Moira

12.

000d, 00h, 00m, 00s

Five in the morning.

Who had the audacity to ring me out of bed at five on a Saturday morning?

Grumbling various insults as I scrambled out of bed, I slipped into a pair of white, comfortable shorts while cursing under my breath, grimacing at the time displayed on the opposite wall of my bed as I threw a light cardigan over the crop top I slept in.

Hand ruffling through the mess of brown atop my head, I quickly used the hair tie around my wrist to tie it up as best as I could while slouching over to the door. The constant ringing still penetrating my ears.

Don't get me wrong. I didn't mind getting up early — and might even considered myself a morning person — when, and only when I knew I was going to get up early beforehand.

There was nothing worse than waking me up in the early hours of the day when I hadn't planned on doing so before. Which was precisely what was happening now.

The ringing had turned into forceful, repetitive knocking on the short way over, and without another thought, I opened the door, the sound immediately subsiding.

Lips parting slightly, I blinked a few times before rubbing my eyes, hoping the image before them would change when I looked back up.

"I didn't wake you, did I?"

Face blank, I locked eyes with his brown ones. I didn't say anything; I didn't think I could find the energy to do so.

And then, with a loud sigh, I let my head fall back as I turned around, throwing the door shut behind me simultaneously.

I didn't hear it close, but I didn't much care, either.

Trotting towards the kitchen, a yawn rattling through my body as I came to a halt in front of the counter, Esmond leaned himself against the one cupboard I needed to get to.

I think if I would've looked at him for too long, I would've strangled him right then and there. The smug grin on his face telling me he knew that just as much as I did.

Without acknowledging his presence any further, I harshly pushed him to the side in order to open the drawer holding my cups. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't the slightest bit satisfying to watch him stumble to the side.

With a content hum, I placed the cup underneath the white coffee machine in the corner, pressing a few buttons before the whizzing sound of it echoed through the otherwise silent room.

The coffee poured into my cup just a few seconds later, making me grab it immediately to take a heavy sip from the brew I knew would have the perfect temperature to do just that.

I closed my eyes, the cup still by my lips before they batted open at once to look at him from over the edge of it—a smirk forming on his lips at the eye contact.

"You're not going to make me one?" He pouted, brows raising as his eyes flickered over to the machine. With a low laugh, he tutted, "Where are your manners, Amidelle?"

"Fuck you," I deadpanned as I lowered the cup, making my way over to the sofa immediately after. I slipped into the corner of it — seeing as I never got the chance to when Eniola was here — and leaned back into the comfortable backrest.

"Ah, well," He snorted. "I prefer tea, anyway." With that, he let himself fall onto the opposite side of the sofa, crossing one of his legs over the other, his ankle resting on his knee.

Daring a glance, the first thing I noticed were his socked feet, shoes nowhere to be seen before my gaze trailed over to them casually sitting by the door. My brows raised, and still in thought, I gave myself a stern nod in recognition.

In silence, I brought the coffee to my lips every now and then, my eyes lingering on something outside the window. After a while — with my gaze still pointed outside — I broke that silence.

"You think you're really funny, don't you?" I murmured, shaking my head slightly without looking at him.

"What? Am I not dressed for the occasion?" He huffed in amusement, the mention of his wardrobe making me divert my eyes onto him to take a closer look.

I wasn't sure what he was, if not dressed for the occasion.

The perfectly fitted black suit was a pleasant change to the usual loosely fitted clothes he wore. The top three buttons of his black shirt unbuttoned, his ringed fingers currently shrugging off the jacket to place it next to him with a final pat.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," I managed to say instead, trying my best to ignore the way my eyes kept flying up to the opened buttons. "And you're missing the tie," I quickly added, diverting my eyes again.

A low, singular laugh escaped his lips then, the sound surprisingly pleasant.

"If I'm suffering for you tonight, the least you can do is suffer for me, too."

My brows knitting together tightly, eyes widening and cheeks flushing, my head snapped back in his direction only to find that insufferable smirk on his lips. "Though, I don't think simply showing up at five in the morning instead of the evening will do."

Oh.

My facial features relaxed, the surprise in my eyes quickly turning into a glare before I rolled them.

"I think I'll suffer enough by simply pretending I'd want to be in the same room as you. Don't flatter yourself," I murmured, head cocking to the side in hopes he didn't notice the added color in my cheeks.

"Right," He huffed, standing up at once. "I'll just be off then—?" He challenged, brows rising as he made the first step towards the door.

"—No!" I blurted out, the sound making him stop in his tracks and turn around with a victorious smile on his lips. He knew I needed him just as much as I knew. "Stay, please. I'm sorry—" I choked out, forcing a smile on my lips as I watched him nod in contentment.

"Alright," He huffed. "If you insist. How about that tea, then?"

I sighed, though nodded in defeat. "Is green alright?"

"Green is perfect." 

- 

Esmond thinks he's absolutely hilarious. I know this because I created him jbhvjgcfx 

I honestly had this idea when I wrote the previous chapter and realised I didn't specify am or pm and thought hey you know what... that's definitely something he would do LOL so here we are

Also, as long as my other book gets daily updates, so will Moira hehe

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed today's chapter. <3