Sleepless Nights

Chapter Nineteen: Not So Warm Welcome

A/N: (I apologize about the last chapter if it seems sloppy, my computer jacked things up so that it uploaded an earlier draft then what I actually wanted published. I hope you understand. It might be fixed later.)

The next day, unfortunately, I was hit hard with a case of jet lag. I didn't think that only a few days out of the country would affect me this bad, but it had somehow. My head pulsed with a headache no amount of aspirin could kill and I was yawning every few seconds. I wanted nothing more then to crawl back home and sleep for a few days, but work came first, sadly. I trudged into the office probably looking like I was half dead, paying little mind to my coworkers who bid me 'good morning' and 'welcome back'.

I slammed into my seat at my desk and logged onto my computer. I felt my headache grow when I saw the number of messages I had in my inbox. "Ugh, I have so much email." I groaned, scanning through the long list with reluctance. "This one's finished proofreading. This one is okay with corrections. All these proofs..."

"Hey Arrow, welcome back." Chief popped up, smiling. The main reason he wasn't too upset about me leaving so suddenly was because Hirose had called him before we got on the plane to say that he was borrowing me for work, which was more or less true. And since Chief was pretty much at the authors every beck and call, he agreed to allow me this mini vacation so long as I could catch up with the work I neglected when I got back.

"Good morning." I said politely, not in the mindset for positive attitudes right now. "I'm glad to see things haven't fallen out of place since I was gone." I joked.

He snickered, "We barely managed. But anyway, you remember our agreement?"

"To never speak of the vulgar but accidental typo you made in last months' issue?"

"Well...yes, but that's not the one I meant. The one about picking up your work once you got back."

I nodded, "Yeah, I remember."

"Good. So, how's Mr. Hirose's manuscript coming?" He mentioned right off the bat, eyeing me expectantly.

I blinked at him absently for a few seconds. "His..." I felt the blood drain from my face. Oh, crap! I haven't gotten the corrected proof for chapter two yet! I was with him for three days and I didn't think to bring that up!? Ugh, I could have gotten it before we left, but noooo I had to get distracted by Hirose. Damn him for being so...distracting... I'm tired. I'll think of a better insult after I've gotten my eight hours. "I'm really sorry. I'll check on it right now." I sighed, reassuring him that I had this covered.

Chief nodded and left me to gather my things together. But when I bent down to get my bag, I had to quickly hold a hand on my desk to keep from falling on my face when a sharp pain coursed through my head. I cursed obscenities under my breath as I made my way to the elevator. Stupid trip. Stupid Hirose. Stupid headache. Argh!

I left Cinderella headquarters by taxi and asked the driver to drop me off at a cafe I knew was walking distance to Hirose's house. If I was going to get through the rest of the day without punching someone or passing out, I needed caffeine. So once I had my fix of a vanilla cappuccino, I headed over to Hirose's house.

It was only seconds after I had knocked on the door that a thought occurred to me. Would Rikako be here? The last time we saw each other, we weren't exactly on friendly terms. I doubted that things would have gotten better during my absence, especially since she wasn't too happy that I went to Europe with Hirose. But it wasn't like I had much choice in the matter. I began cursing myself for not calling in ahead. I had sent Hirose a simple text telling him that I'd come by, but neglected to ask if she was there. I would have waited to come by when she was gone. Should I just leave? Maybe I should. I'll go grab a bite to eat, maybe browse a bookstore or two, and check in later. Yeah, that'll-