Achievement Unlocked

Chapter 22

I groaned as I sat up in bed, pulling my laptop up closer to my chest. I don't want to work. This is stupid. I groaned again and started typing up a title. I had been control-V-control-C'ing for so long that my hand was cramped and my coffee was cold. I spent way too much time on this template. Maybe I should just scrap this and start over, I thought silently. What a bunch of time wasted. I frowned as I exited out of the document without saving and pulled up a new template.

Before long, I ended up scrapping that one, too. Nothing seemed to be going my way today. Come on, Eli, focus. You had a great day yesterday, you should be in the zone. I sighed and sat up, setting my laptop down on the floor and checking my messages. No new, but I did have a missed call from Gavin. I smiled and returned his call, waiting for him to answer.

"Hey, what are you up to?" he asked.

"Nothing. Working. Well, trying to," I replied, sighing heavily.

"That's why they call you Miss Responsible." He chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess so." I nervously giggled into the phone.

"Wow, you sound stressed. Let's get dinner tonight, my treat." I could practically hear him smiling on the other end.

"I don't think so. Sorry, it's just ...." I started

"I understand." He cut me off, sounding disappointed.

"Gavin, I'm sorry." I frowned.

"It's okay," he said quietly. "Well, I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, I'm sorry," I repeated.

"No worries. Good luck."

"Thanks, bye," I said softly before he hung up.

Great. Just let down my new boyfriend, and he sounded really upset. God, I hate work. I sat there think in silence, debating whether or not I should call Gavin back and blow it all off, or get back to work. I started to majorly stress. This is bullshit. I thought, burying my face in my hands. What's the point of working when everything I do is shit? I sighed again, closing out of another unsaved template. My clients know it's shit: that's why no one is emailing me back to pick up any of the designs I sent out. Hello, I'm Eli, the world's biggest joke of a web designer. Would you like to buy my work? Ha, that was a joke. Get it? I groaned loudly. I can't do this. I can't do anything. I rolled over and planted my face into my pillow and sighed. After a few moments I finally lifted my head and checked my phone. No new messages still. I unlocked it and dialed Dani's number. Maybe she can get me out of this state of mind.

"Sup, fag?" she answered.

"I need help." I groaned.

"Work?" she asked.

"You got it."

"Be right there."

I hung up the phone and tossed it across the room. Within minutes, Dani had arrived.

"You look terrible," she commented as soon as she saw me lying on my bed.

"I feel terrible."

"Are you going to dinner with Gavin?" she asked, sitting besides me.

"No, I have to work."

"No!" she cried out. "Call him and tell him you're going!"

"I can't." I groaned. "Wait, how did you know?"

"No reason, you just have to go!" She threw her arms up into the air.

"Dani, I have work to do. I can't go," I said, sitting up.

“Okay, whatever,” she said, trying to sound nonchalant, but her voice had risen in pitch and I could tell this was really bothering her for some reason.

“What’s up with you?” I asked, nudging my laptop out of the way leaning back.

“Nothing, nothing,” she said, too quickly.

“Something’s up. Spit it out,” I demanded.

“What are you working on? Can I see?” she answered evasively.

I growled and turned my attention back to my work. “If you’re not going to tell me, then I have shit to do!”

She returned to her seat next to me on the bed, bringing her knees up to her chest and anxiously rocking back and forth. I tried to stay focused on my computer screen, but Dani’s odd behavior kept eating at me. From time to time, I lifted my head to glare at her, and each time I did she would quickly look away. When she started quietly humming to herself, I snapped.

“Look, I asked you over because this work was driving me crazy. All you’re doing is making it worse. What the fuck?” I yelled, tossing my laptop to the side.

“It’s nothing, j- just get back to work,” she said, chewing at her nails.

“Dani, look, I know you. Something is wrong, and I want you to tell me,” I said sternly, facing my body towards her.  

“I can’t, I’m sorry!” She cried, her rocking becoming more agitated.

I sighed heavily and looked at her for a moment, then turned my attention to the blinking lights on my laptop that were telling me that it was slowly dying. Fuck, I left the charger in the other room. I guess it doesn’t really matter: if I lose the document, I lose the document. I haven’t been able to make anything of high quality recently so I guess I don’t really care. I closed the lid on my laptop and looked at Dani, who was still gnawing nervously at her nails.

“God damnit,” I mumbled as I stood up, arching my back to stretch the cramps out of it. “I’m gonna go make some coffee, you want some?”

“Do you have any water?” Dani asked, momentarily perking up.

I stared at her for a moment. “No, we don’t. There’s actually this huge water shortage.” I said sarcastically before shuffling toward the kitchen apathetically. On the way, I switched on my desktop, scowling at it is as if it were the cause of all my negativity.

Why does Dani want me to go out so bad tonight? How did she even know Gav asked me to dinner? Did she put him up to it, to get me out of the house for some reason? Maybe she’s still trying to push the relationship? I don’t see why she would, though. Gavin and I are already together. She won. I cringed at the thought. Maybe she has something else planned. Something worse. Something so far out there that- okay, slow down there, Conspiracy Jones, your tinfoil hat’ seems to be on a little too tight.

Once I had the coffee brewing, I opened the fridge and rummaged through it for a moment before finding a bottle of water. I grabbed it and jogged down the hall, handing the bottle to Dani, who had gotten up from her seat and was now standing in my doorway.

“Thanks,” she mumbled softly, taking the water.

I jogged back into the kitchen and took a mug down from the cupboard, in no mood to return to my best friend who so obviously didn’t want to share her little secret with me.  I leaned on the counter, waiting for my coffee to finish brewing. When it finally did, I poured myself a glass and tossed a few ice cubes in to cool it quicker. I took my time walking down the hall and to my desktop. I sat down in my computer chair and opened up a saved document, an old template I was working on a few weeks ago. Moments later Dani had joined me and sat on the small sofa by the window, still chewing at her nails.

“I wish you would just tell me.” I said softly. No reply. I sighed and returned to work, hoping to at least have something to be proud of today.