The Hurt Game

❧ thirty-seven

Savouring the early mornings where the sun shone through the windows and casted an orange glow along the tiles off the kitchen, I ate my breakfast while making a grocery list. It was quiet as I moved around, for Royden still slept.

Sometimes it were these moments I realized how lucky I had been to have encountered and befriended Royden. And I was even luckier to have fallen in love with him, and for him to reciprocate these feelings. A year ago I would never have dreamed of finding someone to love, to move in with him and to be living with him. It would have been hard to imagine.

Yet it happened and now I couldn't imagine a life without Royden in it anymore. He became everything I ever needed in life, even if I hadn't realized before.

The soft thuds of footsteps echoed my way and I spun around on my heel to see Royden walking around the corner of the hallway. A yawn escaped his lips as he scratched the back of his head. When his eyes fell on mine, a smile spread across his lips. I smiled back at him.

He walked up to me and wrapped his arm around my waist, pressing a kiss to my head before ducking down to kiss my lips shortly. "Good morning," he murmured.

"Morning," I smiled at him. I turned around in his arm as I faced the paper with my written grocery list on it. I twirled the pen between my fingers.

His other arm wrapped around my waist as well. His chest was pressed against my back and his chin rested on my shoulder as he looked down at the paper.

"You know I can do the groceries," he said.

"I know, but you don't have to go to the office today and since I have to work, it is easier if I stop by the store," I replied as I wrote down tomatoes.

Royden hummed and squeezed me a little closer. "Just so you know, I can always do them if you change your mind." He released me and walked over to the coffee machine, turning it on.

"I know, but I honestly don't mind."

"If you say so, love."

I stopped moving, hovering above my bowl of cereal as I reached out for the spoon. My heart skipped a beat. I turned my head to look at him, but he was running his hand through his hair and watching the coffee pour in the mug. I swallowed, bit my lip as my cheeks flushed a bright pink. A small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth.

Then I continued to scoop some of the cereal on the spoon and shove it in my mouth. I put the spoon back in the bowl while I chewed and read over the grocery list. My back was leaning against the counter.

Royden came to stand next to me and read over my shoulder. "Can you also buy a pack of cigarettes for me? I'm almost run out of them," he said before taking a sip of his coffee.

I glanced up at him. My eyebrows were furrowed in a frown. "I didn't think you were smoking anymore, or at least not so much," I voiced.

He sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Apparently I have run out of them."

"Roy." I turned to face him as I crossed my arms over my chest. His eyes flickered down to mine and he tilted his head back, cracking his neck on several places. I grimaced a little.

"Sometimes I'm having a smoke when I wake up in the middle of the night, you know that. It is nothing more than usual."

My arms dropped and I placed one hand on the counter. "I thought it went better, the nights I mean."

He nodded and took another sip before placing the mug on the counter. He crossed his arms over his chest. "It goes better, but there are still nights."

"Why don't you wake me up then?"