I moaned, banging my head on the desk. I was so tired, but I had to finish editing the magazine by tomorrow. I had lost count of how many hours I had been staring at the white pages and black letters in front of me. I took a sip of my somehow still scorching coffee and then refocused my concentration on what I was supposed to be doing.
This became my routine for the next several hours. Once I started staring at the laptop screen a few hours before morning hit, it was a downhill slope to falling asleep. I didn't even remember falling asleep. Just waking up with a yelp when my door slammed open, hitting the bookcase filled with psychology textbooks, as they were my strange pleasure.
I blinked at the sudden noise, the scene in front of me swimming for a moment. When it became clear again, I saw my furious boyfriend standing there. I tilted my head to the side, confused. What was he doing here? He never came to see me at work.
His black hair fell over his sharply defined face, stubble decorating his chin. His pink lips were pressed together in an expression of irritation. His sapphire eyes heatedly glared down at my surprised form, his bulky muscles enticing me to come closer despite the danger present at the moment.
He strode over to me, easily pulling me out of my chair. I went willingly; I couldn't resist his strength while fully rested, let alone now. I stumbled slightly, my uncoordinated nature coming back to haunt me. When he guided me out the doorway, I glanced up at his still angry face, now confused. Why were we leaving?
"Where are we going?" I questioned.
He stopped short, looking at me disbelievingly.
"Do you know what time it is?"
I shook my head. I hadn't had the time to discern that before he yanked me out of my office.
"It's three o'clock in the afternoon. On Sunday. You've been in there for almost two days straight," He admonished me.
He didn't look as upset now. Did he not remember I did not have any clocks in my office? It was one of many eccentricities. He did deal with most of them amazingly well. I knew I was difficult at times. If it was Sunday, that meant...
"Oh, I'm sorry. I must have missed your family," I apologized frantically.
His family had planned on coming over yesterday. We had all agreed on that date because it was often difficult for them to come. His family meant a lot to him, and to me as well, as I didn't have any. I started hyperventilating, my lack of sleep contributing to my reaction - I tended to be very emotional and overreact on many things when I was tired- until he calmed me down.
His fingers skimmed the back of my neck, immediately easing my panic.
"It's okay, Troy," He promised in his dark, gravelly voice.
I still felt horrible. We had gone to so much trouble, only for me to miss them. They must have been angry as well. He pressed a firm kiss to my forehead.
"They couldn't make it anyway. There was a snowstorm, so they're delayed until Monday."
He started dragging me towards the entrance and I followed, creating my own storm of feelings within my mind. It always hurt me to disappoint him; I was vulnerable to it, even creating conflicts where there were none.
I numbly eased myself into the car, my eyes unseeing as I strapped myself in. I stared down at my lap, letting my hair hide my face, shame invading me. I crossed my wrists, biting my lip when he didn't start the car immediately.
I peeked up at him to find his blue eyes staring at me. He didn't look angry. He sighed and started the car, obviously deciding to let whatever was on his mind wait until we got to the privacy of our home.
