The Tali

Chapter 1 - Arise, She-Devil

I stared at the ceiling; well, at the red numbers showing the time. 2:37 am. I groaned. This is the fifth time this week I've woken up somewhere around 2 in the morning. I just want a full night of uninterrupted, restful, and peaceful sleep. I yawned and rolled onto my side. Sleep, why can't we be friends? I sighed and covered my head with my pillow. Come on! It's my day off today I want to sleep in! I tossed and turned for what seemed like hours, but it was just a few minutes before my phone dinged signaling a text. "Who in the hell is up at this time?" I muttered as I reached for my phone.

I stared at the text message, my sleep-deprived brain struggling to focus on the words enough to read. It's from Zeke. Ezekial is one of my best friends. We met freshman year of college in psychology class and just hit it off. He's handsome, not that I'd go for him, he's like the brother I never had. Zeke has chocolate brown eyes and chestnut colored hair with fair skin. He's tall, about six foot and has a very lean and muscular body. He looks like an angel, but he's a fuckboy. 

"Hey LaiLai, are you sleeping? Hope I didn't wake you." -Zeke

"What do you want?" -Lai

"Good, you're up. So, I gotta tell you something. It's really juicy." -Zeke

"Oh boy, what?" - Lai

"I got laid." -Zeke

I stared at the laughing crying emojis he sent me. He's a freaking idiot. I dropped my phone on my nightstand and rolled back over. I wasn't even going to justify that with a response. I burrowed myself deeper into the soft confines of my bed, trying to stay warm. My air conditioner was set on 68. Always 68, so that it's cold enough I can sleep without getting hot. I nuzzled my face into my pillow and closed my eyes. My phone pinged again, but I ignored him. Let me sleep, dude. I pulled my covers up to my face and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

~~~~~~

I was startled awake when my bedroom door slammed open. "Get up woman!" Zeke screamed. I groaned loudly. I was sleeping so well. "No," I mumbled, burying myself deeper into my cocoon. "Arise, She-Devil!" I could hear him try to keep from laughing. "Go away." The second the words left my mouth, my blankets were ripped off, and cold air assaulted every inch of exposed skin. "Arise! I command thee!" I sat up and stared at him with the straightest face I could. "What do you want, Ezekial?" His smile dropped, and he started giving me puppy eyes. "Awh, come on baby, what did I do to earn that glare?" He crawled onto my bed and laid on top of me. "I wuv you, LaiLai," he coughed. "I mean She-Devil."

I smacked the top of his head. "Get off of me, you moron." I shoved him off of me and got up. "Why are you here at," I paused to look at the clock. "At eight in the morning?" He shrugged. "I got bored." I groaned then shuffled into my ensuite bathroom. My bedroom and bathroom were my favorite part of my apartment. It cost about 800 dollars a month, but it was a two-bedroom and was located in the downtown area. The price wasn't an issue either, I worked as a nurse at the biggest hospital in the city, and they paid well.

I could hear Zeke banging around in the kitchen as I got out of the shower. "Ezekial! You clean up whatever mess you make!" I screamed. He would always come over and cook me breakfast but never clean up his mess. I quickly got dressed so I could do damage control in the kitchen. I slipped into a black long sleeve tee and some sweatpants. It was late October, and it got cold in the north around this time.

I strolled into the kitchen as Zeke put a strawberry and mascarpone crepe on a plate and my stomach growled at the sight. "Ah, the She-Devil makes her presence known by a hungry growl." Zeke has amazing hearing. I could barely hear my stomach growl. "If you don't stop calling me She-Devil, I'm going to castrate you," I said as I sat at the breakfast bar. He sat the plate in front of me, and I started devouring it. "Someone's grumpy today." I just glared at him. He sighed. "I must resign said nickname, for the ladies will miss all this." He lightly tapped his crotch before sitting down next to me and digging into his breakfast.