Rock Brain

Chapter One

A light knock on the door of my apartment jolted me awake at 3:45 in the morning. I've always been an extremely light sleeper, but the apartment my children, Matthias, and I lived in wasn't all that big. Sound traveled fast in it. I rolled out of bed, frowning as I noticed my husband, Matthias, wasn't back yet. Huh. Slipping a black bathrobe on over my camo tank top and plaid pajama pants, I almost fell flat on my face tripping over Legos and books strewn across the floor as the knocking grew more persistent.

I know I should have looked through the peephole to see who the late visitor was, but I'd just woken up and was impatient to find out what this was all about. Plus, I needed the noise to stop so it wouldn't wake the kids up. Cracking the door open, I was relieved to see that it was only Matthias. I opened the door all the way for him to come inside, locking it behind him. "Hey, Xandria." The tall, brown-haired man said affectionately, placing a kiss atop my head. Now that I had gotten over the relief that it was him and not someone trying to kill me, I slapped him lightly, scowling up at him. "What was that for?" He frowned back at me, noting my crossed arms and tense shoulders. "That was for all the worry and anxiety you caused me. You were supposed to be home hours ago!"

"I'm sorry, Xan. I got tied up, and I couldn't text you to let you know I'd be home really late." He attempted to kiss my forehead, but I ducked out of the way, still very upset with him. "You didn't stay up too late waiting for me, did you?"

"Only a little, but I finally managed to get to sleep after a while. I thought you'd be back soon." I twisted my lips, wondering what could have possibly happened to keep him at work so late. Were we in trouble again? I really, really didn't want to have to move again. I abhor change with every fiber of my being, and as much as-

"Hey." Matthias interrupted my train of thoughts, concern dominating his features as he noticed the worried frown on my face. He knew what was going on in my mind. "We're okay." He smoothed back my tangled, dirty blonde hair with his large, warm hand. "Everything's alright. Really." He lifted my chin with his fingers, forcing me to look into his captivating, sea green eyes with tiny flecks of cerulean blue around the edges of his irises. I nodded slowly, not completely believing him. However, I was content enough for the moment to stare back into his eyes. I could gaze into them and examine every shade of blue and green there for hours without getting bored. Matthias chuckled, bringing me back to the present again. "What?" My features morphed into a scowl once more.

"Nothing. I just like how you look when you're thinking hard about something." He shrugged innocently, a faint smile hiding in the corners of his lips. I shot him back a disbelieving look, but that just made him start grinning again. "C'mon. Let's get you back to bed." He scooped me up in his arms, carrying me to our bedroom like a baby. "I can walk, y'know." I retorted, upset at suddenly being completely helpless and vulnerable in someone else's control. Plus, I didn't like being touched that much, especially without permission first. Unfortunately, Matthias saw it as his mission in life to get me used to other people spontaneously initiating physical contact with me. "Hush." He shushed me, gently setting me down on the bed so I was sitting up with my legs hanging off the edge of the bed. He walked over to our dresser and changed into a Pink Floyd T-shirt (we both loved that particular band) and tossed his old shirt and jeans onto the floor. When he went into our bathroom to brush his teeth, I kicked my pajama pants off on the floor near the side of the bed. I usually just slept in a tank top and my underwear, but I guess I must have forgotten to take the black and white plaid bottoms off when I went to bed earlier this morning. I also changed into a gray tank top since my old camo one was sweaty and icky. I'd had a nightmare earlier and had woken up all sweaty and gross.

By the time Matthias came back into our room, I was sitting on top of the covers, reading Prisoner of Cell 25 on my phone for perhaps the fifth time. "Hey." He grinned, planting a kiss on the side of my forehead. I leaned away from him, frustrated that he had interrupted my reading time. He knew I didn't like to be interrupted, but he kept talking to me anyway. "So, how were the kids today?"