A Loveless Meal

Chapter 13: Awkward Transitionary Period

After barely sleeping for the past few days, Rody slept more deeply than he had in a long time. A peaceful, dreamless rest.
As his alarm beeped, he grumbled and reached over to turn it off before swaddling himself back into his blankets and slipping back into blissful sleep.

After what felt like only 30 seconds, the alarm went off again. ...? 'S not been long enough yet... he thought blearily, whining as he once again turned it off. Darkness overtook his mind in record time.

And yet again, the alarm blared after what felt like mere moments. Rody covered his head with his pillow, groaning in annoyance and desperation. Did he have ghosts in his apartment...? Why did his alarm keep going off every 30 seconds? Just let me sleeeep....

Try as he might, he couldn't ignore that grating beeping. With a roar of frustration, he shot up and threw the alarm clock across the room. It hit the wall with a sickening crack and Rody worried momentarily that he'd broken it. "Shit, I can't afford a new one..!" he yelped, scrambling off the couch and running over to inspect it for damage.

The wall sported a new hole shaped like a clock, but luckily the clock came away with only some light cracking to its case and display screen. Even the numbers still worked, the screen displaying 10:20am.

Wait. 10:20am? That can't be right, my first alarm is always set for 9:45, so I have enough time to get ready for work and run out the door and be there by 11, when the restaurant opens... Maybe I really did break it... he thought, biting his lip nervously. Glancing out of the window, the sun looked a bit higher than when he typically awoke.

Usually when he snoozed his alarm, it would stay off for 15 minutes. Had... Had it only felt like 30 seconds?
He felt the blood drain from his face as he realized the clock was right. And he was definitely going to be late.

"Fuck!" he yelled, scrabbling to find his uniform.

Vincent awoke early as usual, the morning rays just now beginning to crest over the horizon.
He stretched and yawned, having slept pretty heavily after the events of yesterday. He was normally a light sleeper and was prone to waking up a few times during the night, going and getting water or perusing a book until he was able to sleep again. But this time he slept throughout the night.
I must have stopped drinking just in time... I'm lucky I don't have a hangover, he thought, more than a little thankful to not spend his morning puking his guts up.

As he got up and went to the bathroom to start his morning routine, he wouldn't go so far as to say he was in a good mood, but he was definitely content. More relaxed than usual.

Brushing his teeth and then putting in his contacts, he thought about yesterday. I guess Rody and I are dating now... he thought, feeling torn between being pleased and embarrassed. He had not drunk enough to get a hangover, but he had definitely blabbed too much about himself. He could still imagine that look of pity and sympathy on Rody's face.

Ugh.. Well, as long as he doesn't make a big deal out of it, it should be fine... I doubt he's the type to be affectionate in front of others, especially considering how averse he was to the idea of liking men in the first place, so I can put off worrying about all of that until later, he reasoned, taking a deep breath and putting the feelings of doubt behind him.

Vincent blended his shakes for the day before drinking his morning one and perusing the newspaper. Still having plenty of time left afterwards, he sat on the couch and read more of his book, stopping on occasion to glance over and admire the white anemone flowers gracing his table. They looked so at home among his personal decorations, adding life to a space he had not noticed was lacking it.