Caught In The Gray

Chapter Eight

Entry Five

She moved in today. It's nice having her around, I can feel her presence and it's makes the house feel lighter and less empty. Rosy seems to have traded me in for Adabelle, not that I can blame her.

Today I have a few meetings and a budget plan about the Epidemic's and another about burning fossil fuel. Father wants them done by noon, he's been getting worse lately. I think he feels that if he steps down, I'll find a way to fuck it up. So to him the best option is to mold me into a loyal son, who'll follow his every command. I wish he would back off, he's always trying to go to war, build barriers when that's the opposite of what we should be doing. We should be finding peace and bridging gaps, not deepening them. I'm just waiting for the time to come when he has to step down and I can try to start changing things.

I think today Adabelle is going to look at volunteering places, I'm not sure if she knows but it she wants to, she could turn it into a career. She wouldn't have to be just the Military Commander's wife, she could have something else. My mother never was interested in anything besides being a dutiful wife.

I wonder how she feels about our encounter last night in the bathroom, I had just come out of the shower and she walked in, unaware that I was in there. I don't know what she thinks of me and it makes me nervous, I don't want her to think badly of me, I don't know why she would.

I think I'm over thinking it, I'm just going to let it go, let the colors fill in the empty spaces.

I open my eyes to a bright light and groan, rolling over. After a few minutes I sit up and run my eyes, opening them to find Rosy passed out on my bed. I smile and pet her before I stand up and move to my closet.

I'm excited because I have interviews about volunteering today. I'm not sure what to wear but I end up in a black pencil skirt and a gray blouse. I brush my hair and twist two sections above my ears back and tie it with a green ribbon. I grab a pair of gray heels and put them on before I rub lotion into my legs and arms. I put deodorant on spray perfume on.

I look over on my bed and Rosy is awake, wagging her tail. I smile and walk over to her and pet her head, she rolls over onto her stomach and I give her a belly rub.

After a few minutes, I walk out of my room with Rosy on my heels and into the kitchen. Rosy goes straight to her bowl of food and starts eating. I smile and walk to the pantry where I grab a granola bar. I look in the fridge and grab a yogurt too. I sit on the high top table across from Alaric. "Good morning," I say and he looks up from writing in the small notebook he was writing in yesterday. He smiles and slides it into his pocket.

"Morning, there's coffee if you want some," he says and I nod, standing up to walk over to our coffee into a mug. I go into the fridge and grab the milk, adding some to the coffee. I put the milk back and grab a spoon before mixing back to the table. I take a drink of my coffee and open the yogurt, taking a bite.

"Are we going back to the Base today?" I ask and Alaric takes a drink of coffee.

"Yes, I have meetings and a few budget plans and I think you have volunteering interviews." He says and takes a bite of the fruit plate in front of him.

"Okay, is anyone going with me or am I just finding it by myself?" I ask and cross my ankles.

"I think Sebastian is," he says and I nod, taking another bite of the yogurt. Neither of us seems to want to mention what happened last night. We eat in silence for another few minutes before I stand up and bus my empty glassware, moving down the hallway to my room. I grab my toothbrush and move to the bathroom.

After I brush my teeth, I move back to my room where I grab my backpack, putting a few things into it. I walk back into the kitchen and smile, bending down to pet Rosy. "Ready?" Alaric asks and I nod. Rosy runs over to him and nudges her head into his thigh. He smiles and grabs her leash, hooking it onto her collar.