Asleep

11 Her First Day

Charlie~~

I overslept. In a dream I overslept.

         I get to my office three hours late, only to pause outside the door. If Nora did come, she's surely gone by now. Dad is the one who wants Nora working here. Not me. And it's his fault I overslept.

4 AM yesterday, when he pulled me out of the dream, was the first time he told me about Nora. After that he let me sleep normally as an early reward. I overslept then too. The more time someone spends in this dream, the harder it is to sleep naturally. Even if they did manage to fall asleep, they're plagued by nightmares. I ran through nightmare realms, too exhausted to be able to wake up.

While the rest of Somnia carried on with their lives last night, their jobs and hitting bars with their friends, never once growing tired, I slept.

And it was peaceful.

And I needed it.

And damn it, I overslept.

I swipe my card over the sensor beside the door, wandering what Nora thought when she turned down the alley that leads to the office. Since the messages I deliver are sometimes to Dad's employees and they don't always bear good news—nothing like a letter sealed in wax to be the harbinger of doom—my department isn't anyone's favorite. I hid the office in one of the underpopulated parts of the city at the end of an alley.

The door slides open as someone laughs. Feminine. Free. My office consists of me and Tye. That means it must belong to—

The laughter cuts off, and I round the corner to find Nora and Tye seated at the marble desk he eats his lunches at, their bodies angled toward me.

She's still here. I'm hours late, and she's still here. Seeing her leaves me disappointed. I almost had the perfect excuse to not hire her, and I could have blamed Dad for it.

On the desk is a half-eaten sandwich and a muffin wrapper that's only filled with crumbs.

Following my gaze, Nora says, "Tye brought me a muffin."

Of course, he did. I should have done the same. She has no food, and while not eating won't kill her, the mind knows what an empty stomach feels like.

"I'm so sorry I'm late." I don't know what excuse to give for why I didn't at least phone. Without me preparing the messages, Tye has nothing to do. "Tye, you can go home. I'll deliver the messages today."

He opens his mouth probably to protest.

"I'll pay you for the full day plus half for making you sit around for hours."

Tye's eyes widen, and he promptly shuts his mouth.

"Shall we get to it?" I ask Nora. She says to let her throw out her lunch and then she'll be ready. I nod, and she stands, stepping away from the desk and gathering up the crumbs from the desk in her hands.

For the first time since walking in, I get a good look at what she's wearing. I was not expecting to see her bare legs. The uniform pants go all the way down to the ankle. But she's not wearing pants. She's in a dress that comes down to her knees. It's a dress for business, a kind I've seen my sisters wear.

She should not have that.

If Dad wanted her to have an office job, he must have thought she should look the part.

While I power up my computer, Tye leaves. I don't have the ability to dream up—or conjure—a computer for Nora, but I wish I did. I'll need to create a desk for her once I'm here alone. One that matches the white marble of mine and Tye's.