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A week passed of them living together. Abby spent her days as usual, working from home and cleaning although she tried not to as much as she used to. It was something she struggled with but still worked on nonetheless. While Cain on the other hand had to completely change his daily routines for new ones. Instead of waking up early each morning to practice with his group, he spent most of his time trying to learn Spanish. He even did so while Abby worked. All he had to do was download apps that helped him with learning. Because of those apps he was doing good with vocabulary. Even though he couldn’t yet form full sentences, he had managed to memorize a great deal of words.
He was confident he had memorized the 20 words he would need. There was no way he wouldn’t have as that whole week he kept repeating the words for items around the apartment. He even asked Abby if he could stick sticky notes with the names on things and she let him but she also told him the sticky notes had to go once the week was up. Just that morning he had passed by all the things while reading each word out loud. Lámpara, abanico, tapete, cojín, libro, librero, repisa, mesa, silla, microondas, estufa, refrigerador, gabinetes, cortinas, ventana, puerta, pared, oficina, recamara, cama. There were all things that were in every home.
But not only did he have to worry about memorizing the 20 words but also that Abby's mom would visit that day. They had been able to avoid the situation the first day but that was only because Abby had given her mom the excuse that she had a video chat appointment at the time. There was however no way they could use that same excuse a second time, it would seem too suspicious.
"Have you come up with anything yet?" Cain felt bad for asking as he didn’t want to pressure Abby any more than she already was but he needed to prepare for whatever it was they were going to do. And as they were both folding laundry, there was no better time to come up with a plan.
"If only I were just Agoraphobic and not a Germaphobe. There's no way my mom is going to believe what I've come up with." Abby sighed as she folded one of the men’s jeans she bought that week. Considering how all of her clothes were too small for Cain’s body, she had to buy several men’s clothes online. And as she needed them quickly she had to pay extra for express shipping. She just couldn’t go on wearing the same one piece any longer.
"Why? What did you come up with?"
"Well before I was a Germaphobe and even before I became Agoraphobic, I had this Korean friend come over a few times and whenever he was here my mom would be okay with me speaking Korean to her because she wanted him to understand what we were saying." The "friend" she referred to was really her fiancé at the time but she didn't want to go over such details with Cain. It was already painful enough for her to still have him in her memories.
She had met Jun her Freshman year in college. He was a foreign exchange student from Seoul and was majoring in business. But although the two had different majors and took different classes, they ended up meeting through a program the college offered. It was a program that paired English majors with foreign exchange students so they could be tutored in English. There was only one requirement and that was that the English majors needed to know another language. As Abby was fluent in three languages, she joined the program.
Since she applied to be matched with either someone from Latin America or Korea, she was paired with Jun. After only a few meetings the two ended up liking each other and started to date. They dated all throughout college up until their graduation when he proposed to her and asked her to move with him to Korea. It was because of this she was now living in Seoul. The apartment had actually been his as they had lived there together until their engagement was broken off.
"Does this mean you were thinking of introducing me to your mom as your friend?" Although technically it would be him that would have to introduce her as a friend since he was the one acting as her.
"Yup but now that I'm a Germaphobe that doesn't even let her own mom come near her, how am I supposed to have a friend? And not only that but one that I've let into my house. She isn't going to believe that. I barely even let her and my dad come over. And when I do they have to disinfect before coming in." Just to visit her, there was a whole process she made her parents go through. That process included them taking a shower before leaving their apartment then once there, she had them disinfect themselves with disinfectant spray and wipes (only their clothes of course). She even had them leave their shoes outside which was something Koreans did but not Mexicans like her and her family.
Cain tried to think of a solution as he went on to pairing socks. Even though the weather was somewhat hot, Abby liked for the two to wear them. In that way they kept both the floor and their feet clean. If living with her that past week had taught him anything it was that there was always a way around things. She was a Germaphobe that didn't let people in because she thought of them as dirty and she didn't want to get their germs. But if there was nothing to be afraid of, if the other person wasn’t dirty and if that person was just as clean as her...The idea came to him just then, "I'll be a Germaphobe!" He yelled out his idea.
