HEAT |OMEGAVERSE| ⚣ ✔️

Drawn Together

My days at home are beginning to blend together. I wake up, roll out of bed, dress myself, eat, and sleep. Occasionally, I pick up my sketchbook but find myself putting it down just as quickly, utterly uninspired. Yesterday, I cooked for myself for the first time in weeks, making my comfort food: chicken Alfredo.

Even while cooking, it felt like a chore, as does everything now. I check my phone, gifted to me by Alex, as if it's religion, yet there's still been no contact from him since he messaged me about not returning to my job. How can someone do that and not follow up? Especially after I fulfill his request?

I grow increasingly irritated at the thought and draw my knees up to my chest, sitting on my small sofa in the living room. Stretching out my arm, I grab my phone off the coffee table, unlock it, and scroll through my apps. I find the one that compares my baby to a fruit and click on it—the only thing that seems to bring me joy lately.

I grin at the picture of a lime on my screen and the small lettering above it: 4 Weeks. My gaze drifts down to my belly, hidden beneath my dark blue sweatshirt. I place my phone on the table and pull my hoodie over my head, setting it onto the cushion beside me. Raising my shirt to my chest, I examine my stomach, admiring the small and firm bump. I rub my hand over it, I wonder what you'll be like.

I place my shirt back over my stomach and sit up just enough to rest my head on the arm of the couch. Today, in particular, I'm not feeling great. My head feels foggy, I'm losing my breath easily, and I go through these awful hot flashes every twenty minutes.

I've been taking my prenatal vitamins and my tailored prescription for my pregnancy pheromones, and from what the doctor said, my heat should be coming soon. It's going to be intense despite any suppressants I take, which concerns me. I always have ease with being able to control my pheromones as long as I have the proper medication.

I checked the calendar when I first woke up, and it should have started this morning, so hopefully it'll come in the next couple of days so I can get it over with already. To be safe, though, I took my medication as a precautionary measure.

Like magic, my phone lights up next to me a quiet ding erupting from the device. I scoop it up quickly and click on the notification with haste.

Alex: A Sorry for my lack of communication lately... been busy with work and life.

Though his words seem a bit lackluster, I appreciate his thought and his acknowledgment of being terrible at communicating.

I decide to keep it simple.

Jasper: It's fine. How are you?

Alex: Honestly, life's been better, but I'm doing alright. Hoping to see some light at the end of a long tunnel here soon.

Jasper: Been there, done that... anything you want to talk about in particular?

Alex: At the moment, not really. I just got out of the gym, and gotta go home to take a shower.

Jasper: Okay, no worries.

Ugh.

I want to ask him to hang out or go out and do something together, but I refrain. My mind always takes me to the worst place when I think of getting too close to someone, making me feel that maybe it's better if I don't get attached to a man of his stature . So maybe for now, it's best if we don't hang out as frequent as I'd like to... with all the intimacy, talking, and feelings that would be sure to follow on my end.

Alex: Could we hang out tonight? If you're free?

And in the blink of an eye, I'm persuaded—my willpower packing its bags to go on vacation.