Clan of the Dead [On-Going]

I

CHAPTER ONE

    His room was dimly lit. I could see a dull light flickering into his room from the open bathroom doorway, a loud drip came every few minutes. The blanket only covered me from my chest to my thighs; he was hogging most of the blanket so my legs weren't covered. It was cold, but I was fine, because I was leaving. His snoring increased, and my eyes began to feel heavy. A part of me wanted to close my eyes and fall asleep with him.

    I suppressed a sigh as I slid the blanket off and rose up. I looked over at his sleeping form, his mouth was slightly ajar, his hair poking out in odd angles with his hand resting atop his abdomen. He wasn't wearing any clothes either, I could tell by the prominent bulge underneath the sheets. I pursed my lips and turned away. He was deep in his slumber, nonetheless I felt embarrassed for looking at his nakedness poorly covered by a quilt.

    Quietly, I slipped off of the bed and crawled to my clothes. They were bunched in a pile against the wall. The darkness of the room made it hard for me to put my clothes on correctly, I mean, I  almost put my underwear on backwards. Once I was all dressed with my phone, keys, and wallet I tiptoed to his room door; it was cracked open so I pushed it open and then I silently made my way to his front door. I felt bad about leaving his front door unlocked, but I didn't look back. I walked home that night at 3 o'clock in the morning. It was a long and tiring walk. As soon as I got home, I collapsed atop my fluffy blanket and fell into a deep slumber.

    I awoke with a start. Coughing the flem out of my throat, as I pushed the stray bangs from my eyes. I was still bone achingly tired, my eyes wanting nothing more than to stay shut, but I couldn't sleep any longer. My brain wanted to overthink, but my body wanted to sleep. Guess which one won the battle? My brain did.

    I sighed heavily, rubbing the rest of my sleep from my eyes as I stood up. I reach up, stretching my spin. A few satisfying cracks sounded throughout my quiet room, I dropped my arms and began trudging forward, dragging my bare feet against my plush carpet. I reached the door to my bathroom and groaned as I slammed the door open and headed for the shower. The tile floor was so cold that I began to shiver.

    As I showered, last night's memories came rushing back to me. I gulped, trying to forget every last second of last night. If I forget, it'll be like it never happened. That's what I told myself as I dried myself off with my beach towel and stared at my naked reflection in the bathroom mirror. I rubbed my arms, wishing they were more defined. I eyed my stomach, wishing it was covered in muscle instead of fat. My dark brown frizzy hair that gradually got lighter at the edges, and my light blue eyes that almost looked grey. My fair skin that darkened to olive if I spent enough time in the sun. I turned away and walked to my closet. I don't have time to knit pick because today is saturday, a weekend and also my day off from work. I had forgotten, amid the tiresome night of disorderly events. My brother. Had texted me, for the first time in years, last week and we made a plan to meet up today, right before he will get shipped off to serve his country. It's been years since I'd last seen him. Suddenly, I had a new spring in my step at the thought of seeing him, after all these years.

    Coffee; a hot drink made from the roasted and ground seeds of a tropical shrub. Also known as-

    "A hot cup of Joe!" My brother announces as he slides into the seat across from me. He picks up his cup of coffee and hurriedly gulps some down, "I'm going to miss this," he purrs, rubbing his thumbs on the hot glass cup.

    I raised my eyebrow at him, "I'm sorry, Sam. I didn't notice when you came in. I was-"

    "Distracted." He finishes for me, begrudgingly. I know he was hoping for a warmer welcome than my distracted mind. "Don't worry about it Dew Drop." He says, using my childhood nickname to lighten the mood. "Let's just enjoy this moment, yeah?" He smiles, seemingly content as he gulps down more coffee. I nod my head with a smile, "yeah," I whisper. My mind beginning to drift elsewhere.