5 a.m. (tomtord)

Chapter 1

*present*

The time was 5 in the morning. The apartment was deathly quiet as he checked the time. He let out a soft sigh of sadness before he decided to get out of bed. His feet touched the cold carpet and he felt a shiver crawl up his back.

He took in a deep breath and forced himself up. He felt dizzy for a little before he started walking to his door. He didn't bother grabbing his hoodie, he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

He opened his bedroom door and walked into the living room. The carpet floor changed to wood and he instantly regretted not putting on socks. The floor was freezing. Why was his apartment so cold?

He stumbled to the front door and flicked on the light switch. He yelled out a pained cry, almost forgetting the cold. Why was it so bright? He found the thermostat and changed the temperature to 72 degrees.

After that small victory, he dragged himself to the kitchen. He stumbled to the fridge and forced it open. He scanned the fridge for food. There was mostly Smirnoff in there along with an almost expired half-gallon of milk.

Cereal it was, he assumed. He grabbed the milk and set it down then pulled open a cabinet that held bagged goods and canned food. He pulled out a random box of cereal and set it down.

After breakfast, the man stood up and made his way back to his room where he collapsed on his bed. The house was quiet as a mouse. It began to become unbearable. His head pounded loudly at the silence.

He whipped out his phone and went to his photos. He let out a gentle sigh of sadness when his eyes met with the happy memories. He could recall those times so easily, yet they hurt.

His heart felt like an orange that was being crushed up tightly and turned to juice, then just left there to soak it up like a sponge. He felt tears sting his voids and he took in a shaky breath of air.

“Breath in and--”