One month has passed since that date with Marian and Sylvia's settling into her new room.
As layers of walls create a new boundary between them, both find themselves looking back at the time they spent together in the same house.
Sylvia spends most of her days in her new room, navigating through her work and spending some time without the continuous banter with Ryan. At times, when she is completely alone and free from her work and outside life, she just sits on her bed and keeps staring at the walls silently.
For Ryan, the boundary becomes unusually boring during the initial days. He is the one who paces the hallway and living room, glancing toward the door of Sylvia's room in anticipation. However, when her door stays closed and the interactions between them keep lessening, he finally stops trying to initiate a conversation too. When there is no one to fill the silence, his thoughts find their way to creep into his consciousness.
The first encounter with Sylvia, the questions which were never answered properly, and the time spent together with her… All of these come crashing upon his mind. He remains unable to answer whether these thoughts were born out of suspicion or simply because of his need to create some sense of stability in this new routine.
Despite the increased distance, the familiarity between them remains the same. They still meet in the kitchen every morning, Sylvia still teases him, and Ryan still tries to win against her in the banter. Other than their work hours, when Sylvia stays busy on her laptop and Ryan navigates his life between college and his job, both of them don't really leave each other alone properly.
At present, both of them sit in front of the television to watch one movie before they have to go back to their rooms to sleep.
Sylvia sits on the couch with her legs tucked under her, her eyes tracking the scenes. Ryan sits beside her cross-legged, though for him, Sylvia is another part of the movie that he has been watching discreetly. After a moment, Sylvia's voice comes out dry and knowing.
"You don't like this movie?"
Ryan blinks, caught off guard by the sudden attention. "I like it, obviously. Why do you ask?" he speaks while looking at the T.V.
Sylvia finally turns her gaze away from the screen and shifts slightly on the couch to face him. Her arm brushes against his in the process, but she stays focused on him.
For a moment, both stare at each other. The silence grows heavy. At that moment, Sylvia asks as she looks over his face, "You have been quite silent lately." She closes her lips and waits for his response.
Ryan fidgets with his shirt, his eyes narrowing as he looks at her. He feels the conflict at this moment. The truth is, he has not been silent… he simply hasn't had anything to react to at all during the last few days. After some time, he shakes his head slowly, "No…," but suddenly stops himself as a thought occurs in his mind.
I cannot lie… otherwise, I will think the same things again later. I am sick of that now.
Taking a deep breath, he turns his head to look toward the television and speaks, "I have been thinking lately… about all of this." He glances sideways at her slightly. He knows that she will understand his implication without him even saying it in detail.
As he expected, Sylvia's expression shifts at his words, just subtly. Slowly, she reaches out to the remote and turns the screen off entirely before focusing her gaze back on him. For a moment, there is a conflicting expression on her face too, but she recovers from it quickly and lets out a sigh. "I see…"
Ryan waits for her to continue, and she finally nods at him, "Go ahead then, Ryan. Ask whatever you want." She looks down at her hands after saying this, as if bracing herself for something.
He, meanwhile, looks surprised, but he doesn't wait for any more hesitation. After thinking for some time, he asks, "Why did you not leave this house until now, and why are you so… secretive sometimes?"
"..."
Sylvia stares at him for a moment, not fully, just sideways. Finally, she huffs quietly, "How blunt… direct to the point?" But she doesn't stop or try to hide herself from his question. "I planned to leave this house in the beginning, obviously. But… when I asked myself, after days of living here, why I should leave… I couldn't find any answer to that question."
Then, she looks at him fully and tilts her head to the side. "Not to mention, you didn't give me any reason to leave. Should I have left then? Tell me!"
"Huh?"
He looks dumbfounded at her answer. His mind races through the logistics quickly, with dozens of reasons why she should have left. Because I was a stranger! You should have gone home! And, most importantly, it's rude to live in someone's house just because they aren't saying anything! He thinks of many reasons, but as he watches her face…
He lets out a sigh slowly and shakes his head. "No… You shouldn't have. It would have been rude too… just leaving like that."
She nods in agreement and leans back again on the couch with another huff, and then she curls her knees to her chest slowly. Her next answer comes muffled against her own knees. "As for being secretive… I think it's not my fault. You are just too much of a child… always trying to peek into my work. Remember when you even stumbled upon me while I was changing…?"
"W…What!? You…!"
Ryan buries his face in his hands, heat suddenly creeping to his face before he growls and turns toward her again, pointing his finger at her.
"That was a pretty low move! That was an accident, absolutely an accident! And don't divert from the question!"
A low 'tch' sound comes from Sylvia as he calls her out. She groans slightly in annoyance. "Perceptive always… at the wrong times." But then she turns slowly on the couch, facing him fully, her leg against his waist.
"I wasn't diverting! I was just stating what HAPPENED! And I have literally told you most of the things about me anyways! You know what I eat, what I wear, where I go, which people I talk to! Literally everything!"
She gets carried away completely. Quickly, she sits up on her knees on the couch, hovering over him. Ryan looks confused and awkward. But she doesn't stop, too busy explaining herself.
Her hands snap to his shoulders, pushing him hard. His back presses against the couch fully, his eyes wide.
Sylvia's hand, warm and swift, slides over his shirt slowly and then reaches behind his neck. Her fingers curl into his hair, tilting his head back as she stares down at him and asks, while her other hand presses a fingernail against his chest, "Tell me! Did I ever ask about your parents? Or your past? Or anything else? Tell me about it!"
Ryan is frozen in his place, his body completely loose against the couch. What's happening? How did she end up straddling me suddenly? His lips tremble slightly as he replies, his voice merely a murmur, "N…No, you never asked."
She also nods in agreement with a loud hmph. Her hand tugs at his hair once, making him wince once. She leans down slightly, her gaze boring into him. "Then, don't ask the question like that, okay? I might be hiding a few things from you… but not with any kind of ill intent, okay?"
He listens to her attentively. Her proximity makes her voice even more dominant in the silent room. But he really considers her words. Her logic is absurd, but he understands her intent. That is right. Why am I even poking into her secrets? As she said earlier… I know most of the things she does, so… why? Is it…? He goes silent for some time, then finally nods slowly. "...Okay. No questions like that, for now."
The tension in Sylvia's shoulders loosens slightly, her fingers becoming lighter in his hair as she looks at his face. Slowly, she exhales and nods too with a small and tired smile. "Hm… just not for now."
"..."
At this moment, they both realise their situation. She is still straddling his lap, he is still sitting like a statue with his head turned back to look at her. His gaze momentarily falls on her lips, and he immediately snaps his gaze back to her eyes. Both of their bodies go stiff. She suddenly finds the couch behind him interesting.
Then, a whisper comes out of his lips, his gaze falling back on her mouth. Sylvia stiffens, sensing his gaze on her mouth.
"Sylvia…"