Twice in a Lifetime \\ KELLIC

5

I groaned and covered my face with my blanket as a bright light hit me first thing in the morning. The sun's glare was fierce at this time of the day and I wanted nothing more than to escape it.

"Rise and shine," Vic's overly-cheery voice spoke. Of course he was the one behind this unpleasantness. I heard him push open the other half of the curtain and even with my eyes closed, I could feel just how much brighter the room was.

"Go away," I grumbled.

"Uh, no, you told me to go away the past two days, and that's not flying with me anymore, so I'm taking control here," he said.

"Whatever," I murmured.

He could do whatever he wanted. I planned on just laying here for the rest of the day and trying to drown out whatever noises he made. Apparently I didn't get that luxury though because he yanked the blanket clean from my body.

"Thank God you sleep with clothes on," he said.

"Fuck, you're so annoying," I said through gritted teeth.

"I know, now get up. You really think I'm doing this shit on my own?" he asked.

"It was your idea," I said and buried my face in the pillow.

"Yeah, my idea that involved both of us," he said.

He grabbed my arm, locking his fingers tightly around my wrist, then he pulled me into a seated position. My body, not wanting to fight him off, sat there limply. I looked up at him, giving him my best 'you're a pain in the neck and I want you to leave me alone' look.

"You look like shit. Did you sleep at all last night?" he asked.

I narrowed my eyes in a glare but didn't answer him. The only positive I got out of his comment was that he was talking to me like he usually did. He sighed and stood back, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Where can I get started?" he asked.

I shrugged.

"Well...where did you finish off last?" he asked.

"Painting a room upstairs. First coat is done. Needs another," I said plainly.

"Great. I'm gonna do that, and you're gonna have a shower. You seriously need one, and wash your hair too, please. I'm gonna open some windows," he said.

He went over to the main window and unlatched it, pushing it open. I looked down at myself. Did I really look and smell that bad? Maybe. I barely ever changed my clothes, but it wasn't like I was doing anything that would cause me to get dirty. Still, I could probably do with a shower.

I got up and headed for the stairs. He followed me up. I stopped at the bathroom, feeling dread when I looked at the door. I glanced over at Vic who was looking into the bedroom I was last working on.

"Bathroom door is broken," I said.

"Is it?" he asked.

I nodded. Was this an excuse enough to go back to sleep?

"Have a shower and I'll fix it after," he said.

"Okay, just...don't walk past," I said warningly.

"Right, like I'd wanna see that," he teased, and maybe it was a little harsh, and he knew it too because he watched me warily for my reaction, but really, I was just glad he was acting like normal again.

Well life as he once knew it is gone, now he has the internet.

"Asshole," I mumbled.

He smiled and I didn't. I went into the bathroom and really I didn't actually care if he walked past and saw me. The embarrassment didn't matter. None of it did. Any problem that I had now seemed so minuscule in comparison to what happened.