Don't Come Back For Me

I Forgot.

       When you'd finally reached your apartment, you clumsily dug your key from its place in your pocket. You inhaled slowly, exhaling rapidly, in a small attempt to calm down. You knew you didn't have to worry so much, it was just a simple mistake. But there was that nagging feeling, the neglect to address the issue you'd always had, forgetting it was there until that very uncomfortable moment.

       Sitting at your desk, you placed your arms over your laptop, laying your head in the little nest and sighing. "Why me?" Your muffled voice rang out in the dimly lit room. It was nearing evening, you'd napped almost the entire day. You hadn't even realized, but that was a fact. You supposed you should've noticed when Summer and Morty were home from school, but it hadn't registered. You were still confused as to the 'why' and 'how' of your previous situation, but that didn't matter.

       Morty had developed some sort of feelings for you over the course of your short interactions. That was what struck you as the most out of place. He'd developed this feeling after barely one conversation with you, and acted upon it after another. How does a teen go through emotional phases that quickly?

       "I told him... I said a true friend could get over it, and it wouldn't be awkward for too long if they were really good friends. Well, Morty, it's gonna be awkward for a little bit." Your voice broke through the silence once more as you sighed, shakily standing from your desk. "That was a lovely speech, me. You deserve a pat on the back and a medal for biggest idiot." Sardonically, your left arm swooped over your chest and patted your right shoulder.

       Instinctively, you reached into your back pocket, remembering you'd left your phone. You had wanted to check it, feeling as though you were forgetting something today. A familiar pain shot through your jaw and you remembered you hadn't taken pain medication in a while, your jaw having been bothering you. There was something you were forgetting, but you couldn't remember without the reminders on your phone. You always were a little scatterbrained at times.

       As you wandered through your apartment, you wondered how in the hell you were supposed to get up on time now. Sure, you'd settled down and were no longer freaking the fuck out about the whole thing. Yea, let's casually shrug off the whole 'my boss's minor grandson kissed me' and put that behind us.

       "I just need more sleep." You wandered off to your room, knowing this to be true. For far too long, you'd been running on minimal sleep. The nap was only a small bit of what you really needed, even if you had slept almost the entire day. That just went to show how much you really needed to sleep. You'd simply wake when your body decided you'd been well rested.

       Burying yourself in a mountainous pile of pillows after stripping, once again, to your final layer, you set your head down and fell asleep shortly after, thinking about how late you might wake up.

-x-

       "Hey, come on, get up."

       Groggily, you slapped away a hand that had been shaking your shoulder, the voice not registering. The hand was persistent, jerking your arm once again before you sat up with a tired groan. You rubbed your eyes and glared over to the person, only to find Rick in your room once again. "You should look into knocking and waiting patiently for my happy ass to get up and answer the door." You yawned and stretched your arms above your head.

       Rick rolled his eyes and threw a few objects onto your bed, "You got- eugh gotta get up, like now." Confused, you grabbed what appeared to be your lab coat and phone, having been charged, it seemed.

       "Why?" You inquired, even though this was Rick, and he was your boss, technically. What exactly is he to me if not my boss?

       Rick sighed, running a hand down his face, "Because this eugh this piece of shit went off at 5AM to tell eugh me you have an appointment today, two hours from now." Rick looked cranky, so that could explain why. You checked the time. "Holy shit, it's 1 in the afternoon?!"

      You hopped out of your bed and moved past Rick, grabbing a change of clothes. "I dunno what you wanna do, but I'm getting in the shower. Watch tv or something, I guess." You remembered when he'd given you the same instructions, remembering what had happened yesterday. With a slight groan, you wandered towards your bathroom, quickly stepping into the shower.

       The hot water relaxed you as it poured down and over your shoulders. You didn't waste too much time scrubbing up and rinsing down as you tried to remember what the appointment was for. Almost as if in response, your jaw sent out shockwaves yet again. "Shit..." Dentist. Would he mind driving?

       You remembered that you were to have several crowns applied, and that you had been advised to bring somebody capable of driving you home after they used 'laughing gas', as they'd put it.

       Quickly, you stepped out of the shower and toweled off, slipping into today's black shorts and red t-shirt. You ran your fingers through your hair quickly before stepping out of the room, finding Rick going through your research journals. He just shrugged when you'd given him a look that said 'really?' before he continued reading. With an eye roll, you moved through and grabbed socks and shoes, deciding on wearing the red converse you'd owned for a while.

       "So," you shoved your phone in your back pocket, "could you do me a favor today?" Rick looked over at you inquisitively, waiting for further elaboration. "I, uh, forgot I have to get crowns. They don't want me driving home, apparently. Could you, uh, do that for me?" Towards the end of your sentence, the words were more awkward and stilted and you rubbed the back of your neck anxiously. You'd practically just met the guy, but here you are asking him to drive you home from the dentist.

       Rick gave you a funny look, appearing unsure. He seemed to be weighing the options. "Please? It's only, like, a few hours, and I don't have anybody else to ask. I just need you to drive me home. You can even drive my truck instead of the cruiser." You pleaded with him, having no other options.

       He still looked unsure, so you rolled your eyes and huffed, "Do this and I'll stop with the glitter." Rick's eyes lit up, "OK."

       "Really? Rude." You shrugged into your lab coat once you removed the glitter for Rick to see, followed by a quick search. Once it was wrapped securely around you, you motioned for Rick to follow to the parking lot, your wallet, keys, and phone shoved into various pockets.

       "The black truck, all the way over there. I'll drive to, you drive from." Rick nodded, pulling out his flask and taking a drink before he walked towards the vehicle. When you'd hopped into the driver's side, he was already sitting in his seat, refusing to wear the seat belt. Rolling your eyes, you buckled in, "If I get pulled over, you better put that thing on."

        Rick muttered a 'whatever' and you took off down the road, praying that Rick didn't drink while driving, being that you would be too loopy to stop him.