Incendiary

17. Cigs, sunsets, and cloudy days spent with you

Okay, so I know how late this is, and I think we can declare that I suck at getting chapters out on time lol. I'm just always so busy with life that it gets hard to prioritize writing. But this chapter is very long, but it's mostly dialogue and VERY important for the plot so read it.

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Nova

I got my first good night of sleep.

I woke up early to eat something before going back to sleep because my empty stomach made it nearly impossible for me to rest. I lazily make toast and eat it on a napkin because I don't have any clean plates. Then, I sprawl on the floor of my living room, staring at the white ceiling as I chew.

I have my lunch with Theo today. I don't know what time to meet him, so I decide to text him about it. I want to wake up exactly 30-minutes before I have to meet him, go to lunch, and come back to sleep until dinner.

Normally, I wouldn't be able to sleep so much. But these past two weeks have killed me, and I feel drained just thinking about doing it all over again.

I find the only unnamed contact I have on my phone and text to ask him to give me the details about lunch. I take two more bites before my phone buzzes, signaling his response: 30 mins. Send me your address.

I skim through the text, rereading it to ensure I'm not delirious. When I'm certain he actually told me to meet him in 30 minutes, I panic. 30 minutes?!

It's 9:45- too fucking early to get lunch. What the fuck is he trying to do? I knew I shouldn't have agreed to this. I'm too tired to have any form of human interaction this early. Panic tightens in my chest. I call him, and It rings exactly 4 times before he picks up.

"Why the hell are you picking me up so early?" I ask harshly.

"I have a few errands to run," he answers cooly. Only a psychopath sounds that alive this early.

"Why the fuck do you need me to run errands?" I ask.

I can hear his irritated sigh. "I was supposed to have a free day, but shit happened."

Oh wow, that sounds very familiar!

"And why do I have to be dragged into it?" I ask.

"Because I'm using you as an excuse to get out of spending the day with people I dislike," he answers.

Using me as an excuse? What the hell does that even mean? And does that mean he doesn't dislike me? 

"I don't give a shit," I hiss. "Go be with the people you don't like. I don't care. I need sleep."

"Send your address. I'll wait outside," he ignores me.

"What if I was sleeping?" I ask, irritated.

"You can sleep in the car," he answers. 

I hang up and groan. I stare at the ceiling for a bit contemplating when my life reached this point. Can you say you're not excited to see him though? Shut up. Please. Great now I'm talking to myself.

I text him the address of a cafe that's 5-minutes away from my apartment. I want an excuse to get coffee and I want to annoy him as much as possible today.

I finish my toast, throw on black leggings that are probably dirty, and a tan zip-up hoodie. Spray cheap perfume and put on deoderant because I'm scared of smelling bad. Then, I quickly braid my hair to one side and brush my teeth before putting on black converse. I grab my wallet, and before I walk out, I take a small piece of amethyst with me because I'll need the calming energy.