"Huh? What do you mean you'll be a Germaphobe? I've already told you not to try picking up my habits, it would only be bad for you." Abby threw him a sock from across the living room.
"Good throw.” Cain smiled and gave her a thumbs up as he catched the sock.
She sneered at him in return.
“And I meant that I can be introduced as your Germaphobic friend. You would allow another Germaphobe inside your apartment, wouldn't you? Someone that was just like you, with the same habits and that is just as clean?"
As much as she hated to admit it, Cain was right. She really would be okay with letting such a person inside her apartment. All they would need was a story on how they met and became friends. It was however not easy to come up with one as she hardly ever went out because of her Agoraphobia. But as it would make their lie more believable, a story was essential. Her mom was also nosy so she had no doubt she would probe for answers. “A story, we’ll need one. All friends have one on how they met. So how would I meet someone if I don’t go out much?”
"Online! Lots of people meet online these days!" He threw one of the paired socks into the basket by Abby’s feet but instead of a sneer like earlier, she gave him a smile. If there was anything he liked about folding laundry was that he got to play around with it.
"I think you’re onto something. Question now is where online?” There were just too many social media sites that they would have to decide on one just to make their story more specific. She didn't want to end up saying Facebook while he ended up saying Instagram.
"Well definitely not an online dating site." Cain chuckled nervously. He really just said it to see what Abby's reaction would be at the mention of dating.
"Definitely not a dating site. We don't want my mom to think we're dating."
He wanted to ask why but decided to keep the question to himself.
"I got it!” She clapped both hands together. “I was actually thinking about social media sites like Facebook or Instagram but Facebook would probably be better." She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it sooner. It was perfect and her mom would believe it.
"Why Facebook?"
"Facebook has groups. Some even being for people with Agoraphobia and Germaphobia, I’m actually a member of several of them. And I've seen instances where members from such groups find out about other group members living in the same city and they end up meeting. It doesn't happen too often unless it's Agoraphobes and Germaphobes that are in the process of recovering but it does happen."
"Hmm. That could actually work. We could say I'm a Germaphobe that is also an Agoraphobe that is trying to do exposure therapy. And that when we met in one of these groups we found out we lived near each other and decided to work on our therapy together.”
“I guess we have everything figured out then.” Having folded the last pair of jeans, Abby got up and cracked her knuckles. “Now how about that Spanish test?”
Taking a deep breath, Cain tried to go over every single word for all 20 items in his head. Once he did that and felt ready, he gave Abby the go-ahead. In the end he ended up naming all 20 things, he passed the test. As there was no time limit he took as much time as he needed to name each thing. He didn’t want to mess up by rushing.
"So should we start our dancing lessons?” Cain bounced on his toes. It was what he had been looking forward to that whole week.
“I think I prefer to start with rapping...” Abby looked down at her feet unsure if she would ever be up to par with the skills of a main dancer.
“Well okay. We can do that. You said you like Italian rap, right? Why don't you play some songs for me and we can go from there." He didn't know Italian but rapping was done pretty much the same in any language.
Cain had never heard any of the songs but that didn’t stop him from moving his head to the beat. Even though he didn’t understand a word, he still liked how the music sounded. “Is there any way you could get lyrics to some of these songs?”
“Yup. Hold on.” She opened the YouTube app and searched up lyric videos. Because of this they were able to rap along to the songs or at least attempt to.
After pointing out some things to Abby, Cain let her try rapping on her own. She wasn't yet at the level of a professional rapper but he still thought she could pass as a trainee. She had potential, all she needed to do was practice. "You're not as bad as you probably think you are. And to tell you the truth I wasn't always as good at rapping as I am now. But you want to know how I got better?”
