Try-Hard, Sin Harder

22. Panic and Hysteria

 "Yah! How did those boys manage to get confetti back here?!" 

 I sighed, and pressed my weight against the sofa. Slipping the vacuum cleaner behind it, I muttered under my breath and cleaned the hidden mess left from my birthday party. It had been three days, and I was still finding bits and pieces of materials and even food in the most inconvenient places. Seriously. I had to scrape solidified melted wax from the birthday candles off of the floor using a knife the morning after the party. It took me almost an hour to remove it all without damaging my floor, and even then I was only partially successful. 

 Yanking the cord from the wall outlet, I wrapped it around the vacuum cleaner, and carried it over to the hallway closet. I placed it in the back, and slid the closet door shut. Hands tucked into the pockets of my sweat pants, I ambled around my apartment, looking for something to do. I made my way into the kitchen, and glanced at the wall clock. It was 12:37 pm. "Guess I should probably eat lunch," I said to no one in particular. 

 I grabbed leftovers from dinner the night before from my fridge, and dumped them on to a small plate. Placing the plate in the microwave, I set the timer for a few minutes and poured myself a glass of water. When the timer went off, I stirred my lunch, tested the temperature against my lip, and brought the plate to the table. Fifteen minutes after I sat down, my plate was clean. I patted my stomach, and gulped the last of my water. It was the first meal I had alone in the longest time. Without at least one of the boys with me, my apartment seemed desolated. My home was too quiet. No matter how many times I threatened to kick them out when they came over to pester me, I knew I never could. Their absence was like a ball of light amidst shadows; something that I wouldn't expect and was impossible to ignore. 

 They were all working the one day I wasn't. I was getting lonely again.

 Rising from my seat, I brought my plate to the sink and quickly scrubbed it clean. Too lazy to wipe it down, I left it on a towel to dry, before heading into my living room. I plopped down on my sofa next to Lexie. Her head perked up, and her tail wagged as I stroked her fur. She yawned, and crawled on to my legs. Curling into a small white ball, her drooping eyelids dropped and she began snoring softly. I smiled; I wasn't entirely alone. 

 The moment was cut short, as my ringtone blared from my pocket. 

 "Hello?" I said, answering the call. 

 "Ms. Moon, this is Mrs. Choi; Mr. Moon's caregiver. I'm just calling to let you know that our plane will be landing shortly, and Mr. Moon will be waiting for you at the entrance of the airport," said the voice on the other end of the phone. 

 My heart dropping, I glanced over at the event marked down on the calendar on my fridge. I had completely forgotten about this. "How long did you say?" 

 "No more than thirty minutes, Miss." 

 Nudging Lexie off of my lap, I dashed in to my bedroom and shut the door behind me. 

 "I'll be there in fifteen." 

Taehyung's P.O.V

 Keira's apartment door was locked when I returned from work. 

 "Strange," I mumbled, fishing my keys out of my pocket. "She never locks her door when she's home." 

 Sliding my copy of her key into the lock, I slowly opened the door and stepped inside. As I shut the door behind me, I slipped my bag off of my shoulder and called out to her. "Keira, it's Taehyung. I'm back, so if you wanted we could go over to my apartment and play some c-" 

 I froze upon finding her den empty. "Keira?" 

 No answer. 

 I walked down her hallway, and knocked on her bedroom door. "Keira?" Still no answer. "I'm coming in."