Balance, Baby

Chapter 17

I was sitting on the couch, Judah had his head in my lap. He fell asleep a while ago, but I wasn't tired. I was running my fingers through his hair and pushing it out of his face. I admired all of his features, running my fingers across them. He was so peaceful and adorable when he slept. I smiled as I kept messing with his hair. Another hour passed like that. He was a hard sleeper.

I finally laid my head on his shoulder, something about him demanded admiration. Seeing his face from a different angle, I started over. I analyzed each feature over again. My fingers ran across the bridge of his nose and over his cheek bones softly. Then his jawline and his lips. He stirred, so I pulled my hand back quickly. Eventually I ran my fingers through his hair again, over and over. I kept smiling as I admired him.

I whispered softly, "I love you, for real."

~

I was at work, about to get off. It was a lot slower than usual, so I just went around making sure all of the customers were content. I leaned on the checkout counter, bored. It didn't make sense to be slow on a Saturday night, but here I was. I sighed and started doodling on a piece of blank receipt paper. I began to get nauseous, really nauseous. My mouth started watering so I rushed to the bathroom. I barely made it in time, immediately emptying the contents of my stomach into the toilet bowl. I was on my knees on the cold, hard bathroom floor. 'Dude what the fuck?' I spit into the toilet and flushed it once I was sure I finished. I washed my hands and rinsed my mouth out as well as I could, wiping my tongue with paper towels and rinsing again.

'I fucking hate puke.' I left the bathroom and checked on the customers again. I glanced at the clock, realizing it was time for me to get off. I let my coworker know that I was heading out and made my way to the breakroom, checking my phone. There was a message from Reese, 

You guys coming tonight? Lmk

I typed my employee number in and grabbed my bag before heading out to my car. I sat down and texted Reese back, 

We'll see you there. Byob? Byow?

 Yeah ☺️ there's gonna be some but I'm bringing my own shit

I drove home listening to "Earned It" by The Weeknd. After that "Levitating" by Dua Lipa came on. I was vibing the entire drive, despite getting sick at work. I parked into a spot and got out of the car, making my way into the apartment. I walked into the door and Judah was watching tv on the couch.

"Hey," He looked at me smiling.

"The party is across town, so we gotta leave as soon as I'm ready," I closed the door behind me and walked towards my room.

"You going shopping tomorrow?" He asked loudly. 'Shit.' I had totally forgot it was my week to go shopping. I was so glad we handled our shopping like this, if we didn't I would never have food. I always forgot to go shopping.

"Yeah. I'll go tomorrow morning," I got out of my work outfit and started looking for something to wear.

"Thanks."

I decided to wear a white tube top with baggy ripped jeans, and my air forces. I wore silver jewelry: hoops, a choker, a few bracelets and a ring. I wanted to curl my hair, so I heated up my curling iron as I fixed my makeup. I put on lashes and added wings, contoured my face and put on highlight. I also spiced up my eyeshadow with silver sparkles and put some on my inner corners. I smiled at myself in the mirror, satisfied. Curling my hair always took a while, Judah walked into my room and flopped onto my bed.

"You take forever. We won't get there until 11 at this rate," He laughed, "You already look great, I never understood why you always do yourself up so extra."