15 Months

10: Love

"Ugh," Tristan groaned. He flexed his back and neck before gasping at how sore he was. "This is what happens when designers choose style over comfort," he whispered.

"I know right," someone replied and Tristan remembered that he wasn't alone.

He got up and looked outside the building. The blizzard was over, but there was too much snow. No one would be able to drive home in that, especially not someone who lived half an hour away.

Sighing, he took the elevator to the 53rd floor. He was surprised to see Dahlia awake. She was sitting at Ann's desk looking at a laptop.

"Good morning."

"Morning, Tristan," she answered eyes still focused on the screen, "You're up early."

"The sofas downstairs are terrible."

"They can't put bean bags in the lobby, can they?"

"Of course," he gave a little chuckle," I usually wake at 5 am anyway so I suppose this isn't unusual for me."

"Ah, I see. Well, the cafeteria should hand out breakfast when most of the employees are awake but feel free to raid our fridge."

"Don't worry about me, Dahlia. I can take care of myself."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to treat you like a child. It's been a tiring 24 hours."

Tristan came closer to her, "You haven't slept, have you?"

He could now see the slight redness in her eyes. They seemed dimmer. The brown was almost black and the blue was much darker than it normally is.

"Busted," She gave a weary laugh.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"You could say that."

"I'll get you a coffee with me, alright?"

She sighed, "Ok."

Tristan headed to the break room and was surprised to see Ahmad, Mary, and Ann there.

"Good morning, Ahmad, Mary, Ann," he gave each of them a nod.

"So you're up early too," Ahmad offered him some chips.

"No, thanks. I'll just make some coffee."

"These two boomers here were telling me how important it is to get married," Mary rolled her eyes.

"Hey! I'm not that old!" Ahmad exclaimed.

"Shhhh, lower your voices," Ann warned, "I was just saying it's lonely living without a spouse or significant other."

"That's because you stay at home all day," Mary told her.

"Mary, we work five days a week. It wouldn't be too bad to have someone to go home to."

"Get a pet," Tristan wasn't sure whether Mary was joking.

"Haha," Ahmad glared at her.

"A pet can't talk you through your hard days, Mary. It can't hug you when you feel like the world is breaking down around you. It can't cook a meal with you and joke about how awful you are at cooking," Ann told her.

"Look, no offense to her," Ahmad started, "But I wouldn't want to end up like Dahlia. She's such a great person, kind, determined, smart, but she didn't have time for a partner and now she lives with her dog and bird." 

"What?" Tristan was very confused, "I thought Dahlia was in a relationship."

"What?" the three of them echoed his confusion.