"Stay in hiding I suppose"
"For the rest of your lives?" she turned shocked
"Stevie had this idea that we should get married and take on our wives names, it's in my back pocket as a last resort" he laughed
"Very traditional" she put another pancake on the pile "How many of these do you guys need?" she poured more mix in the pan
"Make that the last one" he got close enough to whisper in her ear
"Personal space" she turned reminding him
"Sorry" he moved away, his eyes meeting with Shane's as he turned, he smiled at his friend waving a warning finger at him, but not saying anything, which meant it was up to Cedes if she wanted to make a move.
"I was just saying I noticed" she flipped the pancake and stood watching it cook before she took it out
Stevie and Dawn were well into a conversation about the origins of the virus, and sharing conspiracy theories they'd heard about its origins, when Sam and Cedes came back to the table, Shane had already gone through to spend time with Diane, they never said it but Cedes knew they were scared about her delivering the baby, and if they weren't, she sure as hell was. Stevie didn't even look up or ask, he just grabbed a pancake and started putting stuff on it, conversation still flowing while Sam watched his brother getting all bothered about the first girl he'd ever spoken to, Cedes poured herself another coffee and sat watching too, a difference of opinion finally drawing them into it
"I'll get this cleaned up" Sam jumped up grabbing some dirty plates "You should go play ball with your siblings
"It's fine, I'll help" Cedes told him getting up and grabbing more dirty dishes
"Thanks" was all Dawn had to offer watching her sister grab the dirty plate, she was too engrossed in the conversation to offer to help
"I think my brother likes your sister" Sam laughed, leaning against the drainer wiping the dishes before Cedes put them in the dish washer
"She hasn't had a friend for five years" Cedes smiled
"Neither has he" he looked over at the two of them "Coming to think of it neither have I" he smiled "Can we be friends?"
"Done" she laughed "Now friend" she pointed at the plates "Go collect the rest of the plates please"
"I can do that" he went off to collect them, smiling at his brother's excitement "They're onto old MARVEL characters now" he laughed when he got back to Cedes, handing her the plates and cups one at a time "So can we play a game later?"
"What are you 10 years old?" she giggled
"I have a reason for the way I am" he laughed "I've missed out on 5 whole years of my life"
"Like everyone else" she chuckled
"Yeah but there was always this one thing I wanted to do that I never got to do, please say you'll do it with me?"
"You expect me to make a commitment without even knowing what it is?"
"It's called trust" he looked into her eyes holding the gaze
"Okay" her eyes refusing to leave his until she answered "I'll trust you" she felt his eyes release her
"So you'll slide across the kitchen floor with me later?"
"Seriously" she giggled "That was it?"
"Well" he gave her his cute look "I'll need some socks" he looked down at his bare feet
"I'll get you some socks" she giggled
"Yeah" he cheered "A play date"
"You really missed those years" she shook her head smiling
"We're going to the basement to get some of those old MARVEL magazines for Stevie" Dawn announced
"Hey" Sam called after his brother "Make sure that's all you're getting"
"Can I trust him with my sister?" Cedes head spun round asking
"You can trust me to beat the crap out of him if anything happens" he told her
"That's good enough" she laughed carrying on "Although she is 19 years old and considered old enough to make those kinds of decisions for herself" she spun round to tell him
"So is he" he laughed "But it's the principle of the thing"
"What that he's getting some and you're not?" she stepped into his space
"Personal space" he stood looking down at her, his chest rising and falling at the smell of her hair hit his nostrils
"Any juice sis?" Shane walked into the kitchen asking, trying not to smile at them jumping away from each other
"It's in the garage" she walked off quickly to go get it
"What's going down with my sister dude?" Shane walked further into the kitchen asking his friend
"Nothing, just making friends, she didn't seem too keen when we got here" Sam answered smiling
"She's bad enough and feisty enough to make her mind up about her own shit, and I'm not warning you off, all that's up to her, but what I will say is she's explosive, be warned"
"I hear you" Sam knocked fists with him
"But I will warn your little bro Dude"
"Already done" his eye catching Cedes coming back into the kitchen
"Got them" Dawn walked across to the breakfast bar with a heap of magazines in her hand and Stevie in tow, Shane's mouth dropped open
"Cool" Shane leaned into Sam whispering before grabbing the juice from Cedes, and making his way beck to Diane
"Was he warning you off?" Cedes turned to Sam asking
"Not really, just telling me how vicious you could be if I messed you about" he laughed
"He's such a spoil sport" she laughed, putting the last of the dishes in the dishwasher "Let's go watch the news, I know it's not worth it but.." she walked past him, smiling at his eyes following her "It's all we got"