“How?” It was hard for her to believe that he wasn’t always as good at rapping as he was.
“I practiced every chance I had. Even while in the shower or doing chores around the house I would rap. You don't even have to remember any lyrics, you can freestyle about anything. That's what's cool about rap. So I would actually recommend you do the same. Just remember that each rapper has their own style and you just have to find a style that works for you. Take Adam for example, almost all of us can rap but we all have different styles."
"You're right. Every rapper has their own style. I've listened to enough rap to know that. But in this case wouldn't I have to rap like you?"
Trying to imitate his favorite rappers was something Cain had done as a trainee but during that time he realized that sounding exactly like someone else was impossible. No matter how hard he tried, he was never able to succeed in doing so. He could sound similar but never the same. And even though Abby had his voice, the way she controlled it would be different. So his goal had never really been to get her to rap exactly like him but to just be able to rap in general even if it was in her own style. He knew there was a chance the members would notice the change and even the fans but they would just think he was trying out a new style. It wasn't uncommon for a rapper to try new styles after all. He had even tried doing so himself before settling on his current one.
"All you need is to be a rapper. You don't have to rap like I do because you’re not me. You may look like me but you’re not. So just be you and find your own style. Trying to imitate me would only hold you back because you will never be able to accomplish such a thing as no two rappers can rap alike."
“I guess you have a point but are you sure it’ll be fine if I end up rapping differently than you?” She didn’t want to get him in trouble just because she couldn’t rap like him.
“If you're worried about the members finding the change as odd, don't worry. As artists we all go through stages where we try out different things.”
Abby was about to play another video when there was a knock on the door, they both jumped at the same time. There was only one person it could be, her mom.
"Oh gosh. She's here. You remember everything? What you're going to say and how you're going to act?" She started to pace around the room.
"Yea, I've even practiced it in my head." He was ready. Abby had not only told him what to say, but also how to act. The first thing he had to do was open the door and quickly back away, either about 5 or 6 feet. Once he moved back, her mom would reach out just barely enough to grab the disinfectant wipes and disinfectant spray that were by the entrance. And once she wiped and sprayed her clothes while leaving her shoes outside, she would walk inside.
Because of the dining room’s flooring being ceramic tiles, it was easier to disinfect than the living room which had carpet. For that reason they went to the dining room but instead of sitting around the table closely, they each sat on chairs that were placed 6 feet apart from each other. As Abby had already told her mom she had a friend over, there was no need for any explanations. She had even told her about Cain only speaking Korean.
"Wow. Tu amigo es muy guapo. Estás segura que solo es tu amigo y no tu novio?"
Abby knew there was a chance of her mom saying such a thing in Spanish as soon as she got there but it was why she had prepared Cain with a response.
"Korean only mom. I already told you." Even though he had no clue as to what her mom had said, Cain repeated the words she had told him to say if her mom started speaking in Spanish.
"So you two are friends? JUST friends?" Her mom emphasized the word just.
"Yes, we are friends." Abby couldn't help but reply even though it wasn’t as herself. Her mom always wanted her to start dating again but she had never wanted to. Her relationship with Jun had already taught her a lesson and that was that no one would ever love her as she was. Even though she dated Jun for 4 years and he claimed to have loved her, as soon as the accident happened and she was left with all that fear, he dumped her.
Their wedding was only two weeks away when he left her a note on the refrigerator saying he wanted to call off the wedding. Abby had later called him and asked what she could do to change his mind, she practically begged him because she loved him. But he just told her she was no longer the person he had fallen in love with. He didn’t like how she didn't want to go out anymore and how she would get panic attacks all the time. It had become annoying to him and he didn't want any of that baggage, his words exactly. He even went as far as saying that he wanted to be a husband and not a caretaker.
The one she thought loved her ended up abandoning her when she most needed him. And it was because of that abandonment and all the pain it brought that she decided to close off her heart.
