Unattainable Fruit

Chapter 7: Mornings & Invitations

Cody's POV

The alarm blares at me loudly from the left of me and I groan in irritation as I lift my hand to shut off the obnoxious trilling. When I finally gather enough energy to open my eyes, I note the time on the clock, 6:34, as I go to rise from bed, my bladder awake and needy.

   I reach on to the table and place my glasses in my face, the blurry blobs taking shape as my eyes blink to refocus.

   I shuffle towards my en-suite and use the bathroom, yawning as I empty my bladder, wiping off the tip before flushing the toilet.

  I wash my hands quickly before returning to the room, the pale light starting to fill the room soft and comforting every morning. For years now I get up at the same time regardless of school, sun or snow to enjoy the morning, meditate and read.

   I walk over towards my Book Nook, pushing aside the canopy cover so that I could climb into my seat, closing the curtain behind me. Reaching my hand towards behind my chair, I find a switch and turn it on, Fairy lights twinkling around the Book Nook. The shelves along the wall also have a switch and I turn it on until I can read all the spines of the books and see their beautiful cover. I pick up the same book I've been reading for the past three days, and settle in to read. The slow sunrise wakes up the world as I slowly get my mind together, using the reading and the slow mornings as a way to regulate myself and have time to get my brain ready to handle school, people and insufferable circumstances.

   I chuckle to myself over the characters in the book, the pages coming alive in my head until the characters are my friends and I'm just as invested as they are about their journey.

  Just as an important fight is about to break out, my second alarm sounds and I groan, knowing that once again I have to come to a decision. Do I want to continue reading at the chance that I could be late all because I wanted to read more or do I just go so I know everything will turn out fine. I sit for a moment, pretending as if I won't make the same decision I do just about every day. Giving in, I place my bookmark back inside my book before turning off all my Book Nook lights, disappointment filling my chest that I can't be two people at once. I begrudgingly place my book back on the bookshelf before getting up and putting everything back as it was, sighing as I go to gather clothes.

  I pick out an oversized green sweat shirt and blue skinny jeans, pulling out black chucks to throw on with the outfit. I set up the clothes in my bed, pulling off my oversized tee and taking off my glasses to place them on the bed as well before walking towards the bathroom.

   I turn on the shower and wait for the hot water to flow through the pipes, the only annoyance about living in the pack house.

   I change where the water is coming from and slide closed the curtain as the bathroom slowly starts to fill up with steam. I turn around and look in the mirror as the water heats up the room. I look at my flat barely defined stomach and small waist and wonder if my future Mate will be disappointed.

   I sigh to myself and turn away from the mirror, stepping into the shower, flinching slightly when the hot water falls against my skin.

   I turn my back to the water and let it wash over me as I reach for the soap, humming to myself and tapping my feet in the water as I do. My shower is quick and effective giving me time to wash up and stand around and enjoy the water without taking too much time.

   I turn off the water and shiver as I step out, the temperature completely different than the shower I was just enjoying. I dry off and put on underwear before heading out of the bathroom and towards my bed where my clothes are laid out. I reach for my glasses and put them on first before I get dressed. I pause for a second with my pants halfway pulled up my thighs to reach for my phone. Knowing that other people are awake and I wouldn't bother them anymore, I play my music out loud, singing along with the artist as I tie my shoes.