It turned out to be a strange day, Sam and Cedes were sat in front of the TV, it was spirting sad news as always, but they didn't hear a word, and their conversation carried on, long after the channel had signed off. Dawn didn't even look up at 11am, the outside didn't interest her today, it seemed like the magazines had the ability to hold their interest for at least the next 6 months. Unusually Shane was held up in the bedroom all morning so they hadn't seen Diane with her usual whinges since breakfast, With no shopping to do today no one left the house for the day, the afternoon was upon them before they knew it and Cedes was rushing around trying to get something called lunch set up, Sam at hand of course
"Diane's having those Braxton hicks things" Shane came out and grabbed their plates of meat pie and mash with lashings of gravy
"She'll be fine" Dawn laughed watching him leave the room before smiling with excitement, none of them could wait to meeting the new addition to the Jones family
"Mercedes" Shane's voice bellowed through the house "It's time" he yelled at finding Diane knelt at the side of the bed crying
"Dawn, you know what to do" Cedes told her as the two girls left what they were eating and went into action "Put her playlist on" she shouted up to Shane "Calm her down" they came out of the garage looking professional again "Call Mom" she ordered
"Hey" Sam called to her as she mounted the stairs "You've got this"
"I hope so" Cedes smiled, she'd been talking about this moment that afternoon with him
Sam took the opportunity to have a conversation with his brother while they were all upstairs dealing with the birth, satisfied that he was being a gentlemen about things he asked him to be careful and talk to him before doing anything.
Shane was an unprepared wreak, he was screaming just as loud as Diane at times, they were sure Diane thought he was humouring her, but he was their brother, they knew he was passing slabs. Four hours and a lot of shouting later baby SJ came into the world, all four sat in the bedroom, their parents on the line crying, mostly for the relief but there were so many things wrong with that picture right now, they might have been crying for themselves.
"It's a boy" Cedes finally came down the stairs pulling her rubber gloves off
"Congratulations" Stevie and Sam said at the same time getting up at the two girls entering the room
"Are they all okay?" Sam asked watching Cedes walk towards him, he stood wondering what was happening, she didn't look like she was going to stop, she slammed into him, taking his breath while his arms wrapped around her, shocked for a while, until he realised she was crying "You did it and everyone's fine" he tightened his grip on her, it had been a while since he'd been that close to anyone let alone a girl
Eventually she looked up at him "Thanks" she half smiled "I need to get a shower" she pulled away from him, grabbed Dawn's hand and left the room. They came back a while later in PJ's, their hair in towels and slippers "I guess nobody knows what the film is today do they?" she asked "I'm too psyched to sleep"
"Hope you don't mind I made dinner, just in case anyone was hungry" Sam told her "I just done some stake out thee fridge and potatoes, nothing special"
"Great" Cedes smiled "I'll just go and check on it" she turned to make her way to the kitchen, of course Sam followed her "Diane said she could use some soup"
"I'll make it"
"No it's fine, you did dinner" she grabbed the can of soup off the shelf and a pan out he cupboard
"I bet you were great up there today" he leaned on the breakfast bar watching her prepare the soup
"I tell you what, seeing my little nephew come out, it felt pretty great" she turned to smile at him "And having Mom and Dad there was amazing" she left the source pan and went over to him "But all I could hear all through it was you telling me I'd got this, it helped" she smiled "Thank you"
"I guess we won't meet the little fella until tomorrow now"
"You can come up with me now"
"We can?" Stevie walked into the kitchen catching the conversation
"Yeah" she giggled
As soon as the soup was ready they were all upstairs getting familiar with SJ, watching Shane at odds with his new family responsibilities and fussing over Diane, when Diane's eyes finally closed they took the hint and left them to get some well earned rest. They sat down to have dinner and more conversation. "You promised we'd have that game after dinner" Sam reminded her as they packed the dishwasher
"And we can" she giggled at the child in the man "Here" she picked some socks out the washing basket and threw them at him "They're clean" she closed the dishwasher door, to make room "Let's see who can skate the furthest" she made ready. The competition started and got so loud Stevie and Dawn went to join in, girls against boys, of course the girls won, while the boys stood smiling at letting them win. They finally decided enough was enough and grabbed some snacks to watch the movie of the day, Shane couldn't wait to get back to his new family, he was long gone.
