The Hermit

Chapter 6

Gray woke up, feeling slightly grateful that today was a Saturday. That meant he'd have a day off in his own fortress of solitude a.k.a his bedroom. It was a promised day for him one filled with peace and tranquility, even the birds seemed to be cheering him on, seated on a straight line on his window sill.

He smiled at the small flock of three, until one of the birds took a dump and flew away, leaving a goopy mess at its wake. He grumbled, feeling the weight of foreshadowing upon him and wondered whether if he slept long enough, his body would go into a state of coma. He rolled onto his other side, pulling the blankets over him and smiling at the comfortable embrace.

"GRAY!!! Wake up, sleepyhead!!" A loud, shrill voice boomed and an equally loud woman burst through the doors of his room, carrying a tray of food in her hands. Gray's initial groan at the intrusion twisted halfway into a small excited shriek at the smell of french toast and he sat up automatically at the promise of food.

"Are these for me?" He asked, mouth pooling with saliva already. He eyed the food as Carmen laid the tray in front of his lap, eyes growing wider by the second.

Carmen rolled her eyes, "No, the food's for the fap king hiding under your bed. Geez kid! I thought you'd be smarter than that!" She ruffled his head, chuckling as she did so.

Gray smirked, shaking her hands off before grabbing his cutlery and digging in. "So," he spoke in between mouth full of toast and eggs, "Are you going out today?"

Carmen walked over to his chair, picking up and dumping the crumpled clothes away; mumbling about hygiene as she did so before seating herself in it. "I am. I have to head out to the workplace to get used to the area before work starts on Monday."

"Oh, well make sure you don't go through alleyways. There's been news of some guys loitering there and I don't want to see your face on a milk carton with the headlines 'Missing Person'." He shovelled another scoop before muttering. "It'll probably stale the milk faster with your face on it."

Carmen squinted her eyes into a glare. "Haha, funny Gray is funny. You would've think that someone with a dull color for a name would have no sense of humor." She stood up and headed out of the room. "I'll probably be gone until tonight. I'm going to the shopping mall near here to pick out some clothes, so don't wait up."

Gray called out to her. "Don't bother, Carmen. The clothes won't fit you anyway."

"Asshole!" He heared her yelling from the living room and he chuckled. He was grateful that Carmen was here, he was begining to feel sick of having an empty shell for a house. He would've probably died from how quiet the house was after Mark went overseas. It was as though he was living in a tomb.

After he finished his food and hearing Carmen leaving his apartment, Gray decided to get some exercise done before he heads to the toilet for his shower. He shifted his cocoon of a leg to the side of the bed and sat at the edge. He stretched his arms, rolling his shoulders and stiff neck; popping the bones as he did so. Feeling slightly better, he stood up, and bent down to touch the ground when he felt a pop followed by pain.

"Oh god, my hip!" Gray yelped, hand reaching his back as he plopped back onto his bed, feeling like an old man. Staring at the ceiling and rethinking his lifestyle, Gray let out a sad sigh of resignation.

"I seriously need to exercise." He grumbled before sitting up and heading to the toilet.

~~~~~

Eve woke up, feeling sore and stiff at her neck for sleeping on the couch. She looked around, forgetting where she was at that moment until she recognised the scent of home. She felt the warm coat that she wore and the blanket that was draped on her. Immediately, she remembered the events of yesterday.