Maybe It's Been You All Along - Alex Turner

2

  The morning light shone through the wispy white curtains masking the glass door to the balcony, hitting Rosanna's face as dawn broke on the horizon. She wasn't a morning person and frankly, neither was Alex. Cursing at herself for leaving the blinds open yet again, the girl climbed out of her bed and trudged over to the balcony doors.

  Her hair sat a tangled mess upon her shoulders and her cheek creased in the shape of her pillow. Squinting in the morning light Rosanna opened the doors and stepped out onto the cold balcony.

  The morning air chilled her exposed skin as she learnt over the railing and looked out over the waking world. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and ran her fingers through her her, sweeping the part to the side so it sat in a voluminous loop. She wasn't heavily clothed for such a cool autumn morning but felt comfort in the cold. The tip of her nose was turning pink when she decided to head back inside.

  Discarding her appearance, Rosanna walked into the living room to the kitchen to make coffee. She grabbed a glass of water first and set it on the coffee table next to the sofa Alex was still sleeping on. He was still wearing his clothes from the night before, most notably his leather jacket which seemed to restrict his movement as he slept.

  When the whiff of freshly brewed coffee hit his nose, Alex slowly awoke from his alcohol induced slumber. He had dark circles under his eyes that barely kept open. His head banged into his brain and he felt the effects of the night before wash over him.

  "Morning," Rosanna said over her mug of warm coffee. Alex lifted his head a little to see her then slammed it back down on the pillow.

  "Fuck," he groaned, squeezing his eyes shut as if to try and warm them up so they'd be good for use. "Rosanna...I'm so fucking sorry..." Alex mumbled and ran a hand through his messy hair.

  "Sleep well?" she asked and leant on her white island bench.

  "What time is it?" Alex asked.

  "Almost nine."

  "Shit. I'm so fucking sorry Ro," Alex said, pushing his thumb into his temples as to try and stop the thumping. "I hate doing this to you."

  "At least you're safe," Rosanna said taking a sip of her warm brew.

  "How pissed was I?" Alex asked still lying down.

  "I think the fact that you can't remember answers that question," Rosanna teased.

  "Were it about Alexa?" Alex hoped Rosanna would say no.

  "Yup."

  Alex cursed at himself and buried his face in his pillow. He thought he had convinced himself he was over Alexa. Whenever he was sober he would believe that lie, then a few 'drinks for fun' would slide down his throat and he'd be forced to see the truth yet again. Christ's sake, he was so sure that the previous time he did this would be the last but now he was back at square one. Hung up on the girl who treated his affection like a game.

  He felt awful for putting his friends through his bullshit yet again. This routine was getting old, even for him. Alexa was almost a month ago, he needed to pull himself together and move on.

  "I'm so sorry Ro," Alex said again, this time sitting up. He looked over at her with remorse and she just shrugged.

  "I'm always gonna be here for you Al, no matter how many times Matt calls me in the middle of the night."

  Rosanna's words made Alex break an appreciative smile, just the corners of his lips tilted upwards for a mere second. They both looked exhausted, Alex more than Ro, both's hair a mess going unnoticed by one another as they'd seen each other looking much worse.