"The Notebook?" Stevie asked "Who wants to watch a show about a book?" he looked at Sam
"It's a romance movie" Sam told him
They all sat with only the light from the TV watching the love story play out, of course you knew the ending as soon as it started, but it was the beautiful way they got to each other that made it so beautifully frustrating. By the time the movie finished Cedes was fast asleep resting on Sam's shoulder "Cedes" Dawn called trying to wake her up
"It's fine" Sam whispered "She's had a heavy day. I'll just wait until she wakes up" he watched them leave the room
Dawn & Stevie
"Goodnight" Dawn stopped outside her bedroom looking at Shane's door "Sleep tight"
"I won't be able t sleep tonight" Stevie smiled
"Me neither" she grabbed his hand "What if we hold the same fate as Tony Stark and the Black widow, we'll never know.."
"What love really is" he pulled her to him and kissed her "Should we?" he pulled away to ask
"Yes" she pushed the door open for them to slide into her room, their lips still attached
They didn't know what they were doing, but they felt what they wanted, Dawn stood taking her underwear off while he pushed his shorts down and let them drop to the floor "Are you sure about this?" he asked
"Very" she grabbed his hands and put them on her
They were in their own minds, there were things happening for their own bodies that they didn't understand, they were touching someone else's body in ways they never had before everything was new and to top it all there were feelings. The occasional moan letting the other remember that someone else was in the room as they came to grips with what they were feeling
"Stop" Dawn looked at him "Contraception" she looked at him
"I don't.."
"I do" she went over to her dresser "Mom has them in her kit, I was experimenting once" she laughed "Don't ask" she took them out and went back to where he stood "We should stay at the door in case your brother comes up"
"Are you..." was all he got out before she was back on his lips and he was right back to where he'd been a second ago, it didn't take long or have any feeling but urgency, it was over almost as quickly as it had started while Stevie stood panting like he'd just ran a marathon
"Is that it?" Dawn looked at him confused
"I've heard it gets better with practice" Stevie looked at her fretfully "Sorry, it happened faster than I expected"
"That's fine we can try again tomorrow, they might be up soon we better go" Dawn told him puling her underwear back up "Goodnight" her hand touched the door handle
"Wait" Stevie pulled her back, and kissed her "I feel like we should be saying so much more right now" he looked at her lips "Goodnight" he let her go, a smile on his face at the fact he was no longer a virgin
Sam couldn't see him getting to bed, Cedes was past tired, he just sat in the dark feeling her move around on his lap. He didn't know when he fell asleep too, but when they woke up it was morning and Cedes was laying on his chest half on top of him, half on the couch, his arms wrapped around her holding her onto the couch.
Day 3
They both looked around the room trying to get their bearings before finding each others eyes "Morning" he smiled down at her "You were flaked last night, I volunteered to stay with you until you woke up" he stretched as he spoke
"Man to his word, I like it" she smiled sitting up "Great pillow" she looked at his chest "Coffee?" she got up without hearing his answer
"Are you always this bubbly in the mornings?" he followed her to the kitchen asking
"Thank you..." she turned to the ringing phone "It's Mom" she smiled picking it up "Morning" she smiled at him before turning her back, he set about putting the kittle on, he could hear the conversation, but it wasn't any of his business "Yes everyone is fine, still asleep" she giggled, he looked at her stood listening to the conversation, stood almost to attention as if her parents could see her "When he wakes up I'll tell him 2pm" she smiled pointing to the dishwasher for cups "Buy Mom, kiss Daddy for us" she closed the call
"Your Mom's finding it difficult being a long distant Grandparent?"
