Friend

#19.3

Let go of a little breath
once in a while.
-Underwater

He closed the door behind him, his heart pounding and his gut twisting when he noticed the lights of the living room turned on, their brightness reaching the dark hallway.
He left the keys next to a vase resting on the counter in the entrance, walking carefully towards the living room, his pets seeming too tired to come greet him, which, for the first time, he was grateful for.

Claire was sleeping on the couch in an odd position, she probably felt uncomfortable, George happened to think.
He turned off the lights, the first few morning sun rays lightning the ambience enough to see "clearly"... kind of.

He scooped his girlfriend in his arms, carrying her upstairs to let her sleep peacefully in their bed.
He tucked her in and kissed her gently on the cheek before making his way towards the kitchen.
Just when he opened the door, Claire's voice reached his ears.
"George?" she said through dry voice and worried eyes.
He turned around, a soft expression in his eyes as he walked towards his girlfriend when she tried to stand up.
His hand reached for her shoulders, gently inviting her to lay back down, "It's better if you get some more sleep."

Tear-filled eyes met his gaze, looking so helpless from a woman so heartless. But George could never bring himself to think that, such thoughts never crossing his mind.
A burning hug embraced him.
"I'm sorry..." broken voice pierced through his ears, the annoying feeling in his gut coming back.

Reluctantly, George returned the hug, "Don't be," he whispered in a soothing voice, "I'm going to make breakfast while you can rest, is that okay?"
Claire nodded as she laid down on the bed, George turning off the light on the bedside table and closing the door behind him.

What should he do?

It was in moments like these that hopelessness filled George's heart and sometimes he wished for time to stop. Sometimes he wished to feel peace and to not feel like drowning at the bottom of the ocean every day and he would've loved to live the life he wanted but he just couldn't push himself to do so. He just feared of being hated by his parents, from time to time wondering if things could've gone differently if he had taken different choices.

He sighed, pulling the bread slices out of the toaster and placing them on the table next to the strawberry jam, filling the cups with coffee.
He fed his pets and then walked upstairs to wake up Claire, going back down to the dining table to have breakfast with his girlfriend... girlfriend.
He did actually think of them: what were they now? Everything but lovers, that's for sure. So what? There was nothing that really bonded the two, just a nice-looking house and two pets that belonged only to the brunet...

George didn't want to admit that he didn't want to face the consequences of breaking up with her, he doesn't want to know how everything would go. Surely his friends would be happy that he freed himself from the person he let his heart be held and squeezed so carelessly.

"By the way..." Claire caught his attention, sipping on her cup of coffee, "I can't spend lunch break with you today, sorry."
She looked up to meet George's gaze, explaining herself when she saw the brunet's questioning look.
"I have a meeting and my lunch break shifts to an hour later today." she finished off by standing up and collecting the dishes to put them in the dishwasher, along with old dirty dishes that were patiently waiting to get cleaned.

***

"I fixed it." George said handing the documents to his coworker, a sweet boy who has recently graduated from university with the best scores in his course and already had some experience in the field, so thankfully there were little to no mistakes on the documents he gave to him.