Love Unspoken

They sat there in silence for what felt like forever, the sea breeze doing its thing, sweeping across the beach. As the night dragged on, it got even colder. After a bit, Alexander broke the silence. "We should head back. It's getting late."

Quinn sighed. "Even if we go back, I won't be able to sleep. Are you tired?"

"Not really. Just worried you might be cold. If you wanna stay a bit longer, that's cool," Alexander said, taking off his jacket and putting it over her shoulders. Quinn looked at the jacket, then stood up. "Let's go back. It's too dark here, and there's nothing to see."

"We could wait for the sunrise," Alexander suggested.

Quinn thought about it for a second. "Do you want to see it?"

"If you do, I'll wait with you," Alexander said. "Doesn't matter what we do, as long as I'm with you."

Quinn was caught off guard by his sudden romantic words. She sat back down. "Alright, let's wait for the sunrise. What time does it come up?"

"At this latitude, around four," Alexander replied.

Quinn checked her phone. It was already 2:30 AM, so they only had to wait a bit over an hour. "Let's wait then. We can't sleep anyway."

"Okay," Alexander agreed.

They sat there, trying to find something to talk about. Quinn finally said, "Abigail mentioned she was going on a honeymoon. Wonder where they're going. We should've tricked them into coming here." Alexander laughed. "You can still do that."

"Isn't there no signal here?" Quinn asked.

Alexander thought for a moment. "Then we'll wait till we get back and trick them into coming next time to help us build a house."

"Good idea. But are you sure they'll help us build a house?" Quinn asked.

"Who knows," Alexander replied.

Quinn glanced at him. He looked so tired, like he had convinced himself he was old, making him look like an old man now.

Leaning on his shoulder, Quinn asked, "You said you wanted to take us on a trip. When do you plan to go?"

"Let's see. We still need to build the house. How about after that's done?" Alexander suggested.

"Sure, we have plenty of time anyway," Quinn agreed.

Alexander fell silent, and when he was quiet, they both were.

They chatted here and there, and soon the sky started to lighten. Quinn watched as the horizon slowly brightened, the sea becoming clearer before them.

"Is the sunrise coming up?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah," Alexander replied.

Quinn perked up, staring into the distance. She suddenly remembered the last time she watched the sunrise with Alexander, but that was a pretty rough experience. "Didn't we watch the sunrise before?" Quinn asked.

Alexander glanced at her. "You remember?"

"Of course. I remember everything between us, the good and the bad," Quinn replied.

Alexander sighed, "I wish you didn't remember so clearly."

"What do you mean?" Quinn asked.

"Nothing, just the unpleasant stuff. You don't need to remember those so clearly," Alexander explained.

"I wish I could forget, but I can't," Quinn said.

"Never mind, the sun's coming up," Alexander said.

Quinn turned to look and saw a red glow on the horizon. She watched as a sliver of sunlight peeked over, growing larger and larger until the whole sun rose above the horizon.

The whole process wasn't too fast or too slow, but it was really beautiful. The golden light reflected on the sea, sparkling and dazzling, making it hard for her to keep her eyes open.

"I was so focused on watching that I forgot to take pictures," Quinn said. She took out her phone and snapped a few photos, but it was too late. She put her phone away, feeling a sudden urge to come back and watch the sunrise again

tomorrow.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Alexander staring at her. She was taken aback and looked up to meet his gaze. The sunlight fell on them, casting intertwined shadows. Looking at his face, Quinn felt a bit dazzled. "Why are you looking at me?" Quinn asked.

"Because you're beautiful. I want to look at you more," Alexander replied.

Quinn smiled slightly. "You charmer."novelbin

Alexander chuckled. "Alright, we've seen the sunrise. Let's go back to sleep."

"Let's go," Quinn agreed.

Quinn put away her phone and stood up to follow him back. The sky was already bright, but the forest was still a bit dark. She had to admit that their decision to keep the trees was smart. The sky was already bright at four o'clock, and it stayed dark so late at night. Being woken up by the sunlight in the morning was pretty annoying. But keeping the trees perfectly solved this problem. By the time the sun fully penetrated the forest, it would probably be seven or eight o'clock. The walk back was quiet, with everyone else still asleep and only the birds in the forest chirping. Listening to the birds, Quinn didn't feel sleepy, but she knew she had to rest, so she followed Alexander back to bed.