"Yeah" she smiled grabbing the coffee, they spent the time they had to drink their coffee talking about morbid ways in which they'd hate to die, Sam ending the fest with something about eating parts of his own body, the dilemma he'd face if he had to pick between eating the left or right side of his brain first. "I'm going to grab a shower before I start breakfast with your brain" she laughed walking off Sam followed to get to his room
Nearly twenty minutes later they were standing on the landing ready to make breakfast, Cedes stood with a towel wrapped around her head again "My inside friend" Sam sang as they walked down the stairs
"Won't you be my inside friend?.." Cedes laughed joining in with him
Come through with your hair still wet, yoga pants, sweatshirt on the bed, heart heavy and your week been crazy
We can be lazy, baby, embrace me, in this feeling so right, don't think about leaving anytime tonight...
"Is that our song?" Cedes asked, stopping at the bottom of the stairs
"It's whatever we want it to be" he laughed "No labels, I hate labels"
"Me too" they walked into the kitchen and started cooking breakfast
"If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future or anything else, what would you want to know?" he asked
"That's a bit deep isn't it?"
"Something friends should know about each other"
"Okay, you go first"
"I'm sensitive, that's a truth" he laughed "My life's been straight shit so far, parents gone, we don't know how, foster parents shot dead, we have no family, no home, nothing, just ourselves" he raked his hand through his hair nervously. "I can't see a future right now, it's kind of hard to dream with all that stuff in my head, but I know what I'd wish for"
"What would you wish for?"
"Career in football, wife, family and to always be there for my family you know?" he looked her with puppy eyes "You?"
"I'm what I term as bossy, sensitive" she laughed "I get mad hurt if no one listens to me" she put another egg in the oil "My life's been cool I think, I have my parents, siblings and there's always been love, I feel lucky in that respect. I guess in the future I'd want to be somebody's wife, mother and all that, but I'm always going to be an Anesthesiologist first"
"If this virus is ever contained"
"My parents are on it, they'll sort it soon" she smiled throwing the last of the bacon in the pan before setting the table "Do you want to fetch some juice from the garage?" she asked him
"Show me the way" he stood listening to her directions, breakfast was soon cooked and in the oven waiting for everyone to wake up
"So" Sam poured their second cup of coffee for the morning "I have this friend who has this problem" he sat at the breakfast bar with the two cups in his hand "Maybe you could help me out, friend" he laughed
"Did I add that I was a brilliant problem solver too?" she took the cup off him
"No, but I sort of guessed, I don't tell my problems to just anyone, you're so easy to talk to"
"That might have something to do with the fact that there's no one else to talk to" she laughed
"Oh well we're here now so.. do you mind?"
"Not at all, go for it" she waved her hand offering him the floor
"Well this friend of mine, she's got a thing about my bro" he smiled rubbing his finger around the brim of his cup "Thing is she's my friend and somehow it feels odd to let her take advantage of my brother like that"
"Well what does your brother think, does he like her?"
"I think he does, I mean they get on well, it's just, I don't know if it will sit right with me you know, seeing my best friend and my brother together"
"I think I'd feel alright with that, if my friend was a good one"
"You would?"
"Would what?" Shane walked into the kitchen with Diane and baby SJ
"Oh we were just talking hypothetically" Sam smiled watching Cedes rushing towards Diane and the baby "You look alright as a family man dude"
"We always joked that this would be you" Shane laughed hugging him
"I know" Sam laughed
"Morning" Stevie walking into the kitchen trying to look normal his attention drawn to Diane and the baby, everyone responding before carrying on their chatter "Where's Dawn?"
