Loves Me Not

*REVISED* Chapter Sixteen

I collapse onto my bed; exhausted from all the housework I just spent hours finishing. Earlier I brought all of the groceries inside and then had to put everything away before finishing the rest of the chores on my mom's list; including vacuuming the living room, sweeping the rest of the downstairs, cleaning the kitchen, and doing the laundry.

I tried to get Archer to help out, but he locked himself in his room and refused to acknowledge my presence, regardless of how much I banged on his door. So in retribution, I took the dirty trash bags out of the kitchen and placed them in front of his bedroom door for him to take out later. That still didn't help me feel any better about having to do all of this shit myself though. Sometimes I wish I had a younger sibling to force to do chores and stuff.

Well that's one thing that sucks about being the youngest of two.

I curl up in the center of bed, flipping on the TV to play in the background. It's only 4 p.m. but it feels like 9. I should really start taking down my hair now. If I get up to do it right now, I can have it done before 7 p.m. and then I wont have to lift a finger for the rest of the night. I close my eyes at the prospect of doing even more work, sinking my head deeper into the pillow.

Maybe I'll just rest for a little bit before I get started...

I wake up to complete darkness.

What time is it?

I reach out for my phone and find it lying next to me on the bed. I turn on the screen only to be blinded by the brightness.

"Fuck," I mumble, turning the screen away from me as I try to dim the brightness without blinding myself again.

10 new messages.

Who the hell is texting me this late? Or is it early? What time is it?

I dismiss the notifications and check the clock. 1:13 a.m. I slept for nine hours. That wasn't a nap that was hibernation.

I grab my phone and wander downstairs into the kitchen, heading straight for the food since no one wanted to wake me up for dinner. I open the fridge to find shelves overflowing with snacks, although there aren't any signs of Tupperware containers with leftovers. Maybe Mom didn't cook tonight.

So that means I can pig out on whatever I can get my hands on.

My stomach growls in approval as I leave the fridge open to grab a plate from a cabinet. I pile high a stack of salami, a bunch of grapes and then a grab a peach yogurt for good measure. I make two quick stops, one to grab a spoon and the other to head into the pantry to grab some crackers before slowly meandering into the living room.

I carefully sit down in the middle of the curved sectional and find the remote already lying next to me. I turn on the TV as I lay back, propping the food plate up on my lap. I flip through the channels lazily, trying to find something good to watch. I stop on Adult Swim.

"Oooo Rick and Morty," I smile as I fold a piece of salami into my mouth.

I eat my food happily, giggling quietly at the funny parts in the show, which is pretty much everything. I feel my phone vibrate under my butt. I forgot about the ten messages I missed while I was asleep. I pull out my phone to check my texts.

All ten of them are from Ellie.

I glower slightly at the screen. None from Charlie? Didn't he say he was going to text me? I skim through Ellie's messages to distract myself from my annoyance.