Hourglass

8

Laelia glanced around the room quickly. She was startled not seeing her own apartment. After she fully woke, she remembered she was safe in Leo's apartment. Laelia let out a sigh of relief, relaxing into the sofa. Her eyes continued to dart around the room. She couldn't find a clock to tell her the time. The blinds were drawn, keeping the outside world away.

"Hey, sleepy head." Leo's voice brought her attention to the doorway. She smiled weakly at him as he came toward her. "How are you feeling?" He asked, kneeling on the floor in front of her. She shrugged nervously. "Here." He handed her a bottle of water.

"What time is it?" She inquired softly. She took the water from his hand with ease. He'd already broken the seal for her. "How long did I sleep?" She asked.

Leo chuckled as she guzzled the water, "It's nearly nine in the evening." Laelia choked on the water. She couldn't believe she'd slept so long.

"I'm sorry. You probably didn't expect me to be here all day." She murmured shyly.

"Don't worry about it." Leo smiled, taking the bottle from her hand. He placed it on the table before looking back at her. "You obviously needed the sleep."

"I didn't wake up at all?" She was stunned when Leo shook his head.

"You fussed once. I just had to touch your face for you to calm down." Leo reached up, brushing his knuckles against her cheek softly. "Just once and you were quiet the rest of the day." Laelia blushed, covering her mouth with her sleeve. She lifted her eyebrow noticing the sweater she wasn't wearing before. "You got cold, the blanket wasn't enough. It was easy enough to get you into this. I just added, never removed." Leo assured her.

"Thank you." Laelia murmured, her smile returning.

"Did you dream?" Leo asked quickly.

"No." She shook her head after thinking for a moment. "I don't think I did. If I did, I don't remember it." Leo gave a single nod, his eyes still focusing on hers as though he felt worry. "Did my phone ring at all?" Panic set in when it dawned on her she'd spent the whole day sleeping on Leo's sofa.

"Not that I heard." Leo responded, also looking about for her phone. "Right here." He picked the phone up from under the sofa. "You must've turned it off, or knocked it down."

"Everyone I know must be worried. I'm not one to just disappear." Laelia informed Leo, attempting to turn the phone on. "It's dead." She puffed. Leo held his hand out to her, asking for her phone.

"We'll let it charge for a bit." Leo walked the phone over to the table at the far end of the room. He plugged a chord into the phone before setting it on the table.

"Hopefully no one has called the police or anything. I don't know what I'd do if they went that crazy." Laelia grimaced, thinking of all the ways Jana and Amelia could've gone off the deep end looking for her.

"You're alright though. They don't really have a reason to worry if you're alright." Leo offered calming words as he sat beside her on the long, black leather sofa.

"We know that I'm okay. They don't." Laelia chuckled.

Leo nodded, "We'll worry about them later." Laelia had no choice but to agree. Her phone was dead for the time being, there was nothing for her to do. "Are you hungry?" Leo inquired.

"Surprisingly, no." Laelia giggled. "Honestly, I really just want more sleep. I feel like that sounds crazy, but I do. I feel like I could sleep for another twelve hours."

"Go ahead." Leo motioned for her to lie down again.

Laelia shook her head, " I feel like I should wait for my phone before I do. Just so I can call Jana and let her know I'm okay. I don't think I could get restful sleep knowing she was panicking."