Red x Eyes

Chapter 4

Aria groaned as she reached her hand out to the table, fumbling in frustration as she tried to turn off the alarm. She heaved a sigh when the annoying sound stopped, glancing at the time before putting the phone next to the—

"Whu... how am I here?" she said groggily, just realizing that she was in her bed instead of the sofa. She tried recalling what happened before she dozed off, in case, for some reason, she was too worn out that she ended up walking to the bed half-conscious, but to no avail. The memory, rather than hazy, was simply non-existent.

Stifling a yawn, her eyes immediately scanned the room until her gaze landed at the nightstand drawer. Pulling the drawer open, her hand started rummaging the inside, and much to her delight, managed to pull the exact pair of glasses she had worn last night.

Last night, she thought, hands fiddling with the glasses. Did he notice... or was he being considerate?

The memories came rushing into her head. She—well, they were both lucky it was nothing indecent, or else she wouldn't be able to show her face. Although, there were still some things she had considered better left unsaid, and she felt her chest tightening at the thought. And despite what had seemed like a good bonding time, again, she started questioning whether her actions were right.

Gosh... why can't I stop overthinking it...? She thought as she rubbed her face.

She picked her phone up as her other hand fixed her glasses. She thought that maybe there was something that could help with distracting her mind, be it messages, work notifications, heck, even updates from Jordan would be very much appreciated despite it being quite early in the morning. And apparently, she didn't even need to search because the word "Reminder" was plastered on the home screen as she unlocked it.

Shoot, she thought. She was swamped with this whole tracking thing that she forgot about her pre-scheduled meeting she had set prior. It was one of her job as a publishing editor to make sure the writers stayed on track and not to stray away from the plot.

Exhaling a deep breath, she walked to the mirror to brush her hair a little. She thought that maybe it'll help a little if she looked a little less... disheveled. She then spent a good few minutes tidying her bedroom before finally coming out.

The scent of freshly-brewed coffee filled her nostrils. Yuuto, looking much better compared to yesterday, was leaning on the countertop, sipping from a mug.

"Good sleep?"

"Déjà vu much?" She huffed a silent laugh. "But yeah, I guess it was pretty decent. Thanks to a certain someone who moved me to the bed against my will."

"Sorry, but I just feel bad taking your bed for too long," He chuckled. "Also... I hope you don't mind that I made myself some coffee."

"I... didn't know you drink coffee."

"Want me to pour you some?" He asked.

"I appreciate the offer, but... I don't really have the best relationship with coffee," she gave him a small smile. "I just keep some in case of guests... or when Jordan stops by once in a while."

His finger slightly twitched. It was the second time he heard the name Jordan being mentioned. "Jordan again? You also said his name last night. Who is he?"

"Oh, I haven't told you yet?" She looked surprised. "He's my hunter friend I told you about."

"Oh," he somehow looked less tense. "Was he the one who brought me the, er, supplies?"

"He was, yeah. You don't need to worry about getting hurt for the time being," she said.

Yuuto's eyes widened. "How did you know I was worried?"