Rafflesia's Lament

Chapter 5

Beta attempted to fall asleep as Fred left to go to the graveyard. His attempt turned out futile, as he couldn't stop staring at the ceiling. Beta usually did not have sleep issues, but his apartment was unusually chilly, and his life worries consumed him.

He regretted not going out with Fred. He kept thinking about how much of a horrible idea it was to give Fred his journal. At least he should have digitally copied it first.

But Beta stopped himself from texting Fred because he knew this was the best for him. No matter how meaningful that journal was to him, it was starting to dampen his life.

Sure, it felt good to write in the moment. But after writing so many letters, he couldn't ignore that his dad would never respond.

It needed to burn, and Fred was the perfect candidate. Few partners would agree with Beta's suggestion; most people would look at him like he had grown a second head.

Fred was right. He hasn't been living life to the fullest these last few weeks. Beta smiled to himself in thankfulness.

Beta sighed before getting out of bed and stretching while listening to music. Even if his uneasiness about his decision were fading, he would still struggle to fall asleep just by lying in the dark. He needed to try something else. Stretching could work, and maybe some tea. His mom said this was an excellent method to try before falling asleep.

As he stretched, he started to feel much better. Positive thoughts began to consume him. He remembered that he was going to a concert with Charlie and Alpha at the end of the month. He remembered how his boss said he was due for a promotion. This stretching stuff was no joke. He should consider taking yoga classes at his gym.

After finishing his short routine, he took the kettle Alpha had given him and boiled some water. It did not take long before he had a nice cup of tea. As he drank the tea, he smiled and doodled various monsters and skulls on paper. The tea warmed his stomach, making him even more sleepy.

When he finally finished his cup, exhaustion hit him. As he lay down, he felt more at peace. Eventually, he was able to fall asleep.
——-
As soon as the sun rose, he awoke to find that Fred was not in bed beside him. Maybe they were in the apartment, but Beta couldn't hear anyone in the kitchen.

Beta decided not to get up to look as he did not feel like getting out of bed, so he turned on his phone. But he stopped himself from doom scrolling on his various social media apps. Instead, he wanted to text someone—maybe his mom, brothers, or best friend, Charlie. Sure, they did text occasionally, but the conversations were always dry and straightforward. Beta opened his phone and saw he had a couple of text messages.

One was from Fred, which read, "I did it. I went out again to pick up some groceries. Also, don't go in the living room. I have a surprise for you."

Beta raised his eyebrow in confusion. Maybe he was setting up something nice for the both of them. Beta was tempted to bolt to the living room to see what it was but stopped himself. Fred was terrific at reading him. Beta couldn't pretend to be surprised if he saw what was in the living room. He would wait; he didn't want to disappoint Fred. After all, Fred did go out of their way last night for him.

"K! Get home safe!" Beta texted back before opening his other message to see who it was from.

It was a message from Senpai, which read, "Can you ask Charlie if he has any edibles?"

Beta rolled his eyes at the message. It was well known that Charlie and Senpai didn't get along. Beta often had to be the interpreter between them. He was more than willing to do that, but he found it beyond ridiculous in this case. Mainly because Senpai should know Beta's had a stash himself. Asking Charlie while he was gone on a trip with their brother was rude. He wasn't going to be the desperate jackass to ask if he could break into their house so that he could steal edibles of all things. Senpai also had the means to just get some for himself. Maybe he forgot that they were vacationing? Perhaps he got a thrill from taking it from Charlie? Whatever the case was, it was obnoxious. He loved Senpai, but actions like this made him understand why Charlie preferred not to be around him.