Paint the town red

Chapter XIX

Saturday morning started for me with waking up at noon, and as a "nice bonus" – a headache. I haven't drunk alcohol for a long time, and wine bottles mostly serve as decor in the kitchen, so yesterday's party-for-ourselves with Yuki with a bottle of wine today resulted in a desire to spend the whole day in a dark room in a warm bed. Actually, I can do it, because it's a day off.

Out of habit, I reached for the phone to check the notifications and at the same time see what was happening on social networks. It was strange to see a message from Liam among the notifications from the apps. Curiosity got the better of me and so I opened it.

Liam Lawson:

"Good morning. How are you? Maybe you wanna talk a bit?"

Is it just me, or has he seriously decided to become my therapist? If so, I sympathize with him in advance. But I'm also glad that he wants to help me get back to full working order, and to do that, I really need to figure what's happening in my mind lately. Yes, when I have three "cold cases", it's just the right time to take care of myself.

I really wanted to spend the day in bed and not get out of it, but the desire to put my thoughts in order still outweighed, so I suggested that the guy meet at lunch and talk. I didn't have to wait too long for his answer – he said that at that time he planned to go to the gym, but he could also reschedule his plans. I suggested that we go there together to exercise a bit and chat, so to speak, combine business with healthy issues. It seemed like a good idea to Liam, and we agreed to meet at lunch, so my plans for today have dramatically changed.

After lying in bed for some time, I still got up and went to the bathroom - I need to take a cold shower to feel alive. But first of all, I need to take a pill to get rid of a headache, otherwise I just won't get to the shower and die somewhere near bathroom.

When I reached the bathroom cabinet, I took out a bottle of pills and took several at once – they are small dosage, so according to my brilliant logic, more pills will definitely make me feel better. Well, or I'll be knocked out right in the shower. So to say, yolo!

I undressed and walked into the shower stall. A cold shower is the best means available to a person to feel a surge of vitality. I have no idea how much time it took me for water treatments and for getting ready for gym in general, but when I packed my gym bag and left the room, Yuki wasn't in the kitchen or somewhere else in the house like he used to be. I knocked on the door of his room, but there was no answer. Thinking that the neighbor might not be at home, I decided to take a look at his main abode, so I went to the kitchen – his favorite place, because that's where he spends most of his time. Where did he get such a love for cooking from? I'm even a little jealous of his dedication.

And I was right: Yuki was in the kitchen and cooking something again. He was so engrossed in what he was doing that he didn't immediately notice my presence.

"Oh, why did you woke up so early?"

"Yuki, it's almost 2 p.m. Of course, I'm already awake."

"And, apparently, you're going somewhere right away?"

He nodded at my bag, and I nodded back. Then he pointed with his palm at the countertop, where there was freshly squeezed orange juice. My God, Yuki is just the perfect neighbor: he'll cook food, and listen to whining, and will not let you die of thirst with a slight, but still hangover. So I put my bag on a chair and took a glass of juice from the countertop.

"By the way, where are you going?"

"Oh, we... we want to work out in the gym and talk."

"And by "we" you mean you and Max?"