"She'll be down in a bit I'm sure" Cedes told him "She's usually up with me, but I slept down here last night" she set up the coffee machine for the new arrivals
"You did?" Shane's head popped up "You know how damn dangerous that is"
"Sam stayed with me" she looked across at him evading her brothers eyes
"Nothing happened" Sam held his hands up at Shane's look
"I don't answer to him, I'm a grown ass woman, who happens to be older than him" Cedes laughed
"She's right" Shane smiled at Sam
"Morning" Dawn entered the room, the smile Stevie and her shared couldn't be denied
"Morning" Cedes smiled zoning in on her sister "Come with me" she signalled for Sam to watch the coffee pot
Cedes & Dawn
"You did it didn't you?" Cedes swung her around to look at her "And don't even think about lying to me" she warned
"Anything could happen, I wanted to know what it felt like" Dawn spat at her "It's alright for you..."
"It's not alright for me" Cedes butted in "I told you, talk to me first"
"You were asleep"
"Dawn" she dropped her hands wearily "Did you use contraceptives?"
"Yeah"
"Did he hurt you"
"Yeah" she smiled "In a nice way, but it was so fast" she grinned "Was it fast for you?"
"Yeah" Cedes lied
"Don't tell Shane will you?"
"He probably guessed the same time as me, but I'll leave it to you to tell him"
"I'll never tell him" she laughed "But I feel different, like..." she looked around the room trying to find the word "Adult" she giggled "Did it liberate you?"
"Dawn" Cedes grabbed her hand "Listen" she calmed her down "I've never had sex, it's just never been...I've never met anyone worth giving myself to"
"You need to try it" Dawn's comical face jibed
"I will, when I'm ready"
"Girl" Dawn looked at her sister thinking better for not finished that sentence "I hope you find what you're looking for soon"
"And you need to protect your heart" she pushed her before pulling her back for a hug "And be safe about it" she kissed her forehead "Come on lets go get breakfast"
The day was standard, breakfast in front of the TV news, midday in the park for Dawn and Shane, dinner cooked by Sam and Cedes, shopping for Dawn and Cedes and an evening inside with the baby as entertainment before the TV kicked in again after dinner, and again Dawn and Stevie went to bed leaving Sam and Cedes sat listening to old songs and telling stories about the ones that stuck in their heads
Sam & Cedes
"This has to be the best song of 2020" Sam tapped on her tablet giggling as 'Expectations' by Ella Isaacson & Gallant came through the tablet speaker, they sat rocking to it for awhile until he jumped up and pulled her with him, the awkward stare soon turned into singing "I had different expectations too, so sure that I would end up just like you..."
"Excuse me" Shane walked down the stairs smiling "Diane wants some juice, I thought everyone was in bed"
"We're just having a trip down memory lane with some tunes" Sam's hands left Cedes and found his pockets
"That one was epic... mind you anything that man put his name to was good" Shane told them
"Word" Sam nodded his head at the statement, Shane didn't stop walking he went straight to the garage, came out with the box of juice, and went straight back up the stairs waving his goodnight
"Are you scared of my brother?"
"Not scared but, you know bros and their sisters is messy territory" he laughed shyly
"We are just friends aren't we?"
"Yeah" he looked around the room trying to figure out how to get close to her again "It might be time for bed... separately I mean" he laughed nervously
"Can we give it another hour or so?"
"Why?" he looked up the stairs "What are they up to?" he made to climb the stairs
"Sam" she called after him "You're already too late"
"What you mean they're up there.." he pointed up the stairs
"Last night actually"
"That little brat, I warned him..." he stopped at Cedes grabbing his hand
"It was her choice"
"They're only 19 years old" he looked at her upset
"And how old were you?"
"I guess you have a point" he smiled
"I thought you knew, I thought that was the friend you were talking about this morning"
"I said friend not brother" he threw himself back on the couch "I can't believe that boy"
"You just don't know that girl" she laughed "It really wasn't his fault" she sat next to him "So, what did your last girlfriend do to you?"
"The usual shit girls do, lie, cheat, try to break my heart"
"Try to break your heart?"
"She didn't own it enough to break it, to be frank"
"So what's a girl got to do to own that heart of yours?"
