Drops of Crimson

Chapter Six

I stare at him for a moment and just like that, he comes out of the shadows and back into the streetlight grabbing his phone out of his pocket and bringing it up to his ear. Why do I have to be paranoid about everything? He is just a man walking down the street.

I close the curtains and head over to the couch, sitting down in between Mia and Kristen. I snuggle under our shared blanket and grab some popcorn from the bowl. We laugh at the events from tonight and chat through the previews while passing the popcorn between us.

"What movie did you guys end up picking?" I ask.

"Two Night Stand," Mia answers me with a yawn.

We start the movie and I get more comfortable in my spot trying to get warm underneath the blanket. Not even forty minutes into the movie, I feel my eyes starting to get heavy and I try to fight the urge to sleep. Looking over at the girls, I see that Mia and Kristen are sound asleep, their heads tilted and eyes closed. Natalie's eyes close for a few seconds and struggles to keep them open. It doesn't take long before she gives in to the urge and starts lightly snoring. I finally close my eyes and give in to sleep.

Why did I sleep on the couch?

Pain shoots through my neck and back and I instantly regret not crawling into Ros's spare bed. Not to mention that my teeth feel fuzzy like I have moss on them and my lips still taste like alcohol. I should have brushed my teeth last night, too.

My back and neck ache like crazy from sleeping on the couch in the most uncomfortable position. Tilting my head back, a pain shoots through my neck so I don't move. I feel a cold draft against my skin and when I open my eyes, I see that Mia has stolen the blanket off of me. Thief. I slowly get up, trying to ignore the pain in my neck and back. Stretching my arms up above my head I hear the cracking of my shoulder and some of the tension is relieved. Letting out a groan, I hope that the pain goes away soon.

I look back at the girls and see Natalie slumped like a rag doll on the arm of the couch, her dark hair all over the place. The other two sleep soundly, but look extremely uncomfortable and I know they will regret sleeping on the couch just like I do.

Rays of light seep in through the cracks of the curtain and I can tell that today is going to be hot out. Grabbing out my phone, I check the time. 6:18 am. Looks like today is going to be an early one. I could always go for a walk and enjoy the weather right now before it gets too hot.

That's what I do; I decide to go for a walk. Jeans and ankle boots aren't the most practical thing to wear to go walking, but it's all that I have. I test the weather outside and am happy to not need to wear my jacket. Knowing that the girls either won't let me in, bother to get up, or maybe not even hear me, I leave the door unlocked so I have a way to get back in--I'm not taking any chances.

When I start walking down the street I see that the sun is just peeking above the horizon, its light illuminating the streets in a warm yellow glow. It's so beautiful. Sunsets and sunrises have always been one of my favourite things about summer. They are great in other seasons, but there is something about summer that makes them seem more special, almost more vibrant. Even when I was little, I would get up early to watch the sunrise from my window and it is just as fascinating now as it was then.

I notice that there are lots of people out this morning. People walking their dogs, running, driving down the streets, bike-riding, and some just walking like me. It has always amazed me the rut that we get ourselves into with the same routine. We get up, get ready for work, eat breakfast, go to work, each lunch, work, leave work, eat supper, sleep, and then you repeat it all over again. We get so caught up in our routine and never change anything; it's depressing, really.