Morningstar: But They Have a Group Chat

Advice

Cia<—>Tristen 2:10 AM

Cia: Hey.

Cia: Ik you're probably not awake but I really need your input right now.

Tristen: Luckily for you, my sleep schedule sucks.

Tristen: What's up?

Cia: I'm a little stressed out about something, and I think it's keeping me up.

Cia: I don't even really care about talking about what's making me stressed. I just wanna go back to sleep

Tristen: Would getting on a call help? Sometimes I like to be able to hear someone else's voice.

Cia: Yes, actually

***

"Hey." Cia was greeted by Tristen's tired voice.

"You sure you really want to waste your time talking to me?"

"Of course, C. You said you needed to talk, and I already offered to listen. I wasn't getting that much sleep anyways, honestly."

Cia was quiet for a bit.

"You still there?" Tristen asked.

"Yeah."

"I know you said you didn't want to talk about what was wrong, but is there something else you wanted to talk about?" Despite the sleepiness in his voice, he sounded genuine.

"Does stuff like this ever happen to you? Wake up stressed in the middle of the night?"

"Definitely. You're not alone in that. The amount of times I've been up past midnight on the phone with Avery has been countless."

"How'd you go about trying to go back to sleep then? Or were you basically up all night?"

"Well, talking it out with Avery usually helps. But if you're looking for something else to help you, maybe try music?" He was quiet for a couple moments, as if considering if those were the right words. "I dunno if that'll work for you. It was just a suggestion. Even if you aren't able to sleep, it could at least distract you or calm you down. Does that help?"

"Yeah. I think that sounds good, thanks." Cia sounded quite tired herself.

"Sorry if I couldn't be much help. That was all I could really think of."

"Don't worry about it. It helps a lot, really."

"Oh, good. I'll let you go now. Hope that works for you."

"Thanks, Tris. If you don't hear from me, assume all is well."

"Alright. Bye, C."

Cia heard the ping of the disconnect and turned off her phone. Taking Tristen's advice into account, she put on her headphones, laid down, and closed her eyes, hoping sleep could eventually claim her.