The Succubus's Plaything

Chapter 32: Morning

Hal POV

Despite us being on seemingly good terms now, on the train ride home the atmosphere goes back to being awkward as we both run out of things to say. But that's alright, and we end up sitting in silence for several stops until it is Inesa's time to climb off.

The train shrieks as it slides to a stop and Inesa grabs onto the seat in front in order to stand up.

"Seeyu soon Hal. Tonight was nice." She doesn't waste any time in getting what she wants said said.

"Yea, it was. Seeyu.." I respond and smile softly.

She pauses for a moment as if she is thinking of saying something more, but decides against it, and instead Inesa just grins, baring her teeth before quickly turning away and hopping off the train.

...

When I return home all the lights are off, and unsurprisingly my sister doesn't appear to be awake, so I quietly remove my shoes and jacket, and then head straight for my room.

I do my best to slowly and quietly shut the door to my room so that I don't wake up Sara in the next room. While Sara is my sister, it has been well established by now that she'll often treat me as if she were my mother, much to my annoyance. Although at times it can be nice, such as her taking responsibility for cooking. But currently, I would rather not be lectured for being out too late, despite it being a Friday evening.

I lie down on my bed, and after such a long day, I fall asleep almost immediately.

...

I slowly wake up in the morning, yawning and stretching and when I look at my bedside clock I have a moment of panic before realizing that I don't have school today.

Getting up I realize that I had fallen asleep before changing out of my uniform, so before leaving my room I change into a more comfortable wear. A navy blue tracksuit with stripes running down the sides.

Our apartment is in complete silence. I turn right to notice that my sister's door is swung wide open, but when I peek inside I can't see anyone inside.

Slowly I walk down the stairs, and even though Sara should be up I can't see her anywhere.

I walk into the kitchen to prepare some breakfast, but then I look over into the living room. Wrapped tightly up in a blanket and fast asleep, Sara is lying on the couch.

I must have missed her in the dark when I arrived home. She looks like she had been waiting to catch me as I walked in but had fallen asleep before that point, but it's a little odd that she's still sleeping in that case.

In front of her on the coffee table is an empty bowl with a spoon, right next to a large glass.

A little unsure of what to do, I decide to make some warm breakfast for when she wakes up. Maybe that'll help smooth things over?.. I've been quite distant lately and she definitely knows that something is up. Sara isn't one to just let things slide.

...

Sara begins to stir as the smell of pancakes, eggs and bacon begins to fill the air.

Yea.. Maybe I went slightly overboard, but no-one can complain about a large breakfast.

I wait to say anything until she sits up sniffing the air.

"Good morning sleepyhead. I uhm, I made breakfast. Well it's almost made. Just a few more minutes and it will be."

She doesn't respond immediately, and instead lets out a breathy sigh and leans back against the couch while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Good morning.." She responds after a few moments in her morning voice.

She then stands up and walks up next to me and opening the fridge, she opens it to grab a carton of milk. Also grabbing a cup from the cupboard and fills it up, but nearly spills in the process.

"Are you alright?" I ask frowning while closely watching her behavior. It isn't obvious, but something's not quite right.

She quickly downs the entire glass before responding as if I'm stupid.

"Of course I am. More importantly, you really can't keep up acting like you've been or you'll turn into some sort of delinquent." She diverts the attention away from herself and to me, exactly what I'm trying to avoid.

"You know it would take more than that to turn me into on of those. Even I know to keep up appearances."

She surprisingly doesn't argue back.

"Where were you then?" She asks while refilling her cup with water from the faucet.

"I was at an arcade and karaoke place with some friends." I say it as casually as I can.

Sara pauses for a moment, obviously remembering something, but instead of mentioning it she only looks at me suspiciously and takes the roundabout method.

"Was it perchance a mixer?"

I stop to think before answering, did she maybe know where Inesa was going to be last night? How much can I safely let slip? Answering as little as possible while acting like I don't mind answering is probably the best route.

"Yea, I got pulled along by Gabriel. Apparently there was a spot left to fill."

At the mention of Gabriel it seems as if her suspicions are confirmed.

"So Inesa was there?.." She slowly asks in order to hammer in the last nail.

"She was actually, you can imagine how surprised I was. Anyway, breakfast is ready." I make a show of flipping the last pancake and bacon strips onto their designated plates.