"Honestly" he looked into her eyes "Just love me enough to put me first"
"I hear that" she rested her arm on the top of the couch and rested her head in her hand "An inside friend" she looked at him and raised an eyebrow
"I thought you were my inside friend?"
"I am" she smiled
"Just on cue, our song" he jumped up and grabbed her hand pulling her up again, smiling to himself for the chance to have her in his arms again
"Sam" she giggled getting up without much protest, smiling at being back in his arms, as they moved around the living room
"You can be my inside friend.." she looked up at him singing, giggling at him rolling his eyes at her
"You can be my inside friend..." he sang back at her nodding as she pointed to herself, singing and dancing the whole song,they'd stopped moving, stood singing the last few words of the song to each other
"I need to kiss you" Sam smiled "Can I kiss you?"
"Yeah" she smiled watching his head move towards hers, their lips almost touched, their lips definitely parted in anticipation, their eyes closed
"Sis" Shane came bouncing down the stairs "Diane asked if you come check little man's temperature, he feels a little warm to us"
"Yeah" she stepped away from Sam
"Where's Ditt?" he looked around the room "She's not in your room"
"She might be in her room" Cedes told him
"What?" he looked from her to Sam "I thought I told you.." he walked towards Sam
"Look" Cedes stood in front of him "Dawn's a 20 year old woman, with needs, if that's what she wants who the hell are we, he's not raping her, in fact I think it might be the other way around"
"In the house?" Shane asked
"What the hell are you doing in the house?"
"And what are you doing in this house?" Shane looked at Sam, anywhere to throw this anger he had boiling inside
"We were just listening to some music and having a dance, nothing else"
"So the agenda wasn't to rock in and deal with my sisters?"
"Shane" Sam rolled his eyes "Can you hear yourself, is that me?"
"Dude you have to know where I'm coming from" Shane's hand raked his hair "My baby sister is up there..." he looked at the ceiling
"And my baby bro is up there doing... that" Sam told him "I just don't want it to be awkward for them in the morning"
"Shit" Shane hissed "Just come look at little man" he waved Cedes to follow him, she followed him up the stairs, grabbed one of his socks and hung it on Dawn's door handle, smiling at Shane shaking his head and smiling
"I might have one on mine by the morning, got anything to say?" she asked
"Those guys will never love you two more than I do" he told her
"Would you mind if they came pretty close?"
"Not at all" he hugged her before opening his bedroom door, Cedes took her time about sorting SJ out, if anything was wrong with him she'd need time to read books get an emergency call to her Mom, things had to happen, everything seemed alright after check number two, she left them to themselves
"Hi" she smiled at Sam coming up the stairs
"I thought you'd gone to bed" he laughed
"Come with me" she grabbed his hand bringing him to her bedroom, hanging a sock on the door as she closed it "What are you listening to?" she asked watching him take one of the plugs out his ear and offer it to her
"Wow" she handed it him back "Hold up" she plugged his phone into the cordless earphones stand and handed him a set of earphones "Where were we?" she asked
"I think you gave me permission to kiss you" he smiled, watching her start the song
"On repeat" she told him "You have my permission" she smiled pulling him to her as 'Forever And A Day' by August Alsina played
For a second he was unsure of what he needed to do, not only had it been a while, but her brother had just come at him about this shit "This is alright?" he asked, with the base coming through the phones he knew she was lip reading, he couldn't stare at them any longer he took her lips, they got lost in the song and the night "You're a virgin" he looked at her scared face when he tried to get into her, she nodded, he kissed her, taking his time, using his mouth to relax her, they didn't know if they were making noise, Cedes didn't seem to care. She could see his lips asking if she was alright and nodded accordingly, she knew she let out a cry when her body finally pulled him into her and pushed him out, grabbing him back before he could fully escape, it was quick but intense
"You know I'm not leaving this room for now?" he took the earphone off
"Yeah I know" she giggled "You're my inside friend"
"We're officially locked down" he kissed her "I'm really not on what those other brothers are on, condoms?" he pulled her in, ready for the playlist
"Lot's more" she giggled "What about breakfast?"
"Every man for themselves" his lips covered hers
The End