Character Flaws

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I woke with a pounding headache. The sunlight streaming in from the windows only increased the throbbing pain. I groaned and pulled a pillow over my head to try and block out some of the light. It was moderately successful but it made it significantly harder to breathe, so I threw the pillow off. It smacked against the wall with a muffled thump before falling to the ground. Sitting up, I squinted and held back the urge to puke. Definitely hungover.  I now regretted the decision to leave my walls painted white as they had been when I first moved in, as I did most mornings, and pictured them a chocolate brown or another less-bright color. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed I stumbled toward the bathroom. On my way, I noticed the jeans I had been wearing the night before balled up on the floor and covered in purple glitter. I struggled to remember where it came from but thinking only increased the migraine, so I put it off until later. When I got to the bathroom, I started to strip for a shower, but as I did so, I noticed a hand hanging over the edge of the tub. Looking to see who it belonged to, I found Nugget laying asleep, curled up in the bottom of the tub in only his boxers, an empty bottle in hand. I groaned, putting my shirt back on and heading out of the bathroom. Bro code: Don’t wake someone up when they’ve been drinking, even if they’re in your bathroom and you need a shower. Let them sleep off the hangover. I stumbled into the living room, stopping when I saw the strange girl asleep on the coffee table, but decided to let her be as well. I continued on into the kitchen, turning the coffee maker on and opening the refrigerator. It was entirely empty save for a six-pack of Budweiser and a carton of Chinese take-out. I grabbed the Chinese and stuck it in the microwave, making a mental note to go grocery shopping at some point today. I sat on top of the counter, back to the window as I still wasn’t over the headache. The clicking of toenails on the hardwood floor alerted me to the fact that I wasn’t the only one awake in the house. I smiled as the massive Rottweiler trotted into the room, sitting down in front of me and staring up, his stub of a tail twitching.

“Hey boy, you hungry?” I asked, heaving myself off the counter and going to the pantry where I kept a large bag of dog food. I scooped a generous serving into a bowl and set it on the floor of the kitchen, where the dog immediately fell upon it, crunching the little pieces in his powerful jaws. I watched him until my phone rang. With a sigh, I grabbed the device and answered it.

“Is Nugget there?” Jelly’s static-filled voice came from the other end.

“Mmm, not so loud.” I groaned, rubbing a hand over my face. “He’s asleep in the bathtub.”

“You mean you saw him asleep in the bathtub and left him there?” She asked.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I mean. Why?” I answered.

“If he wakes up tell him I’ll be at work when he gets home but there’s scrambled eggs in the refrigerator.”

“Is there enough eggs for me?” I asked her hopefully.

“Nope.” She replied.

“C’mon Jelly, have a heart. I’m having leftover Chinese takeout for breakfast.” I pleaded.

“Goodbye, Mercutio.” She said, hanging up on me. The microwave began beeping frantically and I hurried to turn it off, the noise horribly unpleasant. I pulled the now-warm food out and began pouring it into my mouth, not bothering with a fork. When I was halfway through with it, the coffee finished so I pulled a mug from the cabinet behind me and filled it with the caffeinated substance. As I slowly drank it and finished off the Chinese, I heard a zombie-like shuffling and groaning coming from the back of the apartment. 

“Romeo, can you eat any louder?” A voice came from the hallway moments before Nugget appeared in the door, glaring at the dog.

“Leave him out of it, it’s not his fault you drank too much last night.” I defended him.