The Dog Sitter

04 Returned

Exhausted from the early rise this morning, I fall asleep quickly. The room is dimly lit from the scraps of sunlight escaping from the edges of the blackout curtains, and the last things I feel before falling asleep are gratitude and warmth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wake up from my nap face to face with Talum. He is with me on his bed, turned on his side towards me as I am towards him. His eyes are closed and his breathing is deep yet soft. I'm sure he's asleep. I can feel our legs tangled together and my hand touching his chest, which I pull away quickly. Instead of moving away from me, Talum moves closer and puts an arm around me, holding me to his warm chest.

The room is now dark, and I can tell that the sun has set. I guess I had a really long nap. I've never been one to cuddle, so Talum probably moved towards me in his sleep. He should have woken me up. No, I should have went to sleep in the guest bedroom, or rather, my new room.

I decide to lay here for a little bit, hoping that when Talum is in deeper sleep I can slip away from his hold without waking him, not that that has ever worked for me.

Now that I've had a midday rest of approximately eight or nine hours, being as I don't know the exact time, my sleep schedule is most likely all messed up. The good news is that I will be perfectly rested for class tomorrow. I should arrive early so that Keitaro can tell me what I missed in Calc II on Friday. After Calc II I'll have Art class, which is apparently required for my graduation despite my major.

I'm taking classes towards an Associates of Science. My hope is to become a Biomedical Engineer, since it's an exciting emerging field. Not only will it be interesting and probably well paying, but designing medical appliances and such will allow me to help people who need it.

After graduating next semester from community college, I'll transfer to UTD. I have yet to submit my application before the priority deadline, but I'm hoping for a scholarship. I should get one, since I have a 4.0 GPA so far. Most people are surprised when I tell them, but studying and working has been my life since I was 16, so it shouldn't be surprising at all.

'My first class tomorrow is at 10, so I should...' I think to myself, planning out my day so that I can get what I need done tomorrow done in an efficient manner. Planning out my day has always been a great asset to keep myself on the right track, so it's fairly important to me.

When I'm done preparing myself mentally for the next day, I realise I still need a bath before bed. I should bathe and sleep in the guest bedroom so that I don't awake Talum. Then, I'll write him a note to let him know I need a ride to class at nine. I hate to rely on him, because I know I'm a huge burden, but I can't drive at the moment. Driving with a freshly sprained right ankle is not only very difficult, but very dangerous. I'll wait a week before driving again.

Ready to put my plan in motion, I remove Talum's hand from around my torso and quickly roll away from Talum. The last time, I used a slow approach just for him to grab me again, so getting away quickly was obviously the way to do it.

I look back at Talum to find his sleeping face frowning and his arms gathering the sheets probably in an attempt to restore the lost heat from his side. I feel kind of bad, but I know I shouldn't. What's wrong with me?

I ease off of the bed silently, then walk around to Talum's side of the room towards the door. My ankle is immediately very sore, but I decide to walk normally anyways. Hobbling would be too inefficient and dramatic. Before leaving the room, I look back at Talum to find him still asleep. Mission accomplished.

I walk with a limp to the guest bedroom, surprised that no dogs approach me. I guess they're heavy sleepers. I turn right at the end of the hallway, and once inside the room, I strip my clothes off and hang them up in the closet, which already had some empty hangers. I have to wear them to class tomorrow, so I hope the subtle wrinkles from sleeping in them disappear. In my boxers, I walk into the bathroom and turn the light on, then start a bath.