Back in the round house, Alexander skillfully closed the bedroom door and locked it before returning to bed.

"Why are you being so cautious?" Quinn asked, puzzled. "What are you guarding against here? Maddox?"

Alexander hugged her and said, "I just don't want anyone barging in and seeing us sleeping."

Quinn didn't quite get it but decided to sleep anyway. After a while, the birds' chirping became somewhat hypnotic, and she didn't know when she drifted off.

She woke up to the noise outside. The workers were already busy, and the sounds of chainsaws and drills were deafening. She glanced at her phone; it was only nine o'clock. This is unbearable. She pulled the blanket over her head, but the noise still reached her ears.

"Can't sleep?" Alexander asked.

"It's too noisy outside. We should go to bed earlier tonight; otherwise, this is unbearable," Quinn replied.

"Yeah, you're right," Alexander agreed. He suddenly threw off the blanket and got out of bed. Quinn sat up and looked at him. "Where are you going?"

"To get something," Alexander replied.

Quinn watched him suspiciously as he left the room and returned a few minutes later. He got back into bed and handed something to Quinn. She looked at his palm, where two blue earplugs lay. She looked at him in surprise. "Why do you have these?"

"I figured this might happen on the island, so I brought some. Put them in, and you won't hear the noise," Alexander explained.

Quinn took the earplugs and smiled at him. "You're getting more thoughtful."

Alexander smiled back. Quinn put in the earplugs, and the world finally quieted down. She signed to Alexander, "Let's sleep." Alexander looked at her fingers, dazed for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

With the earplugs in, Quinn's sleep quality improved significantly. She didn't even hear Maddox knocking on the door at noon. When she woke up again, it was already past three in the afternoon, and she was woken up by hunger. She opened her eyes and saw the spot next to her was empty. She quickly got up and ran out of the bedroom to find Alexander.

As soon as she stepped out of the wooden house, she saw Alexander sitting in the pavilion, talking to Maddox. She sighed in relief but quickly wondered why she felt relieved.

Alexander and Maddox were deep in conversation about the coffins. They had all been transported back, but figuring out what to do with them was a real headache. The best option seemed to be liquidating them. Gold holds its value, so it could be left untouched for now or distributed to the island's residents.

Quinn watched their mouths move but couldn't hear a thing. Maddox glanced at her. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

Alexander shook his head helplessly and signed to Quinn, "Take out the earplugs." Quinn realized and quickly removed the earplugs. She had forgotten she was wearing them and had scared herself into thinking she was deaf.

Maddox smirked, "You scared me. I thought you were deaf."

No wonder they were siblings; they thought alike. Quinn smiled awkwardly. "What were you guys talking about?"

"About the gold. It's not easy to transport it back home. I was thinking of distributing it among the guys here," Maddox explained.

Quinn agreed, "Good idea. There might not be enough for everyone, and we still need to pay them. It can count as their wages." Maddox gave her a thumbs up. "No wonder you're my sister. We're on the same page."

Quinn glanced at Alexander. Did he have a different opinion?

Maddox said, "Alright, let's do that. I'll have the guys move the coffins and store them properly." He stood up and left.

Quinn sat down where Maddox had been and asked Alexander, "When did you get up?"

"Around lunchtime," Alexander replied.

Quinn's eyes widened. "You didn't wake me for lunch?"

Alexander chuckled. "You were sleeping so soundly. I didn't want to wake you. Are you hungry?"

Quinn replied, "Of course, it's so late. How could I not be hungry?"

"Well, there's nothing I can do. You'll have to eat instant noodles," Alexander said.

Quinn didn't mind what she ate; she was just hungry and had missed lunch. There were usually no leftovers. Even if there were, she wouldn't want to eat the scraps. Alexander said, "Sit tight. I'll make it for you."

"Alright, thank you," Quinn replied.

"Thank me?" Alexander asked.

Quinn blinked. "Shouldn't I thank you?"

Alexander paused and then said, "You should show some sincerity when you thank me. For example, add 'honey' before 'thank you.""

Quinn was taken aback. She had rarely called him that, and suddenly being asked to do so made her feel a bit awkward.

"Alright, just wait. It'll be ready soon," Alexander said.

Quinn nodded.

Alexander went back inside, took out a kettle, and filled it with water to boil outside. Quinn waited for about ten minutes for the instant noodles, and by then, she didn't feel as hungry anymore.